It goes without saying that most people enroll in counseling services eager to make changes both big and small. However, it’s a common and frustrating reality that changes in our thinking and behavior are difficult to make and even more difficult to sustain.
Small changes in our daily habits and routines tend to determine our success in goal attainment. So, what does the research tell us about making intentional change? This article will cover what habits are, how habits are formed, and how we can maintain them to reach our broader goals.
What are habits?
In our everyday parlance, we tend to think of habits as our typical daily or frequent behavior. However, in the field of psychology, a habit is defined as, “actions that are triggered automatically in response to contextual cues that have been associated with their performance” (Gardner et al., 2012). For example, you may find that you automatically put on your seatbelt (action) when you get into a car (cue). Our habits tend to be acquired slowly over time as the action is repeatedly performed in a given context (Neal et al., 2012).
To use our earlier example, your caregivers may have reminded you to “buckle up” when you were a child, but years of repetition have led to automaticity. The strength of our habits tend to exist on a spectrum, with weak or moderate strength habits being repeated at lower frequency or in more diverse contexts, and stronger habits occurring with greater frequency in more specific contexts (Neal et al., 2012). The unique strength of habits lies in their automaticity, as automation represents a highly efficient use of mental resources (Gardner et al., 2012).
How can I form a healthy habit?
So how can you harness the automaticity of habits to reach your goals? The answer is deceptively simple, repeat the same action consistently in the same context. Research indicates that we should start small, as simpler actions become habituated more quickly (Gardner et al., 2012).
Further, success tends to beget success. Small changes maintained over time can lead to an overall feeling of competence and control, which motivates us to pursue more change. Secondly, it is recognized that forming healthy habits may be less mentally taxing than breaking unhealthy habits. For example, Verplanken & Faess found that good intentions are often not implemented if they are interfered with by an existing habit (1999).
To apply these principles to a real-life scenario, let’s consider a person whose goal was to live a healthier lifestyle. That is a rather sweeping objective, especially if the person in this example is a smoker who’s mostly sedentary and has a diet that lacks fresh fruit and vegetables. A good place to start would be eating more fruit and vegetables, after all it entails adding a new habit rather than say trying to break their smoking habit.
However, this is still too broad. Remember, we are going for small actions taken unconsciously! Perhaps instead this person makes it their goal to add baby carrots to their lunch every day. The baby carrots are portable, relatively shelf stable, and require very little additional resources such as time spent chopping. Additionally, this individual has tied their new habit to a habit that has already obtained automaticity, eating lunch. They are already on the road to success!
How do I maintain the habit?
The rationale for automaticity as a goal lies in the durability of our habits once we have achieved it. In fact, it has been demonstrated that once the initiation of an action is tied to an external cue, reliance on attention or motivation is significantly reduced (Gardner et al., 2012). Therefore, your habits are likely to persist even when distraction and stress rise, or motivation wanes.
In relevant research performed by Lally et al., researchers found that the median time to reach automaticity (defined as habit execution in 95% of circumstances) was 66 days (2009). Although, it should be noted that the range of time varied significantly between participants, with some achieving automaticity with 18 days and the final few at 254 days. Researchers attribute the variation to the variation in the number of repetitions. However, researchers asserted that, “Missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process” (Lally et al., 2009). The message here being that individuals looking to alter their behavior should not only start small but allow themselves a lengthy and variable runway according to the complexity and/or opportunity to perform the habit. Further, missed opportunities to perform the task or habit should be de-catastrophize, habits are still being built.
Conclusion
Making changes to our learned behaviors can be taxing, and it often stirs up difficult emotions. However, with thoughtful interventions habit formation can be supported by our neurobiology. So remember, start small, add a ‘good’ habit rather than break a ‘bad’ habit, tie your new habit to an existing habit, celebrate your wins, and allow yourself adequate time and grace throughout the process.
References
- Gardner, B., Lally, P., & Wardle, J. (2012). Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. British Journal of General Practice, 62(605), 664–666. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp12x659466
- Lally, P., Van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2009). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
- Neal, D. T., Wood, W., Labrecque, J. S., & Lally, P. (2012). How do habits guide behavior? Perceived and actual triggers of habits in daily life. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(2), 492–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.10.011
- Verplanken, B., & Faes, S. (1999). Good intentions, bad habits, and effects of forming implementation intentions on healthy eating. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29(5–6), 591–604. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199908/09)29:5/6
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