How To Build Habits
Written by: Kendra Wormald / Treatment / November 29, 2023 / 10 minutes read
It’s often assumed that successful people must have an exuberant amount of willpower, dedication or discipline however, this success can likely be attributed to formed habits. You may have heard the phrase “humans are creatures of habit”. This saying resonates through our patterns, whether health-supporting, such as exercising everyday for sixty minutes, or harmful behaviors such as smoking a cigarette or eating salty food when you feel stressed.
Defined as, “a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior”, habits are what allow us to function optimally with less effort, focus, and thought. Habits are often learned rather than innate, and take time and consistency to form. In psychology, a habit is, “an action that is triggered automatically in response to a contextual cue” (Pract, 2012). Think about things you do everyday, would you consider these habits? For example, you likely wash your hands (action) after going to the washroom (contextual cue) or you put your seatbelt on after sitting in a vehicle (Pract, 2012).
“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions.It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” – Tony Robbins
Research has begun to find links between brain activity and habit formation and execution, among primates (Dougherty, 2015). At the neural level, signals were observed within the striatum, a part of the brain that coordinates body movements. Consequently, Graybiel (2012) suggests that the brain is wired to seek optimality of cost and benefit which is applied when learning a habit. Research also suggests that specific qualities support habit development such as, the frequency and consistency of the desired behavior, the rewarding nature of the behavior, the environment (no threats or obstacles) (Kaushal and Rhodes, 2015; Fournier et al., 2017).
The Habit Loop
The brain has an extraordinary ability to change from experience. When it recognizes there’s a patterned connection between action and satisfaction, it files this information away in the basal ganglia. Dr Hafeez (2020) notes, “Any habit we develop is because our brain is designed to pick up on things that reward us and punish us”. The link between the cue, action and rewards are how habits are formed. The table below depicts how the Habit Loop works (Wilson, 2021).
“Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do).” – Stephen R. Covey
Learn more about how to use your breath effectively in our Breathing for Communication Masterclass.
Habits vs. Routines
Although often erroneously used synonymously, habits and routines are not the same thing. When a habit isn’t or can’t be performed, it makes us feel uncomfortable. Routines are a sequence of actions regularly followed that require thought and intentionality. Eventually, some routines can become habits, but not every routine can or will become a habit. The primary difference between routines and habits is how aware and intentional you are. Habits are automatic and routines are intentionally repetitive.
Habits are unconscious, routines are conscious (Van der Weiden et al., 2020)
The brain has an extraordinary ability to change from experience. When it recognizes there’s a patterned connection between action and satisfaction, it files this information away in the basal ganglia.
Forming Habits
Goal Planning: Without taking time to intentionally plan and set out short and long term goals, you won’t know exactly what you’re working towards, how to get there or when you’ve gotten there. Goals should be generated with a SMART framework in mind.
The goal “ I want to be the best and clearest presenter” is ambiguous, not measurable or specific, does not have a time frame and may not be realistic.
A more successful SMART goal would be: To have clarity and crispness when speaking, ensuring all words have boundaries and do not slide into each other in 8/10 professional conversations.
A table from eviCore healthcare demonstrates the SMART goal framework and what to avoid when making goals (eviCore healthcare, 2017).
Where Do You Even Start?
Plan out the steps you intend to take to reach your goal: If your goal pertains to reducing your rate of speech, consider determining your baseline words per minute, focus on the breath to regulate rate, copy the rate of a podcast excerpt, see a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Plan out when you will be applying these steps. Try to be consistent with the time and place you practice, this will reinforce the habit.
Acknowledge the challenge: When forming habits, you are truly rewiring your brain, writing a new blueprint to follow. It SHOULD be hard and feel unnatural. In a way, your brain is fighting against the changes, as it wants to do what’s easiest and follow the ‘path of least resistance’ ie. the least amount of energy spent. It also makes sense that you feel tired after working on forming a new habit, or that it’s harder to be successful when you’re fatigued.
Red flags to watch out for when forming habits:
Focusing on too many things at once
The goal isn’t SMART
You’re not committed or consistent
You neglect the value of small progress
How Long Will it Take?
On average, research suggests that it takes about 11 weeks for skills to start to become automatic. This doesn’t mean to say you won’t make progress within those weeks, it just means you need to put in more energy, attention, and effort in being successful. How long it takes to form a habit is dependent on several factors such as the targeted behavior, frequency of repetition and practice and appropriateness of goal.
Without deliberate, repetitive and intentional practice, your actions will not become habits.
As James Clear (2023) said, building habits is not an ‘all-or-nothing’ process. It’s expected that you won’t be successful ALL of the time. What is important is that you reflect on what caused the skills or habit breakdown and determine your next steps by asking yourself, ‘what went well’ and ‘ where can I grow.
To speak with a psychotherapist or one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
