In the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg talks about the concept of creating a Habit Loop. See when we want to create a new habit or new way of being to be healthier, happier, or more productive, there is a process that we can and should follow. He maintains that we first need to create a Cue, which then leads to the Routine, and is followed up with a Reward. The Cue is what reminds you to start the new routine, such as an alarm clock going off. So, for instance, if I want to start a meditation practice, I may set my alarm clock for 30 minutes earlier in the morning to get up. The Routine is then me doing the meditation. And the Reward is what you get from the Routine. So the Reward could be that I make a good cup of coffee and sit and read the news afterwards. Or maybe its an intrinsic Reward such as the calm feeling I experience after 30 min of meditation. The Habit Loop is intentional and helps solidify the new desired behaviors or habit. Most thinking is that this needs to be a consistent practice (daily or the same days every week) over a period of 6-8 weeks to really get it into one’s schedule.
Cue ————-Routine———–Reward
Everyday.
Same time everyday.
8 Weeks.
Commit to this in one area of your life…..take charge of your physical health, mental health, and spiritual well-being for the beginning of 2017. I am a few days into creating a habit loop with Meditation myself…what new habits do you want to have in your life?
