The Psychology of Developing New Habits: 5 Tips and Strategies

Something becomes a habit when the action becomes automatic. Here’s how to apply psychological principles to develop new and healthy habits.

For many, developing healthy habits, such as cooking nutritious meals most nights, going to the gym before work, or reading before bed, seems like an intimidating goal.

Each time you try to start a new habit, you may find that you simply can’t keep it up for more than a day or 2. The mental labor that it takes to motivate yourself to engage in a healthy activity may feel overwhelming and unsustainable.

Forming new habits isn’t easy because you are accustomed to your old, often contradicting, ones. However, using psychological tricks can help you overcome the initial challenges of changing your ways to turn a goal into an automatic impulse. Here’s what psychology experts say are the best ways to get started.

What are habits?

Habits are actions we do without thinking, often because something in our environment reminds us to do them. Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Duhigg ;explains that habits follow a cycle: cue, routine, and reward. Here’s how it works:

First, something triggers the habit, like feeling stressed at work. Then, we follow our routine, such as grabbing a bag of potato chips to snack on. Afterward, we might notice that we feel less stressed and more satisfied.

Over time, you start to connect stress with potato chips. Whenever you feel stressed, you might crave chips or other salty snacks because your brain remembers the positive feeling you had before.

Before you know it, you’ve developed a habit of eating potato chips whenever work stresses you out. So, how can we change our habits?

How to develop new and healthy habits

Developing habits that benefit your long-term health and well-being can take time. Here’s how to get started.

Start small and build gradually

One important way to build sustainable habits is to start with a small goal. Even if you would like to work out for 3 hours per week in the long term, research has found that starting with an easy goal and then building gradually is what makes you most likely to achieve it and stick to it.

In other words, the first few steps should be ones that you know you can achieve. For example, if you’d like to exercise more regularly, this may mean starting by doing 10 jumping jacks or going for a 10-minute walk 3 days a week.

Make SMART goals

“SMART” is an acronym. A SMART goal is one that is:

• specific
• measurable
• achievable
• relevant
• time-bound

The idea of a SMART goal is to get as specific as possible about the goal you are trying to achieve. Research has found that goal-setting, when it is SMART, can help people change their behaviors.

If we continue with the example above of wanting to work out on a consistent basis, a SMART goal might look like this:

• I want to go to the gym for 3 hours each week.
• I want to achieve this goal in a 12-week time frame.
• Each week, I will add 10 minutes to my exercise time.

Be as consistent as possible

To make a goal turn into a habit, it’s also helpful to be as consistent as possible, such as going to the gym at the same time each day and leaving your workout clothes out the night before. The benefit of consistency is that it reinforces the habit loop (cue, routine, reward).

Therefore, when you wake up, you’re slowly creating a cue that signals it’s time to go to the gym. This leads to the reward of starting your morning feeling accomplished and energized. Over time, this will turn into a habit.

Monitor your progress

Another tool for establishing new habits is tracking your progress. No matter what your goal is, there is likely an app to help you track it. This might involve counting your steps, the number of pages you’ve read, the mileage you’ve walked, the hours you’ve slept, and so on.

Whatever habit you’re trying to form, tracking it can help hold you accountable and motivate you. When you know you’re improving, it can feel much easier to continue on.

Use your environment

Make sure that your environment assists you in achieving your goals instead of holding you back. Research suggests that to make a goal a habit, it can help to remove reminders of old habits from your environment and replace them with cues of the habit you are trying to form.

This might mean clearing out the pantry and throwing away the junk food, asking your spouse to join you in your routine changes, or creating an exercise space in your home. Whatever your goal, creating an environment that feels supportive is essential to developing new habits.

⁤ What is the importance of ⁢understanding the psychology behind habit formation?

Understanding the psychology behind habit ‌formation is‌ crucial because it helps us recognize the complex mental mechanisms that lead ⁢to habit⁤ creation and change. It reveals why certain behaviors become automatic⁣ and‍ provides insight into how we can effectively develop‍ or break habits. This understanding enhances our capacity to implement strategies that lead to‍ successful habit formation, ensuring ‍lasting change and personal ‌development.

How can setting clear intentions aid in developing new habits?

Setting clear intentions acts as a roadmap guiding you towards your habit goals. It‌ involves specifying what​ you want to achieve and why it’s important, which increases your motivation and focus. ⁣When your intentions are clear, you’re ‍more ⁢likely to stay committed and overcome obstacles,⁤ making the habit-forming process smoother and more successful.

Why is starting ‍small a recommended strategy for habit development?

Starting small ​is effective ​because it makes the habit-forming process less overwhelming. By breaking down a new⁤ habit ‌into manageable steps, you lower the barrier ‍to⁢ starting ‍and increase your likelihood of maintaining consistency.⁢ Small‌ victories boost your confidence and gradually build momentum towards larger goals, ultimately establishing the habit more robustly.

How do cues and triggers factor into habit formation?

Cues⁢ and triggers are the ‍foundation of habit loops, as they ⁤initiate the behavior​ you wish ⁢to‌ turn into a ⁣habit. By⁤ deliberately⁢ establishing specific cues—such as a time of day, location, or preceding activity—you create a predictable environment that encourages the new behavior. Consistently responding ‌to these cues​ with your desired action helps reinforce ⁢the habit over time.

Can accountability partners positively impact the process of developing new habits?

Yes, accountability partners can significantly enhance your habit-forming efforts. Having someone to share your goals with provides external motivation​ and support, which increases your commitment to the habit.⁢ They can offer encouragement, provide‍ constructive feedback, and help ‌keep⁤ you on track, especially during challenging times,⁣ facilitating greater success ⁤in developing new habits.

What role does reward play in‌ reinforcing new habits?

Rewards play a crucial role by⁢ creating positive reinforcement that strengthens the habit loop. When a new⁤ behavior results in a rewarding feeling or tangible benefit, it increases the likelihood of repeating the‍ behavior. By consistently pairing habits with meaningful⁢ rewards, you harness the brain’s ‍reward ⁤system to solidify the habit more effectively.

Why is patience crucial in the process of habit formation?

Patience is​ essential because⁣ developing new ​habits is rarely instantaneous and⁢ often⁤ involves setbacks and challenges. Expecting ‌immediate results can lead to frustration and discouragement. Recognizing that habit formation is a gradual process encourages persistence, allowing time for ‌the new behavior to become automatic and ‍fully integrated⁣ into‌ your⁤ routine.

Takeaway

Developing new habits can take time, so it’s important you are patient with yourself and practice self-compassion. You don’t need to be perfect all the time to develop healthy and sustainable habits, such as exercising, eating nutritious foods, or replacing screen time with more enriching activities.

The best thing you can do to establish a habit is to start small and then build up, get as specific as you can in goal-setting, track your progress, create an environment that supports your goals, and stay consistent, even when there are setbacks. Confidence in yourself is a major part of habit formation, so trust that you can do this!