How To Break Bad Habits - According To Science

Changing a bad habit is the cornerstone of self improvement, but most people find it incredibly difficult to do because they’ve been told to focus on the wrong things. In this video I'll break down the three parts of a habit according to science, show you how to break a bad habit and close with tips on keeping bad habits from coming back.

I recently read the power of habit by Charles Duhigg and I wanted to share a couple lessons I learned about habit formation, how to break bad habits, and how to keep them from coming back once and for all.

Every habit can be broken down into a three step process of cue, routine and reward. The cue is essentially a trigger that sends your brain into autopilot, this cue can be anything from a time of day to a location, to someone around you or maybe even a behavioral pattern. The second part of the habit loop is the “routine,”. And the last stage is the “reward,”. The reward stage is when your brain determines whether or not the routine is worthy of remember or not. If the routine has a strong cue and reward the routine becomes a habit.