The Guide to Success: How the Power of Habits Transforms Your Life
- Stella Teixeira
- Mar 19
- 6 min read
Samuel Johnson once said “The chains of habits are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Habits define who we are, acting as building blocks on the path to success. Just like athletes who practice every day to conquer their biggest dream or a simple routine of an entrepreneur that leads them to achieving their goals, every single person should understand that success is not solely found through talent or luck, but from determination and repeat of small actions that lead to big changes. People should understand that their own habits can either hold them back or catapult them toward greatness. With consistent efforts , habits become a strong part of who we are, eventually becoming the foundation of what we achieve.
The science behind habits.
The idea of building new habits at the start of a new year is very common in people lives, but about 44% of Americans set their goals and don't even come close to achieving them due a lack of self dedication and failure to construct essential habits. Scientists have determined that this is caused by a deficiency in “self-directed neuroplasticity”. According to Dr Jeffrey Schwartz, the key developer of this concept,neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to adapt and change through your life. Self-directed Neuroplasticity is when you go through the process of rewiring your brain to build new habits through repetition and reflection.This means that by continuous repeating small actions without fail, the brain can adapt for this behavior to feel natural.where it transforms from something hard to a habit. Just as in when scientists say that it takes +21 days to build a habit, people should repeat the same action for this period of time while reflecting on how their body reacts to it, making it a conscious and explicit decision to build a strong habit. The longer you do it, the harder it is to break it, and the more benefits come to fuel your brain with the satisfaction of improvement or even achievement.
How are habits formed?
Habits are defined as an unconscious rituals or behavior thatbecome so automatic that it can be hard to break. These can be visible habits, such as biting your nails when nervous, or eating unhealthy snacks right before bed, or unconscious habits like moving your leg while sitting down, or picking on some object when you are nervous.
These “weird” actions that become strong parts of our everyday lives come from one place: the brain. Your brain is always looking for things that can deliver a chemical hit of dopamine, which is the hormone of pleasure, that makes the brain, and thus you, happy. When the brain makes a connection between an action and satisfaction, it takes this import and keeps it in a part of the brain called “bal ganglia”, which is the region where no continuous decisions are made. This is the main reason why habits can be really hard to break because they are coming from a part of the brain that is out of our continuous control, which means you are not aware that you’re doing these things.
In early human history, this mechanism was essential for survival, helping people seek food, shelter, and security while avoiding discomfort. However, in modern times, the need for constant dopamine can be harmful , leading to dependence on short term pleasures. Just because something feels good at the moment, it doesn’t mean it will benefit you in the future, which can impact long term happiness, health, mental illnesses, and relationships.
To counteract this, we need to reprogram our brains to understand that just because something isn't pleasurable right now, it doesn't mean it is something bad, and it can build long term happiness. Examples of this are studying for 2 hours every day, reading a book, or eating healthy every day. These are habits that can build long term happiness, but are consequently harder to get.
The habit loops: How to break and build positive habits
Psychologists from Massachusetts created the concept of the “cue-routine-reward” loop that is the foundation to the system of habits.
This is how it works:
Everything starts with a cue, which is some kind of stimulus, something triggering. This can be an emotion, a location, a person, etc.
Then comes the craving. The trigger makes you desire something that feels rewarding, which motivates you to do so.
The response is you doing something to get that rewarding outcome.
The reward occurs when your brain gets that sense of dopamine that satisfies that initial craving after the trigger. This is most commonly a relief that makes the trigger even stronger, making the craving be even stronger next time you experience the trigger.
But, this cycle can go one of two ways. One good and another bad.
In the bad way, the way you deal with the craving caused by the trigger is NOT a good habit. For example, you just put a lot of work into a project, and because you are feeling tired, you feel like you deserve to scroll on TikTok for some time. This gives your brain dopamine hits that makes your brain think that everytime you feel tired from working on something, you can go on an infinite loop on TikTok, which becomes a bad addictive craving related to the cue that will keep you on the bad habit loop.
But the habit loop can also be beneficial when faced the right way, helping us build strong and GOOD habits. You just worked hard on a project and you feel tired from it. So, you go for a walk and take in some sun, relieving you from that pressuring and tired feeling and environment. By repeating this over and over when you feel tired, this will eventually make your brain associate that taking a walk is something positive, and that initial triggering will trigger you to go for a walk instead of going on TikTok, building a beneficial habit while keeping your brain happy!
The “WHY” method
The best way to overcome bad habits is getting to the root of them. Everytime you notice a bad habit you should ask yourself WHY this is happening. Write it down and reflect on how bad these habits can make you feel until you understand why you’re doing them. Then, try to substitute that habit based on how you feel about them. Do this by keeping track of progress. Everytime you substitute a bad habit for a good one, write down how the good habit makes you feel better than the old one. This shows your brain the progress and the reward you are receiving from working on that habit. Catherine Roscoe Barr claims that “When you see the data that you’ve done what you said you would do, you develop a belief in yourself. You can use the mind to change your physical brain and hardwire that belief in.” Overtime, doing the good things for yourself will have results both mentally and physically, and by recording these results that sense of dopamine starts coming from your achievements, breaking the bad habits.
Although the “why” is an important part to break and build new habits, there are many other ways that have been proven to help with habits. Here are some of them:
Positive affirmations make your brain thrive with the desire of success.
Aim small then build your way up.
Add slowly to the existing routine, slowly becoming better.
Just because you messed up one day, you shouldn't just keep messing up for the rest of the day. It is like spilling a little bit of water and then throwing the rest on your head just because you spilled some on your shirt.
Visualize what you want. Have a clear vision of your goals.
Give yourself breaks and don't stop enjoying the things you love.
5 quick steps to creating a habit
Catherine Roscoe Barr has created a 5 step simple method to creating habits.
Discover: You should have a clear reasoning of why you are doing the habit and why you are pursuing this goal.
Diagnose: Make adjustments to your surroundings that might help you stay on track, make sure to remove any blocks that can stop you from pursuing your goal.
Prescribe: Create a personal plan with things you enjoy doing. For example, if you hate running but want to exercise more, try going to the gym instead.
Practice: Take baby steps toward your action. You don't need to be perfect all the time. Be flexible to changes and always get back on track after messing up.
Pause: Reflect and acknowledge your results, building a positive link between the new habits and the brain.
Conclusion
Success, from small goals achieved to big developments in life, habits are the most essential part. As people like Dr Jeffrey Schwartz and Catherine Roscoe say, in neuroscience the concept of the Habit loops shows how a simple habit can deeply impact our lives by being a tight knot stopping us from achieving what we want. Habits are not something simple to deal with, and it is very necessary that people have a conversation with themselves to reflect on how bad habits are impacting their lives negatively. By understanding how the human brain everyday is becoming more and more dependent on dopamine hits and short term happiness, we should be warned that if each one of us doesn't make a change, we can be forever dependent on our self destructive behaviors. However, by cultivating determination and applying the right methods, we can break this infinite loop and have a better style and way of living, uncovering the power of habits to achieve anything desired.
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