Habits Unboxed: A Psychological Exploration

Our lives are intertwined with habits! From our routines to the rituals we follow, habits truly shape our personalities and who we truly are. When we dive into the psychological world of habits, we find a universe of intricate details that control our routines, decisions and capacity for change.

The Habit Loop

The process through which we form habits is called the habit loop. The phenomenon of the habit loop was discovered by a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and consists of 3 parts: The Cue, The Routine, and The Reward.

The Cue encourages us to behave a certain way and helps us to put the habit into action, which helps to initiate a routine. The routine is what we do before and after the occurrence of our habit. This leads to the reward, which is the outcome we achieve.

The cue and the reward are the reason why we are highly influenced to form a habit. For instance, when we are feeling a little down, we watch a good movie to feel relaxed later.

Neurology of Habits

Habits are ingrained in our brains, ultimately causing repetition. As per neurology, this repetition generates neural pathways which provoke us to perform these habits. The basal ganglia, a deep brain area involved in emotion, pattern recognition, and memory, is where habits are neurologically stored. The prefrontal cortex, the brain’s decision-making centre, shuts down when a behaviour turns into a habit, making behaviours a routine and difficult to change.

Dopamine, often referred to as the brains “feel good” neurotransmitter, also plays a crucial role in this process. When our brain gets used to a cue, it triggers the dopamine which creates a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

 How to Create Good Habits?

Our brain follows our lead! We have the power to change our bad habits, turn them to good ones, and even create new ones.

Setting our goals, is the first step towards creating good habits. Make a thorough roadmap for the habits you wish to establish and be clear about them. This way we can get a proper direction towards our aim.

Don’t forget to be consistent and take small steps at a time. The cornerstone on which habits are constructed is consistency. Repeated action is what makes behaviours part of who we are. The brain’s neuroplasticity is activated when we repeatedly do an action, changing our neural connections to accommodate a new habit. When we break down larger goals into small steps, it becomes more efficient for us to follow these steps and the process of creating new habits gets faster.

How to Break Bad Habits?

It can be challenging to break a bad habit. This is also because of the same reason mentioned, our habits are ingrained in our brains ad breaking free from them can often turn out be hard.

To get rid of a bad behavior, it is crucial to recognize and identify that habit. Understand the cues that lead you to behave a certain way, whether its stress, boredom or any other feeling, and try to replace the negative behavior associated with this cue with a positive one.

Begin with micro-changes that can lead to a greater transformation. Set clear intentions and be determined to work on breaking the habit.

The psychology of habits is an evidence for the complex interaction amongst our thought, actions and behaviours. Try to be more mindful and don’t forget that you have the power to change your routines and create a future that is in line with your well-being.