Atomic habits: Tiny changes, Remarkable Results - Chapter 3 Summary

THE FUNDAMENTALS : Why Tiny Changes Make a Big Difference
Chapter 3 : How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps

Edward Thorndike study concluded that, “behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated and those that produce unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated.”

WHY YOUR BRAIN BUILDS HABITS
A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. The process of habit formation begins with trial and error: try, fail, learn, try differently. With practice, the useless movements fade away and the useful actions get reinforced. That’s a habit forming.
Whenever you face a problem repeatedly, your brain begins to automate the process of solving it.
As behavioral scientist Jason Hreha writes, “Habits are, simply, reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment.”

As habits are created, the level of activity in the brain decreases. You learn to lock in on the cues that predict success and tune out everything else. There is no longer a need to analyze every angle of a situation.
Habits are mental shortcuts learned from experience.

Habit formation is incredibly useful because the conscious mind is the bottleneck of the brain. It can only pay attention to one problem at a time. As a result, your brain is always working to preserve your conscious attention for whatever task is most essential. Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks.

when you have your habits dialed in and the basics of life are handled and done, your mind is free to focus on new challenges and master the next set of problems.

THE SCIENCE OF HOW HABITS WORK
The process of building a habit can be divided into four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

1. The cue triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. It is a bit of information that predicts a reward. Your mind is continuously analyzing your internal and external environment for hints of where rewards are located.
2. Cravings are the motivational force behind every habit. Every craving is linked to a desire to change your internal state.
   • What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state it delivers. E.g. You do not crave smoking a cigarette, you crave the feeling of relief it provides.
3. The response is the actual habit you perform, which can take the form of a thought or an action. Whether a response occurs depends on:
   • how motivated you are and how much friction is associated with the behavior.
   • Your ability
4. Finally, the response delivers a reward. Rewards are the end goal of every habit.
   • The cue is about noticing the reward. The craving is about wanting the reward. The response is about obtaining the reward. We chase rewards because they serve two purposes: (1) they satisfy your craving and (2) they teach us.
   • Rewards close the feedback loop and complete the habit cycle.

Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start. Reduce the craving and you won’t experience enough motivation to act. Make the behavior difficult and you won’t be able to do it. And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again in the future. Without the first three steps, a behavior will not occur. Without all four, a behavior will not be repeated.

THE HABIT LOOP
In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits. This cycle is known as the habit loop.

We can split these four steps into two phases:

• the problem phase: the cue and the craving > when you realize that something needs to change
• the solution phase: the response and the reward > when you take action and achieve the change you desire.
  All behavior is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it.

Example:

• Problem phase
  1. Cue: You walk into a dark room.

            2. Craving: You want to be able to see.
  

• Solution phase
  3. Response: You flip the light switch.
  4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to see. Turning on the light switch becomes associated with being in a dark room.

THE FOUR LAWS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE
it provides a simple set of rules for creating good habits and breaking bad ones.

How to Create a Good Habit

1. The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious.
2. The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive.
3. The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy.
4. The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.

How to Break a Bad Habit

1. Inversion of the 1st law (Cue): Make it invisible.
2. Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving): Make it unattractive.
3. Inversion of the 3rd law (Response): Make it difficult.
4. Inversion of the 4th law (Reward): Make it unsatisfying.

Whenever you want to change your behavior, you can simply ask yourself:

1. How can I make it obvious?
2. How can I make it attractive?
3. How can I make it easy?
4. How can I make it satisfying?

Chapter Summary

• A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.
• The ultimate purpose of habits is to solve the problems of life with as little energy and effort as possible.
• Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.
• The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.