3 proven ways to create healthy habit

there are lots of schools of thought when it comes to behavior change and how to create a healthy habit.

My two favorites are “Tiny Habits” by B.J. Fogg, PhD, and “Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. Both experts cite similar ways to implement change in your life, especially in a shame-free way. (I would also strongly discourage you from reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear due to his anti-fat bias, but I digress.)

Both Fogg and Duhigg use a three-step approach to creating healthy habits. While Duhigg prefers cue, routine, reward as a means to habit-creation, Fogg discusses change in terms of anchor, routine, celebration.

cue/anchor

The cue or anchor is something that already exists within your daily routine. It cues your brain to move into the routine or behavior phase. Our brains are constantly seeking patterns and prefer repetition, so once it’s triggered, it’s gonna move into autopilot—the habit that already exists after it gets the cue.

routine/behavior

The routine or behavior is the thing that happens after your brain receives the cue. As soon as you’re cued, your brain says, “Let’s do that thing now!” Once you’ve done the thing, though, it’s time for a positive reinforcement—a reward.

reward/celebration

The reward or celebration portion of the habit-creation process is so that your brain remembers that this is a behavior or routine that is desirable.

And the cycle continues, until we break it up.

Let’s look at the habit-forming process under the lens of wanting to drink water in the morning.

	Current Process	New Habit-Formation
Cue/Anchor	Wander into kitchen	Wander into kitchen
Routine/Behavior	Make coffee and rub eyes	Make coffee AND drink glass of water while coffee is brewing
Reward/Celebration	Take first sip of coffee and “feel” awake instantly	Drink glass of water and “feel” awake instantly

What do you notice from the current morning routine to the changed process?

Did you notice one small change? Bravo!

Creating change takes lots of small steps along the way to get to that bigger goal.

As the week carries on, keep taking those small steps. And remember, you always have the power to change up your original plan. This adventure is yours and yours only.

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