How To Turn Bad Habits Into Good Ones - The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg

My research on habits continues, as I’m gathering information and connecting the dots for the book I’m outlining. I want to write a book for creators about how to commit to creative disciplines so they can reach their creative goals. I’ve struggled with consistency in my own creativity, but I feel like I’m cracking the code with these daily blogs. (This post marks 211 blogs in 211 days). 

Here’s a fascinating tidbit from Charles Duhigg’s The Power Of Habit. In Duhigg’s extensive research on habits, he found that the habits that stick follow the same pattern: cue, routine, and reward. There’s a cue that triggers our routine, and once we complete that routine, we get a reward. For me, I feel groggy in the morning, I get coffee, and then I feel alert and energized. The grogginess is the cue, the walk to the coffee shop is the routine, and the energy is the reward. 

Duhigg explains how this process is in play for smokers, runners, gamblers, tooth-brushers–everyone. The products that have revolutionized American life, like toothpaste and Febreeze, all use this pattern. What’s especially interesting is that once we follow a few repetitions of this pattern, we’ll start to develop cravings for the reward, even before we experience the cue. 

“Cravings are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier. It’s as true now as it was almost a century ago. Every night, millions of people scrub their teeth in order to get a tingling feeling; every morning, millions put on their jogging shoes to capture an endorphin rush they’ve learned to crave.” 
–Charles Duhigg, The Power Of Habit, Page 59

This also explains how I’ve so easily fallen into slumps of sleeping in. Classically, I’ve been very disciplined about setting one alarm, and getting out of bed immediately to start my day. I know this is the best way for me to operate, as it’s supported by a large body of scientific research, and my own personal experience. But lately, it has become harder and harder. Why? The MLB app. My cue is not wanting to get out of bed after I turn off my alarm. The routine is opening the MLB app to watch baseball videos in bed. And the reward is the dopamine rush I get from watching last night’s highlights. Every bit of research and evidence I know is no match for this habitual cue, routine, and reward process. 

I want to explore what it would be like to intentionally position certain rewards on the other side of healthy actions. It seems like good habits are less about being disciplined, and denying ourselves, and more about purposefully placing our favorite rewards on the other side of the positive actions we want to accomplish.

Habits are incredibly powerful. Habits have ruined the lives of gamblers, drinkers, and smokers. Simultaneously, habits have been the catalyst of massive success for YouTubers, writers, singers, and entrepreneurs. 

What side of habits will you fall on?