It has taken me a while to start reading this book. I am now fascinated by it.
The habit is deconstructed in 3 steps:
– Clue, a trigger.
– the routine
– the reward.
This might seem abvious and too simple but it is also very powerful. When you understand it, you can modify and transform your habits in the way you think you should.
How we are manipulated
I love the story of Pepsodent. It shows how good advertising can trigger a clue, a routine and a reward and create zillion dollars businesses.
When you understand that, you never look at your shampoo in the same way.
How we can use this
That’s of course the most interesting part. Understanding how it works can help to build the right habits.
One good practice is to link an existing ritual to the new habit you want to create. I am currently experiencing it with the habit of exercising I try to implement. The trigger should be when I wake up and when I get my first early coffee. The routine is going out running or taking my bag to Virgin Active. And the reward, the pleasure I get from sweating while listening to podcasts.
What is a settled habit
The example I always have in mind is brushing my teeth. Impossible for me to go to bed before having brushed my teeth. Same thing for taking a shower in the morning, impossible to leave home without having taken a shower.
Habits I am trying to build
I am now journaling everyday for a while and I am trying to build a blogging habit since last month.
Now I am trying to build a workout routine beyond the yoga I do before the shower.
Other habits I want to create are:
– watching social media once a day
– inbox zero once a day
– share one Tarot card per day (and learn one card a day)
– Take two hours a day to read books for myself….
And you, what are your successful habits?
