Small steps rather than radical change is the way to alter habits
Content-Team SWICA
Humans find it easy to make good resolutions, and often to actually get started with them as well. Where it gets harder is when we try to stick to them. While gyms are packed at the turn of the year, the crowds of fitness enthusiasts seem to thin out after just a few weeks.
Is that because people have the wrong mindset? Not necessarily. Attempts to make lasting changes in our behaviour are much more likely to fail because we do not really understand the mechanisms that drive our actions.
How habits influence our resolutions
Humans are creatures of habit. Around two-thirds of the things we do every day are based on habits. The best way to explain how this works is by looking at what is called the habit loop, which comprises stimulus (cue), routine and reward.
- Any action starts with the brain first perceiving a cue – for example, the smell of a freshly baked cake.
- This sends a signal to the brain to initiate the routine associated with the cue. We do what we are accustomed to and grab a slice as a matter of course.
- The routine is followed by the reward: a cocktail of happiness hormones because the cake tastes fantastic.
The reward is in turn a signal for our brain to launch this specific loop again in the future. The more often we run through habit loops, the more closely interlinked the cue and the reward become.
The power of habit
Unwelcome habits are best tackled with brainpower. The first step is to carry out a kind of self-inventory. You are looking to analyse your own habit loops: when and under what conditions do unwelcome routines occur, and what are the cravings that drive them? Once you have recognised these, you can start to change them. In this way, you can overwrite old behaviours and establish supportive routines.
How to establish new habits
- Replace routines: One particularly helpful approach is to keep the old cue and reward but insert a new routine in between them.
- Create new contexts: Want to exercise more? Then take your sports bag to work with you and head straight to the gym when you finish. Focus on regularity, as exercising on fixed days and at fixed times supports habit formation.
- Create a conducive environment: Banish old cues from your daily life or deal with them in smart ways. Structure the circumstances of your life in such a way that they provide regular, reliable cues for the new habit that you want to embed.
- Improve your habit loops: If you find it hard to stop snacking, for example, simply brush your teeth after eating a bar of chocolate.
It’s not just attitude that counts
The importance of the right attitude in making a successful behavioural change is overstated. In fact, our behaviour is often more heavily influenced by external conditions than by willpower. If the familiar context changes, even unwelcome habits are quickly undermined. The right attitude often does not emerge until afterwards; in other words after we have changed our behaviour.
Car seatbelts are a prime example. Today, most people wear them without a second thought. However, the introduction of compulsory seatbelts was originally a highly controversial legislative reform that met with huge resistance. It was the threat of fines that brought about the change in behaviour. Only later did attitudes change, to the point that not buckling up has become unthinkable in modern society.
Reward and repetition are key
When it comes to establishing new behaviours, rewards are incredibly important. They signal to the brain that the new behaviour is worthwhile. To achieve the greatest possible impact, these rewards should follow soon after the new activity. Ultimately, you know something has become a habit if you stick to it whether it’s worthwhile or not.
The missing ingredient behind internalising the change in behaviour is repetition. A behaviour only becomes a habit if it is repeated often enough – an average of 66 repetitions are required. That is really rather a lot. Once you’ve got there, however, motivation battles like making yourself go the gym become a thing of the past.
How to stick at it
- Visualisation: Be conscious of your goal. Remind yourself of it over and over again.
- Writing: Studies show that the probability of success increases by 42% when goals are written down.
- Consistency: Remain consistent, especially when starting to try to change a behaviour.
- No cheat days: Days on which you consciously allow yourself to veer off course are very unhelpful, especially when you are in the early stages of trying to change a behaviour. The brain is reminded all too easily of the familiar, cherished routine, increasing the risk of a relapse.
- A commitment shared: Tell those around you about your plans. This accountability can be motivating, because who wants to backtrack on their word to others?
Don’t worry, however: the seedling of habit formation is not that delicate. A couple of days’ break from watering it doesn’t mean that you have to start all over again. So there’s no excuse not to keep going. On the contrary, you can use the break to readjust. It is perhaps a helpful opportunity to reflect once more on the individual links in the habit loop.
Small steps rather than radical change
For many people, ridding themselves of unwelcome routines is a huge challenge. In most cases these cannot be changed easily or quickly. But if you can get to grips with the mechanisms behind it all, you have a powerful tool at your fingertips. That’s because you can make habits can work for you just as much as they can work against you.
It is important not to try to achieve too much at a single stroke. It makes more sense to approach goals in small steps and change your habits over time, rather than trying to upend everything all at once. While it will take a little longer to reach your goal, the change in behaviour will be all the more sustainable.
