Habits and Belief [CHAPTER — 1 : (Habits — In the First Place)]

“Truly, A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic”, noted behavioral scientist Jason Hreha. If we observe our habits closely, they may seem like we are doing them unconsciously, without knowing(Non-consciously). They become so automatic that we don’t pause even to think about them. Jason Hreha further writes, “ Habits are, simply , reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment”. This is very much true. For instance, for the person who is a habitual smoker, smoking may be his anxiety-reliever(solution). For him, anxiety — induced from workload or from relationship conflicts or from business failures, is a problem and smoking is the potion that solve this problem, however for the short-term. For another instance, when we get bored of studying(problem), we start using our phone and find ourselves watching tik-tok videos. You will find it so automatic that you don’t even realize it. This is how a habit work in the first place.

James clear — writer of the book ‘Atomic Habits’, inscribes in his book that any habit can be broken into a feedback loop that involves 4 steps : Cue, Craving, response and reward. We can understand it with the habit of using phone while studying. While studying, Someone messages you, your phone buzzes. The sound of the phone is the signal (Cue) that kicks off the feedback loop of the habit. This cue lit the fire to check the content of that message(craving), this craving, indeed, is caused by the increased level of dopamine in your brain. The craving leads you to respond to it and you check the content of the message(response). And in the end, this response become panacea for your curiosity and satisfies you (reward)in the first place, you may regret your action later if you end up browsing social media or wasting time. Surprise!! Unconsciously, without your attention, this feedback loop led you towards your habit. This feedback loop gets repeated again and again.

James clear suggests that we can change our habits (bad ones) and also make new habits (good ones) using this feedback loop. In a nutshell, we can change our habits using these four laws —

1. Cue- make it invisible
2. craving- make it unattractive
3. response- make it difficult
4. reward- make it unsatisfying

Likewise, We can make good habits by just inverting these laws —

1. Cue- make it obvious
2. craving- make it attractive
3. response- make it easy
4. reward- make it satisfying

Every habit starts with cue that is also associated with the environment, in which we live. Modification in our environment can lead to the change in our habit. “Not only by modification of our environment but also by many tiny or small changes in our life style can lead to remarkable change in our habits.”, noted James Clear.

While considering this point of view, I realized that one’s beliefs also plays crucial role in habit formation and renunciation. “How belief influences our habits and what are it’s applications in modification in our habits?” such questions will be answered in the further chapters of this series.