Do You Have Any Bad Habits? If Yes, You’re in Luck!

Leveraging the principles that formed old habits to build more adaptive ones.

Reviewed by Tyler Woods

Key points

• Many of our daily behaviours are automatic, but some may not align with our long-term goals or well-being.
• Understanding the cue-routine-reward loop can help us better understand our habits.
• We can build a more intentional life by disrupting old habits and replacing them with more adaptive ones.

We often underestimate our ability to form and maintain habits, but the truth is, we’re better at it than we think. Let me illustrate by asking some questions: Do you hit snooze on your alarm every morning? Do you check your phone first thing when you wake up? Do you stop for coffee every day on your way to work? Do you find yourself reaching for processed or prepackaged food when you’re in a hurry? Do you stay up late each night watching TV and scrolling on your phone?

There’s no shame or judgment if you answered yes to any of those questions. All behaviours serve a purpose. My next question is, are your habits setting you up for success? Are they bringing you closer to how you want to be feeling and showing up in your days? The reality is that many of the habits we get better at are ones that might not be serving our health, well-being, or long-term goals. So often, we keep doing what we’ve always done simply because the patterns and routines are familiar, even when we know there is a better or different way.

The Formation of Habits

Habits are behaviours and routines that we have repeated so regularly that they become automatic, requiring little or no conscious thought. In fact, without our habits, our brains would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of decisions we’d have to make throughout the day.

According to researchers, approximately 45 percent of our daily behaviours are performed habitually, meaning that they are frequently repeated in the same place every day and often while thinking about something other than the action itself (Neal et al., 2006). That means nearly half of what we do each day is done automatically, without us giving any conscious thought to it.

When a behaviour is repeated in the same context, the brain begins to recognize the pattern and creates what Charles Duhigg calls a “habit loop” (Duhigg, 2012). This loop consists of three parts. First, there is a cue or trigger that signals the brain to initiate a behaviour. The cue could be anything—an environment, a time of day, seeing a certain person, a thought, or an emotional state.

Next comes the routine or behaviour itself. This is the action taken in response to the cue. For example, if feeling overwhelmed is the cue, procrastinating or mindless scrolling might be the routine, or if passing a coffee shop on the way to work is the cue, purchasing a coffee could be the routine. Lastly, there is a reward or benefit, such as comfort, temporary relief, stimulation, or satisfaction. Each time you follow through with the cue and routine and experience a reward, it strengthens the neural pathway and increases the likelihood that you’ll repeat the behaviour in the future.

If you are currently looking to break an old habit and would like to see some meaningful change in your life, you’re in luck! You can alter the cues and routines while still giving the brain the reward it is looking for.

Identify Your Habits and Understand the Cues

The first step in changing any habit is self-awareness. We all have both adaptive habits and maladaptive habits. While some of our habits, like going for a walk each morning, reading before bed, or brushing our teeth twice a day are positive and serve us well, others—like skipping breakfast, procrastinating, or mindless scrolling before bed—can have negative effects and work against our goals.

I invite you to take a moment to reflect on a habit in your life that may not be serving you well.

Next, try reflecting on these questions (adapted from Duhigg’s work) to help understand what triggers your habit:

• What time of day is it?
• Where are you?
• Who is around you?
• What did you just do?
• What thought did you just have?
• What emotion are you experiencing?
• What need are you looking to satisfy?
• What reward are you looking for?

Once we have an awareness of what puts our habits into motion, we can work to interrupt our old patterns and introduce healthier, more positive alternatives.

Interrupt Old Patterns

When you think about why some habits seem so effortless, chances are that the environment is set up in a way that supports them.

For example, if you notice yourself reaching for your phone every time you’re bored, you could try leaving it in a different room or turning off notifications at certain times of the day. Or, if you notice yourself reaching for the sugary, processed snacks every night before bed, completely remove or relocate those items and bring more nutritious pre-prepared snacks up.

When we make the habit less accessible, we increase the chances of interrupting the old pattern and redirecting the behaviour.

Replace the Behaviour

If we try to stop a habit and we don’t replace it with something else, the likelihood is that we will regress back to the old habit because there isn’t anything there in its place. We can work to replace an unwanted behaviour with a new, more adaptive one that fulfills the same need.

For example, if you find yourself reaching for a coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up, you could try replacing it with a cup of water and a 10-minute walk outside or around the office. This new behaviour can still give you the energy boost you’re seeking by providing hydration and movement. Similarly, if you have a habit of scrolling through social media every night as a way of unwinding, you could try swapping the phone for something else that satisfies the same need, such as reading, knitting, or practicing relaxation techniques.

The more effortless or inevitable the new behaviour feels, the more likely you are to stick with it.

Final Thoughts

While past behaviour is often the best predictor of future behaviour, we also have the ability to choose again. We have the power to curb old habits that no longer serve us and establish new behaviours that will eventually turn into habits, too. Practice makes better.

The fact that we have the ability to change, grow, and improve is something truly remarkable about the human condition. By understanding that you already excel at forming and maintaining habits, you can use this knowledge to intentionally build more positive and adaptive ones that elevate your life and give you the best return on your investment.