How Habits Are Formed
- Cue — The scenario that triggers the desire to engage in the habit. It’s usually a time of day, a set of surroundings, a specific emotion or a set of ritualized behaviors
- Routine — The action itself
- Reward — The reason you feel good having engaged in the habit. This is usually the satisfaction of a specific craving.
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How habits work
The main components of habit formation:
- A Cue: It causes your brain to begin a behavior. It is a bit of information that predicts a reward.
- A Craving: It is the motivation behind every habit. Without a desire, we don't have a reason to act.
Chapter 3: How to build better habits in four simple steps
“Habits do not restrict freedom. They create it.”
There are four parts to a habit: Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward. Let’s take a closer look at them:
- Cue - the cue triggers the brain to a certain behavior.
- Craving - this is the mo...
1. How Habits Work
Habits can be changed if we understand their mechanisms.
The basal ganglia, a part of the brain, stores and executes our habits independently of other brain functions, allowing us to perform routines without conscious thought.
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