Online Rehab

1 min read

Building new habits

A habit is made of a cue, a routine and a reward. You can replace the routine.

Every habit has three parts. The cue: you get home from work. The routine: you grab a beer. The reward: you feel relaxed. Your brain remembers that sequence and plays it automatically.

You can't always avoid the cue, but you can replace the routine. Getting home is still the cue, but now you shower, make tea or take a walk. The reward, relaxation, can stay the same.

It takes a while before a new habit becomes automatic. On average about two months. Until then it takes effort, and that's normal.

Make the new habit easy: put your sneakers out, keep tea by the door. Make the old one hard: nothing in the house, no cash in your pocket.