Science of Habit management!

Habits play a very important role in your daily life shaping your behaviours and ultimately determining your success. Whether it's exercising regularly, practising mindfulness, or just maintaining a healthy diet, cultivating positive habits can lead to positive outcomes. Understanding the science behind habit formation or employing effective strategies can help you create and sustain all these habits.

Habits feature a three-step loop that is routine reward and cue. A cue is basically a trigger that prompts your brain to initiate the routine or behaviour. The routine is the behaviour itself, and the reward is the positive reinforcement. You need to understand that the loop is very important for consciously creating new habits.

How to create habits?

You need to start by focusing on small achievable habits. You have to start with manageable actions to make it easy to maintain consistency and build momentum. First off, when you succeed in these, gradually increase the complexity and introduce new habits.

When you simplify the process of managing the habit and remove any barriers or obstacles that might hinder its execution, for example, if you want to exercise, then you have to regularly lay out your workout clothes. Making the habit easy to start increases the likelihood of following.

Pair the new habit with the existing one; Firstly you need to identify a habit you already perform consistently and use it as a cue to trigger a new habit. Consistency is very important for habit formation, for you need to deliver the habit every day or on specific days of the week. Regular repetition, when she only strengthens the neural pathways linked with a habit, makes it more automatic with time.

You need to keep track of your habits and progress to stay motivated and accountable. You must use a habit tracker app for a simple calendar to mark every day you successfully engage in the habit. You should see your progress visually can be rewarding and encourage further commitment.

You must share your habit goals with others or find any accountability and join hands with those who share similar aspirations. The support and encouragement from others can provide motivation and also help you stay committed to your habit.

You must acknowledge and celebrate milestones along with your habit journey. You must understand your progress and reward yourself when you reach significant milestones or maintain any consistency for a certain time frame.

Understand that setbacks are a natural part of habit formation. Even if you miss a day or face challenges, do not let it derail you completely; instead, reflect on what led to the setback and learn from the same.