Breaking bad habits: how to change for the better
Sunday, June 30, 2024.
How Habits Work
To change habits, it's crucial to understand their mechanics. Habits aren't just repeated behaviors; they're mental links between a situation and a ‘urge’ to act. Dr. Benjamin Gardner, a leading researcher, explains:
“Forming a habit means connecting a situation you often encounter with the action you usually take. These connections create impulses that push us to do the usual action without thinking. But the pushes from habits are just one of many feelings we might have at any time.”
Think of impulses as toddlers, each crying for your attention. You can only attend to one at a time, and habit impulses often cry the loudest.
Habit vs. Intention
It's a common belief that habits always trump intentions. For example, someone might want to quit smoking but still lights up without thinking. However, our conscious intentions can be surprisingly powerful. The key is to understand that slips will happen and to know how to handle them. Slips aren’t failures; they’re normal bumps on the road to change.
Breaking Bad Habits
Researchers have identified four main strategies for changing bad habits:
1. Habit-Cue Discontinuity
This strategy involves avoiding the cues that trigger the habit. For instance, a gambler might stop socializing with other gamblers. A more drastic approach could be moving to a new area, where the old cues for the bad habit are absent.
2. Reducing Behavioral Accessibility
Make it harder for the habit to occur by changing your environment. Don’t buy biscuits if you don’t want to eat them. For a gambler, this might mean blocking gambling transactions on their credit card.
3. Habit Inhibition
This involves mentally blocking the impulse. For example, an alcoholic might think, “Don’t do it!” when tempted to drink. While effective, this requires strong cognitive control.
Dr. Gardner summarizes these methods:
“There are multiple ways to stop yourself from acting on your habits. Imagine you want to stop snacking in front of the TV. You could avoid the trigger by not switching on the TV, make it harder to act impulsively by not keeping snacks at home, or stop yourself when you feel the urge.”
4. Habit Substitution
When avoiding cues isn’t possible, substitute the bad habit with a good one. Drink water instead of wine, chew gum instead of smoking, or choose a salad over a hamburger. This method often involves elements of the other strategies, like avoiding unhealthy snacks and repeatedly choosing healthier options.
Dr. Phillippa Lally, a co-author of the study, says:
“If you can’t avoid your habit cues or make the behavior more difficult, swapping out a bad habit for a good one is the next best strategy. It’s much easier to do something than nothing, and as long as you’re consistent, the new behavior should become dominant over time.”
The Limits of New Habits
New habits, once established, can support behavior change by aligning with intentions. However, if motivation wanes or intentions change, the behavior can revert. The comforting news is that good habits remain in memory and can be reactivated.
Dr. Lally explains:
“Think of someone who has developed a habit of eating a healthy breakfast. One day, they wake up late and grab a sugary snack. This disruption can make them feel like they’ve failed. When trying to make a new behavior stick, it’s good to form a habit and have a backup plan for dealing with setbacks.”
Drive is Essential
Creating a new habit doesn't guarantee a new pattern of behavior. The study’s authors write:
“…habit impulses do not inevitably generate behavior. Habit formation interventions can automate wanted actions and protect against dips in motivation, but sufficient self-control can discontinue unwanted habitual actions.”
It’s tough to stop enjoyable behaviors, especially when old habits reinforce them. But with strong motivation and a clear intention to change, most bad habits can be inhibited, disrupted, and replaced.
Final thoughts
Breaking bad habits isn't about sheer willpower; it's about understanding how habits work and using the right strategies to disrupt them.
You can achieve lasting change by avoiding cues, making behaviors harder, mentally blocking impulses, and substituting bad habits with good ones
. Remember, breaking a habit is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay motivated, keep your intentions strong, and you'll see progress.
Happy habit-breaking! Br Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
