Using Atomic Power to Break the Spell
“Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.” James Clear, Atomic Habits
In last week's blog, we continued the journey of trying to understand why, when it comes to behavior change, it is often so difficult to travel “the longest yard” – the distance between our knowledge (head), our beliefs (heart) and our action (hands). We were reminded that behavior change is a complex process that involves principles of neuroscience, behavioral science, social science, and design science, and that the wisest approach to taming the Cookie Monster (or any behavior change) was to not try and do it alone.
To conclude our journey, we’re going to examine how using atomic power can help guide us successfully through the many “longest yards” of our life and “break the spell” of some of our automatic behavior while establishing new behavior patterns. The “atomic power” in this case are the small, reproducible action steps that are foundational to creating all behavior change and when repeated over time become habits.
In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear describes the 4 stages of a habit, which he calls cue, craving, response, and reward. A behavior starts with a cue which triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. When all 4 stages work together, they form a neurological feedback loop that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits.
He goes on to describe how we can transform these four stages into a practical framework that can be used to create good habits and eliminate bad ones, which he calls the Four Laws of Behavior Change. For creating a good habit, the process is to make the cue obvious, make the craving attractive, make the response easy, and make the reward satisfying. To break a habit, the opposite is true; make it invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying. When all these “levers” are in the right position, a behavior becomes an effortless habit.
So how might this process work to break the spell Cookie Monster seems to hold over me? Well, my cue is hunger after I come home from work, so not having cookies in the house (invisible) is a good place to start. Reminding myself that cookies in the evening regularly cause reflux might make them less attractive. Having easy access to healthier snacks that I like (carrots and hummus) will help as well. With no cookies in the house, I’d have to go buy them at the store (difficult). Brushing my teeth immediately after dinner will alter their taste (unsatisfying). If I’m bold, I could top it off with an agreement with my PeerRxMed partner to check in about my progress regularly, where any “confessions” would be both unattractive AND unsatisfying. Finally, having a vision for my physical health and appearance and creating a fun “Cookie Monster” mantra (“Cookie Monster is my friend, not food”) will provide additional rewards (satisfying) for choosing healthier behavior. Applied together, the “atomic levers” are ready to deploy.
What about you? How might applying these 4 laws help you break a bad habit or help catalyze the formation of good one? Why not pick one and go through the simple but powerful steps above to see where you might not be tapping into your atomic power, remembering to both grace yourself and laugh at yourself along the way. Soon enough you’ll be able to declare “that’s just what the new me does.” As for me, now that Cookie Monster and I are headed for a healthier relationship, it’s time to take on 3 more dietary nemeses, whom I fondly refer to as the “Tos Trio” – Doritos, Fritos, and Cheetos. Game on!