GOOD MORNINGS EXERCISE EIGHT
A three step exercise to create a habit loop.
A morning routine is a way to build habits. Broken down, your routine is a series of habits that you are forming in order to have the best start to your day possible. When we look at each part of the routine the best way to build it up is to look at the formula for introducing a habit. A habit loop is a term coined by B.F Skinner in his book ‘The Behaviour of Organisms’. In this he describes it as ‘stimulus, response, reward’. This has been further popularised by Charles Duhigg who wrote the book ‘The Power of Habit’.
Put Simply, Charles revised the stages to:
Put Simply, Charles revised the stages to:
1. CUE
2. ROUTINE
3. REWARD
To create a habit loop, you need to understand these three stages, and how you implement them.
1. CUE
Think of the most mundane habit we all partake in. Brushing your teeth. You pick up the toothbrush. That simple cue of picking up a toothbrush, kicks off the routine whereby you add toothpaste, brush, rinse, mouthwash, (and if you’re good enough) floss. This trigger of picking up your toothpaste, sets in motion actual behaviour that forms the habit.
2. ROUTINE
Sticking to the same analogy, the actual behaviour that comes after the cue is the routine. The adding toothpaste, brushing your teeth – the whole habit is the routine.
3. REWARD
The reward is the feeling of satisfaction as soon as you finish part of the routine. The freshness in your mouth post brush, the knowledge that completing something feels good and you should do it again. This extends past physical changes from a routine, through to the great feeling you get when you’ve spent time with someone to an actual reward from completing something. The reward at the end of the habit loop is what keeps you coming back for more!
