Focus on your habits. Our habits control at least half of what we do every
day — over 50% of the calories we eat are out of habit, for example. We’re
often unaware of our habits and don’t even remember doing them. Have
you ever driven to work and not remembered the ride? You think later, “Oh
my gosh, did I drive safely?”
We do routine things without too much thought
because our brains want to
conserve energy, and a habit is the easiest way to do it. So changing a habit
is the best way to change your lifestyle.
It’s extremely helpful to know what a habit is in the first place. Knowing
what
a habit is, how it forms and then controls our actions, makes it more
likely that we can modify habits for the better. The term
habit
has been
defined
by many people, but the best definition, I think, is by Wendy Wood
from the University of Southern California. She
defines a habit as an action
that we take, in a certain context, to gain a reward.
Here’s an example. I usually get up about 5 a.m., quietly, so as to not
awaken my wife, Linda. I walk into the kitchen (context), and without even
thinking, I make a cup of coffee (action) to get
a warm delicious coffee with
a wonderful aroma (reward). The reward is key, and it needs to be
immediate. When
I get the reward, my brain releases dopamine, which
helps lay down the memory for this habit. The reason the reward needs to
be immediate is so that the memory links the context
and the action with the
reward.
