There are now seven videos on the Pick Up Limes channel with the word habit in the title and we didn't just use this word
repeatedly by chance
I'm someone who really believes in the power of habit
And I know many of you feel the same way
One of my favorite quotes actually is by Aristotle when he said that we are what we repeatedly do
Excellence then is not an act, but a habit so today
That's what we're gonna delve into how to create new healthy habits, and how to break old ones
Cue routine reward this is the simple formula that was outlined in Charles Duhigg best-selling book the power of habit
Now let me break it down a little bit
The cue is the part that triggers the response so for example hearing your phone vibrate would be a cue the routine is the response part
Usually the thing we perform on autopilot in this case that would be checking our phone
And the reward is what gives you those feel good feelings in this case it might be
Distraction from work or seeing that someone commented or liked your most recent post cue routine reward pretty simple formula
So here's the thing if you want to establish an entirely new habit, you need to come up with a cue first
Otherwise you're not gonna know when to act and even when you do act it
Changes so much from day to day that the habits
Don't tend to stick so it's not enough to say I want to drink more water
You have to come up with a cue first which in this case could be
Putting a cup of water out on the desk in front of you where you're working that way every time you see it
It's a reminder to pick up that cup and start sipping
Establishing a cue is critical to creating new habits
Eventually the routine part is going to be performed on autopilot
But in the beginning you are gonna have to work for it a little bit
So here's a tip that might help remember that our brains are always trying to save energy
So if you're someone who wants to pick up the new habit of going for a run every morning
It can really help if the night before you set out your clothes and your shoes
Not only does it act as a cue when you see it
But it also saves you those two minutes in the morning if you're someone who also wants to decrease the amount of junk food that
You eat it can help then if you have other more wholesome snack choices
Readily on-hand like some pre-cut up fruit or some pre-made wholesome cookies
Decreasing the effort required to take action can really help that new habit stick
Before you even try setting up a new habit though, you need to know why you're doing it in other words
What is your why power?
I think a lot of the times people don't pick up new habits or change old ones because the reward just isn't satisfying enough so
Identify a realistic and worthy reward whether it's an endorphin rush after
Exercising or improved mental concentration after you've had a midday snack
Or a positive and happy feeling that you get after writing in your gratitude journal
Eventually you're gonna start to crave this reward as soon as you see the cue
And that's how you know the habits are starting to stick
So we've chatted now about creating new habits, but what about breaking the old routines that we could do without well
There's a well-developed strategy that might help
And it's really simple all you want to do is take the cue and the reward and keep those the same
But change the routine, so let's say for example
You're someone who has a little bit of a habit of reaching for candy or chocolate after lunch every single day
And you want to break that habit the cue in this case is that mid-afternoon hunger
and the reward might be both the sweet taste as well as
Kind of that midday energy boost you get from it so all you want to do is change the routine so instead of reaching for
Chocolate you might instead reach for some apple slices that you've dipped into nut butter. It's sweet
It's filling and it's rewarding, so you don't want to resist the craving you just want to redirect it
And sure it's not gonna be an easy substitute at first
but with repetition it will become a habit and a snack choice that you do start to crave
The last of Charles Duhigg points that I really want to mention in this video are what he calls Keystone habits
These are the habits that if adopted or changed kind of create a domino effect in other areas of our lives
For example for some people the habit of waking up early can have other positive effects on other habits
It can mean enjoying breakfast which might then mean that they're gonna have a lesser tendency to reach for unhealthy
convenient foods later in the day it might also give them the time to
Work on their most important tasks before noon which then increases their productivity and feeling of accomplishment
Other Keystone habits might be things like exercising or writing in a gratitude journal
You can see then how these Keystone habits go on to influence a wider sphere of habits it allows for small wins
That gives us more courage and motivation to pick up other healthy habits as well
Now the tips I've shared with you in this video
Just scratch the surface when it comes to all of the amazing tips that can be found in the book the power of habit
By Charles Duhigg. It's a book
I listened to three years ago, and I am still reaping the benefits of it today
So I highly recommend it as usual the amazing folks over at audible have gone ahead and partnered with us on this video
Which means that we can offer you the book or any other book of your choosing as well as a 30-day membership
free of charge if you visit the link in the description box below or visit audible.com/pickuplines
For now I just want to emphasize
Focus on changing only one habit at a time
And if you need it to have a bit more of an impact on your life
You can target those Keystone habits take out a pen and paper and write down what you think the cue
Routine and reward loop are for the given habit because if you can identify those. It's more likely that it's gonna stick now
Now I'm curious to know what is this habit that you're looking to add or to change?
Let me know by sharing in the comments below if you enjoyed this video it always shows a lot of love and support if you
Could give it a thumbs up and thanks a lot for watching
Pick Up Limes signing off. We'll see you in the next video