Consequently, your brain must begin forming habits to stay organized and focused during your daily life without you even realizing it. However, before you can form a habit, you need a cue or trigger, a reward, and lastly a routine. Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit, calls this a “habit loop” (Castillo, 2014). So whether it is intentional or not, your brain forms almost all of your habits in three simple steps. Initially, before you can even begin to form a habit, you must encounter the behavior naturally and engage in it for the first time (Pastorino, Doyle-Portillo, 2010). Once this is complete, your brain needs a cue; which begins when you enter a particular location in which the action is typically performed, encounter a similar situation or object, or an individual related to your habit is present (Wood, Neal, 2007). For example, if you bite your nails one day while sitting in class the chances of you performing this action while sitting in class the next time, or even studying the material, is higher as a result of this association. Often times it is difficult to tell which aspects of an environment
Consequently, your brain must begin forming habits to stay organized and focused during your daily life without you even realizing it. However, before you can form a habit, you need a cue or trigger, a reward, and lastly a routine. Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit, calls this a “habit loop” (Castillo, 2014). So whether it is intentional or not, your brain forms almost all of your habits in three simple steps. Initially, before you can even begin to form a habit, you must encounter the behavior naturally and engage in it for the first time (Pastorino, Doyle-Portillo, 2010). Once this is complete, your brain needs a cue; which begins when you enter a particular location in which the action is typically performed, encounter a similar situation or object, or an individual related to your habit is present (Wood, Neal, 2007). For example, if you bite your nails one day while sitting in class the chances of you performing this action while sitting in class the next time, or even studying the material, is higher as a result of this association. Often times it is difficult to tell which aspects of an environment