Is it possible to make unpleasant habits irresistible ? In the article you will learn how to build habits easily. Desire. That’s what matters.
In the first part of the article we explained that it is possible to get into the habit much easier than we thought. It was also noted that incentive is the first step in building a habit. Recall the sequence of habit building.
- Suggestion
- Desire
- Response
- Reward
Everybody’s been there.
Let’s pour ourselves some clear wine. Mere suggestion is simply not enough. You can decide that you want to go every
morning run. Based on the first step in building habits, you would think that just leaving your running clothes in plain sight would be enough, or better yet, going to bed dressed like that in the evening. You’re hoping that the morning stimulus will automatically force you into a healthy lifestyle.
I’m not saying this is a bad move. If there is no reward waiting for you after a run, there is little chance that you will repeat the habit. You simply have nothing to look forward to. That’s why it’s a good idea to reward yourself along the way of building a habit. Go for a massage after 5 days of sticking to the habit. It will fit into your concept of better health and at the same time give you something to look forward to.
What should I focus on.
Because if you skip a reward to look forward to when building a habit, the stimulus will not create a sufficient desire to make the corresponding response and the whole cycle stops.
The problem with running is that the reward of better fitness and more energy is not immediate, but delayed. And we don’t like that very much. We want a reward right now otherwise interest plummets. After all, it takes a few weeks, maybe months, to get into such a condition that running is more of an enjoyable experience than an ordeal.
It sounds like a vicious circle.
This is why those bad habits stick to us so easily. The reward is immediate. It follows immediately after the reaction. After you eat junk food (high in fats, sugars, just a lot of calories), your body will be pleased as its blood sugar level will rise sharply. The next time you see such a dish (cue), your brain already knows what reward to expect (craving) and you can just see yourself buying another double-topping pizza (reaction). This will make the habit even stronger.
Can I start practicing this ?
But you can add new habits to the ones you already have and love doing. If every morning at breakfast you’re scrolling through social networks, try to link them to a new habit. It may look like this. After I get up in the morning I’ll put on my sports clothes and go for a run. When I run I spend 15 minutes on social media. You combine what needs to be done with what you love to do.
You’ll find every habit more attractive if you can indulge in something you love at the same time. But this is not the end of habit formation. We’ve only gone through the first two steps, and those are suggestion and desire. Creating a truly irresistible habit is not easy, but with this simple strategy you can at least make every habit more attractive.
