How Habits Work Duhigg Analysis

We all have habits and habits have a big impact on what we do in our lives each day. There are many good habits and there are many bad habits. Habits form from a psychological pattern called habit loop that control’s all of your habits. Most habits happen without us even knowing they are happening. In "How Habits Work" by Charles Duhigg he states that there are four ways you can change a habit. To change a habit, you have to identify the routine, experiment the habit with rewards, isolate the cue, and have a plan. By following these four simple steps you will be able to change your good or bad habits without much difficulties.
First, you have to identify the routine of your habit. The routine is the behavior of the habit itself. One of my bad habits is going on my phone to do one thing but instead, I find myself on social media application. Let's say that I have to do an essay and go on my phone to respond a message and spend an hour watching videos on YouTube. By figuring out your routine you can see every step taken to do the habit. You will be able to identify the behavior you want to change. For instance, I can see that the behavior I want to change will be to set my phone to the side while I do other activities. That way I know what my bad habit is and I could change the routine by
setting it to the side.
Secondly, you have to experiment with rewards.
Duhigg states that rewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings and that cravings are what drive our behaviors. By experimenting with rewards you get the chance to see if the outcome is better or not. For my bad habit, I would turn off my phone to make sure I won't go on it. On another day I will leave the phone elsewhere until I am finished with what I am doing. Every time after you experiment with different rewards or routines you will be able to see if stratifies what you are craving by doing that habit. By experimenting, you can find what you really are craving. The reward will help your brain process the habit
loop.
The last step you have to do is to isolate the cue. A psychologist from the University of Western Ontario has conducted an experiment to figure out the cue that triggers habits. She made a conclusion that habitual cues usually fall into one of five categories: location, time, emotional state, other people, and immediately preceding action. The cue will make the brain go into an automatic mode to let the behavior unfold. You can figure out the cue when your habit happens. Ask yourself questions on what happened within the five categories. It will be easier to see what triggered your habit and how to stop it from happening again. Having a plan is very helpful and knowing that the reward driving the behavior, knowing what cue is triggering it, and what routine is happening is set. Changing the routine to a better one makes it better for you to set up a plan. When a plan is in place it helps you to see the new cue, the routine, and the new reward. The plan can be set to a certain time throughout the day to help change your habit.
Finally, the basal ganglia are very important when dealing with good and bad habits. It controls the emotions, memories, and pattern recognition. Everyone has habits and some are good and bad. Habits usually happen when something is repeating itself throughout the day. If you’re having a problem with a certain habit, follow the four simple steps that can help change a habit or create a new one.