Habit Hero

Do you have a bad habit you would like to get rid of?

Well, I have some good news and some bad news for you.  

First, the bad news. You can never get rid of a habit.  Once you have a habit, whether it be a good or bad habit, it never really goes away.  Hence, once you have habit such as smoking, drinking, eating popcorn while watching movies, or working out every morning, it's with you.

The good news is, you can replace it with a different habit.  Indeed, you can replace that nightly popcorn eating with exercise, celery sticks, drawing, reading, or something else.  Is it always an easy thing to do? No.  Can you do it. Yes!

Let's take the new ritual you have of eating a bag of popcorn on Friday evening when you sit down to watch a movie.  You started doing this a few weeks ago as a reward for working hard all week long.  After dinner, you pop your favorite popcorn, grab a glass of wine, and put your feet up.

This ritual, if it becomes a craving, becomes a habit.  This usually happens gradually over time.  At first, you may not care whether you do this each week.  If something else comes up or you run out of popcorn, it may not be a big deal.  Then over a few months of doing this, you open the cupboard, no popcorn!  At first you think that's okay, I'll just have the wine and watch the movie.  No big deal. After a few minutes, you are craving the popcorn.  The wine, the movie, the Friday celebration is not the same without the popcorn.  You find yourself reaching for your car keys and heading to the closest store to buy some popcorn.

If that sounds familar, or you can relate to something similar, than you know how the "habit loop" is created.  This can be the same habit loop that you feel when you smoke, exercise, or stop to get donuts after church on Sunday.  

What's happening over time is the "cue" or "trigger" happens, then the "routine" takes place, and then the "reward."  Download a free  Habit Flow Chart

Let's stay with the popcorn senario.  The "cue" is Friday night. The "routine" is the movie, popcorn, wine.  The 'reward" is being satisfied of a well deserving celebration.  The "craving" will be different for everyone, but one can be pampered or a little bad after a long week.

After a year of Friday movie nights you decide it's time to give up the popcorn and wine because you are trying to take of a few pounds to attend a friends wedding.  

Come Friday you turn on the movie, grab a glass of water and settle in to your favorite chair.  A few minutes go by and you feel a real need for that popcorn and wine. What is going on.  A few more minutes go by and you can't get the thought of the wine and popcorn out of your mind.  You feel like something is missing.  It's a little unnerving. The next thing you know is that you are telling yourself that it's not such a big deal becuase this is your celebration night. If you enjoy a popcorn and a glass of wine tonight you can start fresh next week.  You will tell yourself you will do some extra time on the treadmill.

You know how the story goes, right?  The next week you tell yourself the same thing.  The following week too.  The next thing you know is your friends wedding is in two weeks and there is no way you are going to take off the weight you wanted. Ugh.

This is a real problem for so many people.  How can you break the cycle?  

One solution is to replace the "routine."  

What do I mean by that?  Remember, there is the "cue/trigger," the "routine" and the "reward."  

In this case, the cue/trigger is Friday night.  The reward is the satisfation of enjoying the movie night and feeling rewarded for your hard work throughout the week.  What you need to find a replacement for is the routine.  Maybe instead of celebrating with a movie, popcorn, and glass of wine, you head to the gym and celebrate your workweek by watching a movie while walking on the treadmill or ellyptical. Drink some cold refreshing water while you sweat. This will keep you hydrated, full, and will help satisfiy your body's cravings for the wine and popcorn. If you do this for a few weeks you will not only break the habit, but you will have probably aided in losing some of that weight for the wedding!!