The New Year is a time that many people resolve to change their bad habits for good habits – eating less, exercising more etc. While many people start out with good intentions, but find that those bad habits take over again. A few years back I read Charles Duhigg’s The Power Of Habit which I found to be an excellent dissection of habits, habit formation and habit change. He has a 3 step process for changing habits. Step 1, diagnose the trigger and understand it’s nature. Step 2, learn what craving the habit is satisfying. Step 3, write out the new cue, routine, reward cycle. He’s published a handy flowchart.
Do you have a method for changing habits? What have you tried that works or doesn’t work?