🔼: # Habits[^3] A habit is any inner or outer behavior we can do without thinking about it much — a kind of script that some of our [[💡 Parts|Parts]] enact. On one hand, habits allow us to think less about what we’re doing so that we can think about other things. The downside is that our habits sometimes have negative consequences, but because it’s a habit we’re not thinking about those consequences and are often not aware of them — [[🛡️ Addiction or Dependency|🛡️ addictions]] can form this way. Habits contrast with [[Practices 🕯️]] by the fact that a practice involves intentionality and decision-making — habits are not intentional, there is no conscious decision-making going on. %% Habits themselves will not lead to happiness so long as they're grounded in [[⭐ Values]] informed by [[💡 Burdens 🪨|Burdens]]. Habits that release our constraints around [[Qualities of Presence ☀️|Qualities of Presence]] and our [[⭐️ Self-Becoming]] are the ones that will lead to happiness. %% ###### The Habit Loop 1. Cue or trigger for a behavior. 2. Routine, the behavior itself. 3. Reward, the reason our brain actually reinforces and remembers to do the routine. The Habit Loop itself is neutral — it isn’t good or bad, but it is powerful and can be very useful. Our capacity for developing habits does not itself have the capacity to determine whether the habits we’re forming are all a good idea. ###### Habit Change Letting go of old habits and forming new ones takes awareness (of our current habits — their cues, routines, rewards, and their impacts), [[💡 Focus & Concentration|Concentration]], and [[💡 Willpower|Willpower]]. But we can’t rely on willpower alone to change a habit — powering though is unlikely to work. Instead of ignoring urges toward our habits, we need to change them. We only need to change the second factor of [[#The Habit Loop]], the behavior itself, using the same cue and the same reward. We need to give ourselves permission for this to take some time, to turn it into a [[Practices 🕯️]] which will take up some of our [[💡 Working Memory|Working Memory]], but once the habit is formed as [[💡 Neuroplasticity|Neuroplasticity]] does its thing we don't have to think about it at nearly as much. The key to forming a new habit is making it easy. This is also how sales and addictions work. Checking email and watching YouTube take up huge amounts of time because they’re almost effortless. It’s easy to start too big. When you’re starting a new habit, it should take less than two minutes or less. Our brains are very good at conserving energy and being efficient. This just helps us show up. If we want to do more, that’s fine. Stopping at the end of the two minutes is also okay. So we can add or remove friction to help us form and break habits. > [!FAQ] [[⭐ Questions]] > - If our current habits were a strategy, what would be their end-goal? > - What are the internal and external queues that prompt our habits? ###### See Also - [[🔑 Awareness can catalyze change]] - [[Practices 🕯️]] - [[💡 Process Mindset|Process Mindset]] - [[🕯️ Mindfulness]] - [[🕯️ Mindful Moments]] - [[Spontaneity]] - [[🛡️ Addiction or Dependency]] [^1]: [[Atomic Habits - An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones]] by [[James Clear]] [^2]: https://psyche.co/ideas/in-praise-of-habits-so-much-more-than-mindless-reflexes [^3]: [Big Think | Willpower likely won’t save you from your bad habits. Science explains why](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vSxomJb2KGE)