Habits Over Willpower



“Willpower isn’t just a skill, it’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs,” says Charles Duhigg, in his book, The Power of Habit, says "Willpower isn’t just a skill, it’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as it works harder, so there’s less power left over for other things.” 

In other words, it is easy to burn out or give up if If you rely solely on willpower. Willpower only really works when your motivation is super high and you are able to keep it at that high level all the time. But if you focus on forming habits, willpower doesn’t enter the equation

According to Duhigg, here’s how to turn anything into a habit: 
  • Find a cue or trigger. 
  • Take action. 
  • Receive a reward. 
The first rule of habit-changing is that you have to play by the rules. That is, there’s no escaping the three-step loop of cue, routine, and reward) because it’s hard-wired into our brains.

First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop… becomes more and more automatic. The cue and reward become intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges.

Here’s the part that most people get wrong: the action should be its own reward. Most people try to set up a system in which they have a cue (I finish my workday), they take an action (I lift weights), and they receive an unlinked reward (I allow myself to have an unhealthy snack when I get home). 

 If you reward yourself with a blueberry muffin every time you go running, your brain starts to think, “Okay, if I go running, I can eat this blueberry muffin.” You’re not learning to appreciate running for its own sake. You’re only learning to cope with running in order to get to that muffin. 

The more effective approach is to find the inherent rewards of running, like the “runner’s high” you feel immediately afterward. Focus on this as its own reward. If you must give yourself an external reward, choose something that furthers the activity of running such as a new pair of running shoes.



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