Habits: make 'em or break 'em?

"Its a hard habit to break..." -Chicago

Habits are energy-saving mechanisms for your brain, forged through repetition and brain plasticity. It takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days (an average of about 66 days) to build a new habit or break an old one. The exact timeline depends on the complexity of the behavior and the individual. [1, 2, 3]

The Neuroscience of Habits:

At a biological level, your brain is designed to automate repeated behaviors to free up mental energy. This relies on your brain's amazing ability to change and reorganize its structure, known as neuroplasticity. [1, 2]

• The Basal Ganglia: This part of your brain is the command center for automation. When you perform an action repeatedly, your basal ganglia takes over, allowing you to perform complex tasks with little to no conscious thought. [1]
• The Habit Loop: MIT researchers identified a three-part neurological loop:
  1. Cue: A trigger that initiates the behavior (e.g., waking up, stress, or seeing a specific object).
  2. Routine: The action itself.
  3. Reward: The positive reinforcement that tells your brain to remember this pattern. [1, 2]
• Dopamine: This neurotransmitter acts as a reinforcement chemical. When you get a reward from your routine, dopamine signals your brain to repeat the behavior next time you encounter the cue. [1]

The Timeline to Form or Break a Habit:

The popular myth that a habit can be formed in exactly 21 days has been completely debunked by modern research. [1]

• The Landmark Study: A groundbreaking study by Dr. Phillippa Lally published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that the time it takes to reach "automaticity" (doing the habit without thinking) ranges from 18 to 254 days, with the average being 66 days. [1, 2]
• Simpler vs. Complex Habits: Simple habits (like drinking a glass of water with lunch) take a much shorter time to 1cement. Complex habits (like forcing yourself to do 50 sit-ups every morning) take substantially longer. [1]
• Missing a Day: Lally’s research found that missing a single day does not significantly impact habit formation or derail your progress. The key is overall consistency over time. [1, 2]

Exactly How to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones:

You cannot rely purely on willpower to change a habit because your brain's default policy is to do what it has always done. Instead, you must hack your neural pathways: [1, 2, 3]

• Replace, Don't Erase: You cannot easily "delete" an old neural pathway. The most effective way to break a bad habit is to keep the same cue and reward, but swap out the destructive routine for a healthy one. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Use Habit Stacking: Anchor your new habit to a pre-existing one. For example: After I pour my morning coffee (pre-existing), I will stretch for 3 minutes (new habit). [1]
• Make it Obvious & Easy: Lower the friction required to do the good habit, and increase the friction required to do the bad one. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Leverage the 21/90 Rule: A common psychological framework suggests committing to a goal for 21 straight days, and then maintaining that behavior for another 90 days to firmly solidify the neural rewiring. [1]

Reputable Resources for Further Reading:

• Academic Review: You can explore the systematic review published in the Time to Form a Habit: A Systematic Review (PMC) for a detailed breakdown of the psychological variables. [1]
• The Original Research: Read the groundbreaking 2009 paper by Phillippa Lally in the European Journal of Social Psychology (UCL) for the exact methodology of the 66-day study. [1, 2]
• Laymen's Overview: To explore the behavioral mechanisms further, you can read The Science of Habit (Healthline). [1, 2]

My take on this subject:

I've noticed that there are always more bad habits to break than good habits to make(maybe that's just me). And the only time we, well I, would correct them is when they made me the most uncomfortable. Never had I ever woken up one morning and said to myself: "self, let's pick any mildly annoying habit and break it today". Who does that? Nobody.

I've also noticed that when a major stressor is encroaching on our lives, we resort back to certain old, bad habits. It's that muscle memory. But when that difficult moment or event hits, I rarely choose a new, good habit to practice. It's right to the destructive behavior, not the useful or helpful behavior.

I've noticed that when I really want to break a habit, it usually happens, but it's almost always a bittersweet experience. I often have to sacrifice either a boundary or a choice, though not always. Sometimes, the change actually opens doors for more personal growth and a broader outlook on life.

I guess it all boils down to your perspective. Do you see it as something you just want to get rid of, or do you view it as something holding you back from your true self? I try to lean towards the latter as much as possible because it feels more liberating and open-ended. The first approach feels more catastrophic because it makes you feel obligated, like you don't have a choice.

That's enough out of my brain for one post. If you want to discuss this further, email me! I will always respond one way or the other as soon as possible. I hope your week is progressing beautifully.

Tina

 

My quote for you:

"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones."
— Benjamin Franklin [via Kendra Kinnison]

 My links are in the sidebar.

(Please, please, please share these links with everyone!)

Thank you for reading my posts.