Power of Habit

Hello Everyone-  I took a little time away from my blog writing in preparation for my upcoming wedding in June!  We are having a low key, back yard wedding and are so looking forward to it! 

This is a review on a book that was suggested to me by one of my clients entitled The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.  Habits influence all aspects of our lives, sometimes helping us and sometimes hurting us.  Habits are the actions we subconsciously repeat on a regular basis.  They can seem automatic.  One of the main themes in the book is what Duhigg refers to as the habit loop.  It consists of three parts- the cue or trigger, the routine, and the reward.  If you want to stop an unhealthy/bad habit or you would like to start a new one-like exercising daily :) you first need to identify the routine.  The routine is the behavior you want to change or create.  Next, you need to find out what the cue for this routine is.  What triggers you to perform the habit?  And finally, what is the reward?  What causes you to repeat the behavior?  The basic premise is to understand what is triggering you to engage in your habit and to reroute the trigger to a more positive outcome. 

Here is an example of a habit loop taken from the book that Duhigg went through himself.  Let's say everyday around 3:00 you get up from your desk and go and buy some chocolate chip cookies from the vending machine and then go visit a co-worker before returning to your desk.  Over the past few months you have realized that you have put on an extra 5 pounds from the new habit you've developed. You decide you want to stop this unhealthy habit before it gets out of control.  What is the habit loop?

The routine- Going to the vending machine and buying cookies, talking with co-workers and then returning to work.

The cue- Ask yourself: Where are you?  What time is it?  What is your emotional state? Who else is around? What action preceded the urge?  In the cookie case, the cue was he was at he desk around 3:00 bored and no one else was around.
The reward-In this insistent it would seem like the obvious reward is the cookies.  However, Charles found out that it was the social interaction after he bought the cookies that he was seeking at three o'clock in afternoon.  He was not hungry but needed a mental/social brake.  Like a scientist he experimented with his 3:00 cue and found out that if he just got up around 3 and walk to a friend's desk to chat for 10 minutes he did not need or want the cookies!  

Here is an example of a habit loop for exercising.  The routine is jogging, the cue is having your running shoes and clothes ready to go, and the reward is the endorphin rush or sense of accomplishment you feel after you have finished your run.

Over all I thought it was a great book and definitely recommend it to you all.  Give it a read and let me know your thoughts.

 

Bye for now and enjoy Living the Healthy Life :)

Guy Schiavone

 

 

Bonus!!!  Here is a link to a write up about Andrea (my soon to be bride) It's about her passion and drive for yoga. She teaches at Roots in Burlington on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5:45am.  Give it a try!

http://burlington.patch.com/blog_posts/roots-presents-instructors-in-the-spotlight