Linda L. Pilcher

“Everything changes when you realize that the best version of yourself is not a future version, but a daily choice.”

Sarah Bricker

The opening quote encourages and reminds us to focus on daily progress and self-improvement. Building healthy habits is essential for achieving a balanced and fulfilling lifestyle. As we consider developing healthy habits and breaking unhealthy habits, let’s remember that habits are often carried out without our attention. Once they are formed, they become a part of our foundation. We want to focus on building healthy habits that support a balanced lifestyle. Today, we will look at the science of habits, identify healthy habits, and create a strong, healthy habit foundation.

Lifestyle is the theme for this year. Our lifestyle encompasses a wide range of activities, behaviors, choices, and habits in our daily lives. Our lifestyle includes work, leisure, diet, physical and social activities. It reflects personal choices, cultural influences, and socio-economic conditions, all contributing to a person’s overall well-being and life satisfaction.

Habits are essential in shaping our decisions and actions. Our lives are driven by habits. They act as silent guides. When we have a foundation of positive habits aligned with our goals, they help us manage our lives. Healthy habits and routines are essential for our success and overall well-being.

In seeking personal and professional growth, setting goals is just the beginning. Whether aiming to advance in your career, improve your health, or develop new skills, the bridge between setting goals and realizing them lies in cultivating effective habits. Habits serve as the foundational building blocks upon which goal achievement is constructed. Understanding how habits shape our daily lives and learning to harness their power is critical to unlocking our full potential.

Habits are the routines and behaviors we perform almost unconsciously, often daily. They are ingrained patterns of behavior that have been wired into our brains through repetition and reinforcement. From the moment we wake up in the morning to when we go to bed at night, our habits shape our lives. When building a new habit, identify a specific trigger or cue for your desired habit. It could be a time of day, a location, or an existing routine. I am very time driven, so at 8:00 pm. I get up and dance for 30 minutes. It has become so ingrained in my daily routine; it makes me happy, helps me to relax, and I swear it helps me to sleep better. After dancing, the rest of my night is winding down to quiet time, with no devices, lights, and softer sounds. I had to work on motivating myself to build this habit. So, it was a conscious decision and effort until it became a part of a routine.

Every habit’s core lies in a simple neurological loop: cue, routine, reward. The cue triggers the habit, the routine is the behavior itself, and the reward is the positive reinforcement that reinforces the habit loop. Understanding this loop is essential for both breaking negative habits and establishing positive ones.

“We are what we repeatedly do.” – Aristotle

The Science of Habit Formation

Habits are routines or rituals that are automatic or unconscious, so they work behind the scenes with little thought on our part. This is one reason they are hard to change; we are not aware of our habits. Our brains recognize a pattern, a connection between our actions and the outcomes.

The habit loop or cycle, a neurological model, explains habit formation and maintenance. It comprises three elements.

Cue: A cue triggers a habit. Cues are powerful responses to external stimuli in the environment.

Routine: The routine is the behavior or habit itself.

Reward: The reward makes you repeat actions because you desire particular outcomes. It is a positive outcome or the satisfaction you feel after completing the routine.

A cue could be the time of day, a smell, an emotional state, or your phone ringing. It is an external stimulus that triggers your response. The routine is the behavior, and the reward is a positive outcome or satisfaction you feel after completing the routine. To change and build healthy habits, we must take control and become aware of our current habits. The good news is we can rewire our brains to develop new habits or to break old habits.

Neuroplasticity is our brain’s ability to change and reorganize synaptic connections through growth and awareness. In developing a new habit, we teach or rewire our brains to follow a new routine. We can self-direct neuroplasticity by taking an active role and intentionally changing or rewiring our brains to create healthy habits.

Habit stacking is taking advantage of our automatic habits by attaching a new habit to the one you already consistently do. By tagging onto an established habit, that habit becomes the cue or trigger for the new habit. You may already use this technique but are just not aware of it. When I do one task, I follow an exact routine by setting off a round of other tasks. It is almost ritualistic, I don’t think about it. It is just the sequence that I follow. It makes my life easier; I do not have to stop and think or decide about what to do; it is an ingrained habit performed on autopilot.  

Consistency is the bedrock of habit formation and achieving your goals. Small, consistent actions performed daily have a collective effect that leads to significant progress. Practicing a skill, saving money, or building relationships, the key is consistently showing up. Making a habit helps you push past the days when your motivation is lacking.

Identifying Core Healthy Habits

Do you know what a healthy habit looks like? Many of you may have never thought about your habits. You may not have role models in your environment who display healthy habits. Look for some role models; they can be found in your environment, in a book, or in a podcast.

According to a YMCA brochure, there are five core healthy habits: physical, nutritional, stress management, sleep, and socialization.

Physical activity, nutrition, and hydration are essential for building a strong foundation. Healthy habits ensure you are getting enough physical movement in your day. My physical health habits are to walk a mile at daybreak, another mile at 2:00, spend one hour outside with my dog at 5:00, and dance at 8:00. My physical activities are strictly time-bound.

