Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Changing Habits

This week I read the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. The book was very interesting. He didn't bring up anything new per se but he did talk about human nature in terms of habits. For example, ever wonder why you did something without realizing it? It is because of habit.

Habits have cues, actions, and rewards. It is the action part of the habit circuit that can be changed. The cue and the reward are essentially all the same. Let's take a sugar craving. The cue is the craving, the action is eating sugar, the reward is the feeling afterward. This concept of changing the action in the habit circuit is phenomenal and every doctor should start applying this to patients.

Living healthy depends on changing the action phase of the habit circuit. Let's take a look at the average American. One gets home after a long day at work. Relaxation and eating is all that is left on the mind after a long day at work. One can either grab fast food, veg out, and sit in front of the TV all night or live for tomorrow. Vegging out in front of the TV is not living for tomorrow, it is existing until tomorrow. To change this habit one must first alter the action phase.

The cue is getting off work and wanting to eat and relax. The action is eating and relaxing, with the reward being relaxed at the end of the night. To change the habit, the action phase must be altered. Instead of classic American relaxing, how about this. At around 4pm eat a nice piece of organic chicken breast with some almonds and fruit. At 5pm, when work is done and it is time to relax, head straight to the gym to a nice workout session with the trainer. The action of needing to relax was just altered. After a solid 45 min workout, the feeling of relaxation and accomplishment kick in. The post workout shake quenches a little hunger, as you know when you get home a nice salad, cooked salmon, and sweet potatoes are prepared, as you planned ahead for the evening. Now relaxing is healthy. You changed the action phase. Instead of fast food and vegging in front of the TV you added healthy food and a workout. All it took was some planning. The cue and the reward are the same.

Changing a lifestyle can be difficult. The concept of habit changing, specifically, changing the action phase, is a perfect way to help facilitate this change. The cues and rewards can essentially be the same, but the action is dependent on you. Change the action and change your life. In time the cues and the rewards will change as well.

Paraphrased from Dean Ornish: People don't think of lifestyle change as something they see today like a drug or pill. They see it as something they do now to get a couple extra years at the end of their life. That simply isn't true. Healthy lifestyle changes genes. Once people start living healthier they start feeling better and the positive loop has begun. Increasing lifespan isn't the goal. Joy is the goal. Joy is what will sustain healthy lifestyle change. Joy.

I will add love as well. The more love in one's life the more joy.

Dr. K