Habit Change 2.0

HABIT CHANGE 2.0

The Myth of Habit Change 1.0: It’s all about willpower - a little self regulation.

This traditional model grounded in willpower, what I call Habit Change 1.0, has failed fantastically. It has been highly successful in triggering epidemic levels of needless shame and self-blame! For the exceptions where it has worked - particularly when going for big changes fast - an even smaller minority enjoys lasting change. By definition, replying on willpower assumes we can win a fight with our own brain, a battle that may never subside!

The Willpower Trap

The willpower trap goes beyond the fallacy of people-at-large having this thing called willpower they can tap into if they really want to. Brewer brings our attention to four well established reasons for avoiding a willpower based strategy:

"FOUR PROBLEMS RELATED TO WILLPOWER

What you can’t have, you want more of. (Denial increases desire.)
What you resist persists. (Don’t think of a white bear.)
Failure → backsliding. (The abstinence violation effect. F*ck it.)
Willpower is not even part of habit change strategies (The [brain's] OFC focuses on how rewarding or unrewarding a behavior is.)” (Brewer, J., The Hunger Habit, 2024, p. 39)

Watchlist Worthy: Some new science even suggests willpower may be a genetic predisposition not shared by all. Yet other science has identified an are of the brain associated with will power that we can grow by activating it through tiny unpleasant efforts like cold plunges (as long as you don't start to enjoy them!)

Habit Change 2.0: Tap into the power of your brain instead of fighting it!

Habit Change 2.0 taps into the last few decades of modern science and over two millennia of ancient wisdom! We reached a tipping point in the last 10 years with the tools of western science giving us new insights into how our brain works and innovative researchers demonstrating the value of integrating ancient traditions - mindful awareness in particular.

Below is an introduction integrating a few basics from trusted experts, in particlar:

Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, PhD - Practicing psychiatrist, associate professor, researcher, neuroscientist, author; behavior, habit change, and addiction.

James Clear, Author - Global best selling author of Atomic Habits; specialist in habit change, continuous improvement, decision making.

B.J. Fogg, PhD - Researcher, author, founder of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab; Behavior design models and methods.

Each contributes to, or profiles, science backed insights with demonstrable results from real world application. Each contribute their own unique perspective. All

Layer 1 - The Foundational Science:

Our brain is an efficiency seeking, habit making machine. It loves to create habits so it can free up attention and energy to focus on other demands, threats, or opportunities.

The brain creates and prioritizes a habit through a few essential inputs: Cues/Triggers leading to Behaviors that have Rewards (Results) . It is counter-intuitive, but repeated behaviors leading to negative results (like those creating anxiety) can become so familiar they become a comfort zone which is rewarding! Brewer re-labels the artifact of Reward to Result to avoid confusion on this point when contemplating behaviors we want to break.

Cue/Trigger → Behavior → Reward (Result) —> Habit

Layer 2 - Rewiring the brain’s reward hierarchy through curiosity and awareness. Begin with Noting.

Note Cue/Trigger	Note Craving	Note Behavior	Note Reward / Result	Celebration Back Up
Examples: Emotion, Place, Other Routines	Examples: A state of mind, a thought. Motivation, desires, aversions. `	Examples: Doing or Not doing; Eat or don't eat, Exercise or avoid; take action or procrastinate.	Examples: Internal emotions, feelings, sensations; External - Impact on ability to do something; impact on others. Does the result serve your aspirations?	Note positive steps however small - ensure your brain gets the micro-dopamine hit it needs to recognize the step as a rewarding behavior.*

*Intentionally recognizing tiny steps through intentional celebration is essential to rewiring the brains reward hierarchy (BJ Fogg). The brain's OFC (orbitofrontal cortex) must register a reward so we do not want to leave it to chance - particuarly with those small initial steps that have yet to show a change in results.

Noting gives you distance from your cravings. The reward value of the craving automaticity starts to fade as your brain's OFC notes the non-rewarding aspects and starts pushing it down the reward hierarchy.

Combine noting with stacking small habits to ultimately make more progress faster: keep the focus on building traits insteads of temporary states subject to backsliding!

Layer 3: Layering in Doability & Repeatability by Stacking Small Steps

Our goal is to establish a new trait - not to muscle our way through until we reach that future day when 'everything will then be better' and we can relax. This requires we pick a behavior that is highly doable and repeatable without needing willpower!

Sometimes, awareness is all we need - like when I paid attention to flavors of black coffee when I needed to stop adding milk. In one sitting of noting, I discovered wonderful flavors in the black coffee; adding milk no longer appealed. That's all it took! Changing sleep and eating habits, however, took a bit more strategic thinking to identify viable new behavior steps to try out. This is why I see value in compementing Brewer's foundational approach with Tiny habit methods. Both incorporate and highlight the value of small steps and reward recalibration.

Small Step Example 1 (A starting point with Brewer's Habit Loop Mapping):

I will focus on noting: I will take a minute to note a behavior like eating a donut or staying up late to binge - the cues, triggers and results. Is there a better option I might consider in the future? No judgement, just noting: Trigger --> Behavior --> Result

Small Step Example 2 (A favorite tiny habit example from BJ Fogg):

I will commit to flossing just one tooth after brushing my teeth, then give myself a high-five for being one step closer to flossing all teeth. It is Doable (tiny), Repeatable (tied to an existing habit), Rewarding (I intentionally celebrate so my brain gets a dopamine hit).

Final Notes

The good news: we all have the capacity to change through small doable steps that do not require high states of willpower!

I invite you to explore our Habits Portal for downloadable Notes, Worksheets, and links to our expert resources.

Wishing you well on your journey,

Janice

Stay tuned for more on my favorite topic - how modern science and ancient traditions are coming together !