Habits are automated series of actions. You need to start the habit, and you can complete all actions in it without even thinking.

Habit has three parts: trigger, routine, reward. The trigger is what makes you want to start the habit e.g., bored. The routine are the actions that you complete e.g., go to refrigerator and grab a snack. The reward is what you receive at the end e.g., a sugar rush.

Pepsodent become popular toothpaste because they add citrus and mint to the product. They make your mouth tingle a bit. If you don't feel the tingling, it triggers the brushing habit.

Neither citrus nor mint do anything good for your teeth, and the better smelling breath is short-lived.

Habits are hard to break. You have two options: fight the habit or change the routine. Suppressing a habit is usually hard, even impossible for long-term habits. Changing the routine or the reward is a lot easier.

1. Find the trigger. When you feel the craving or urge, write down 5 points: WHEN, WHO, WITH WHO ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU FEELING, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO. Continuing to do this will give you a description for your habit trigger.

2. Find the reward. Try replacing the routine with something else. If you frequently go to buy sugary snacks, try the following when the craving triggers:

   1. Walk around the block (exercise).
   2. Eat something healthy e.g. an apple or orange (energy).
   3. Talk with somebody (distraction).

   When you have completed the routine, write down three things that first come into mind. Set time for 15 minutes and then see if you still feel the craving and write this down.

3. Now that you know what triggers the habit and what you want from it, it should be easy to change the habit.

Sources

• Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg