Changing habits

To change a habit once it is forged is not easy. Charles Duhigg (2012) nevertheless presents an option to attempt this. His approach also consists of four steps. Step one, according to Duhigg, is to identify the routine: “it’s the behavior you want to change”. Step two is to experiment with rewards: “By experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what you are ACTUALLY craving, which is essential in redesigning the habit.” Step three is to isolate the cue: “identify categories of behaviors ahead of time to scrutinize in order to see patterns.” Five possible categories need to be taken into account: location, time, emotional state, other people, and immediately preceding action. Duhigg’s fourth step is to have a plan: “you can change to a better routine by planning for the cue and choosing a behavior that delivers the reward you are craving.” In other words, Duhigg advises to interfere in Eyal’s step two (action) but not in steps one (cues) and three (rewards). In his view bad behavior thus can be replaced with good behavior. Creating a new habit takes a lot of time and perseverance. During this time it helps to frame one’s determination in terms of “I don’t” (consume junk food or drinks) rather than “I can’t” (consume junk food or drinks). The first frame shows one’s power over a situation and declares what kind of person one is. The second frame hands over power to an unnamed outside agent. Adam Alter (2017) agrees with Duhigg’s proposition but adds: “Though [Duhigg’s] Golden Rule is a useful guide, different addictions demand different routine overrides. ... Each underlying motive implies a different solution. ... Even if the solution doesn’t come easy, the first step is understanding why the addiction was rewarding in the first place, and which psychological needs it was frustrating in the process.” Cult expert Steven Hassan (2013) describes a similar process for changing negative thoughts and associations: identifying the negative thought or association and writing it down, drafting a thought or association that is to replace the negative thought, identifying the triggers that evoke the negative thought or association, and then visualizing the triggers happening and actively replacing the evoked negative thought or association by the new thought or association.