Your nutritional health is vital to your well-being. New habits could change how you eat and move from living to eating to a model of eating to live (healthy). Carefully balance your meals, portions, and snacks to make healthier choices. You could set a goal to add healthy oils, like olive oil. When I changed my eating habits, I was a junk food junkie. I studied what was healthy and why it was healthy and started developing habits of eating fruits and vegetables. I often had to force myself to eat a particular food because I had decided I did not like that food. It turns out you can acquire a taste. Avocados and beets were two foods I knew were good for me. So, I ate them until I liked them.

No one size fits all. We must find what works for us, but we must start somewhere. You cannot change your diet overnight; it takes time. Start with one small item. Also, reading labels helps to determine if the food is good for you. Reading labels is a habit now. Nothing goes into my mouth until I have read the label and know the calories, salt, sugar, carbs, etc.

Stress management is critical to your overall health, so set goals to establish healthy habits and tie into exercise, creative expression, and spending time outside. Each of your healthy core goals will affect the other areas. You might develop a habit of meditating for 15 minutes a day.

Sleep healthy goals include getting 7-9 hours per night, creating a consistent sleep routine, and focusing on sleep quality.

Develop habits that connect you to others, seek like-minded people who share your health goals, and build a social support system. If you socialize with people who only sit around, drink, and eat all the time, you will be engaging in the same activities. Reinforcing unhealthy habits.

Let’s add a few more core habits.

Mental and physical health is about your mindset and general outlook. We can set health goals to maintain a healthy attitude. Start with the idea that you can reframe your thoughts positively. Develop a habit or remind yourself to live in the present. Your other healthy habits, such as proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition, affect your mind and mood.

Emotional health ties into eating and stress. Exercise and stress reduction can help. So, think about your habits. For example, boredom, sadness, anxiety, or just being tired can trigger many people to emotional eating. Food makes you feel better, especially those sugar highs.

Self-care is a habit that is tied to eating, movement, sleeping, and our utilization of healthcare services. Your doctor is your health partner. Look at them as a part of your healthy habit support system. Talk to them about building healthier habits and ask for advice.

Building a Strong Foundation

Learn about what healthy habits look like. Become aware of your unhealthy habits and identify where you want to build new habits.

The 90-day rule is one popular method to build habits. It is called the 21/90 rule. The rule states that if you commit to a goal for 21 days. After three weeks, pursuing that goal should have become a habit, then continue the habit for another 90 days. Theoretically, this will make it a permanent lifestyle change. Sliding into old habits is very easy, so if you slip, remind yourself, NEW HABIT, until it becomes automatic.  

How to get started

Define and align your goals for the habits you want to change. Identify and prioritize your foundational eating, moving, and sleeping habits. Changing your habits and rewiring your brain does not happen overnight. Identify and start with one achievable habit and focus on the cue, trigger, and reward. Habit, stop drinking soda. The cue might be thirst, hearing a pop of someone opening a can, or seeing a can of soda in the refrigerator. The reward would be achieving the goal of a new habit. Drink water.

Your environment influences your habits and behaviors. Work on managing your environment to support your goals. If you are changing your eating habits, having candy and cookies around will trigger the need for sweets. Buy healthy foods and snacks, and you will likely develop healthier eating habits. Habit stacking is a good way to link your habits, stacking the habit into a habit you already do. You start with a habit you already have, identify the new habit, and link it to this habit. Think of it as a chain of events.

Conclusion

Continuous Improvement Incrementally

Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.”

James Clear, Atomic Habits

We can decide to build new habits and break old ones. It is not necessarily easy; it takes effort. It is easy to fall back into the old habit. You want to create healthy habits, not restrictions. It is not a diet but a new way of looking at food, preparation, and eating. A lifestyle change that moves you forward. A diet is short-term, and a new habit is long-term.

Start building a stronger foundation of healthy habits. This is an essential lifestyle change that will improve your health and overall well-being. I encourage you to start now; start with one habit, and don’t tackle many habits. You will stress yourself out. Take time to learn more about healthy food patterns and getting physically fit and track your progress. Seeing the improvements is motivational.

Resistance is a natural part of habit-building; procrastination, self-doubt, or external distractions will always be obstacles. Learning to be aware of and overcome these obstacles is crucial for staying on track toward our goals. Techniques such as visualization, accountability, and breaking tasks into smaller steps can reduce resistance and keep us moving forward.

Challenge yourself and become a role model for others to follow. Children mimic your actions more than your words. You can tell them to eat their vegetables, but they are watching what you eat. Tell them not to smoke, but they are watching you.

Some of our habits have a disproportionate impact on our lives and can serve as catalysts for positive change. These are known as keystone habits. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes about keystone habits, stating that small choices lead to a cascade of other actions. By focusing on changing one keystone habit, individuals can often create a ripple effect that leads to adopting other positive behaviors. Regular exercise can improve sleep quality and overall well-being.

Recommended Reading

Atomic Habits, by James Clear

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey

Citations

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