How I Make My Habits Stick as a Teenager

4 Laws of Habits

Are you struggling to make your habits stick? Do you feel like you’re constantly breaking your routine and never achieving your goals? I know how frustrating that can be. That’s why in this video, I will share with you an introduction to making your habits automatic and achieving your goals! I will break down the science of habit formation and share practical strategies that you can start implementing today to make your habits stick.

You have probably often had the problem of wanting to establish a new habit, but somehow it didn’t work out.

For example, you wanted to go running more, but at some point, you made more and more exceptions and excuses until you stopped altogether.

A habit is a behavior that has been repeated so often that it becomes automatic.

The habit can be divided into four steps: Trigger stimulus, craving, response, and reward.

This helps you to understand habits better and see how they work and how you can improve them.

The trigger stimulus causes your brain to initiate behavior where it is information that holds out the prospect of a reward. The trigger stimulus is the first indication that a reward may be imminent and therefore creates a natural desire.

Desire is the second of the four steps and forms the motivation behind every habit. Without this motivation for change, we would see no reason to act. For example, one craves not for smoking a cigarette but for the feeling of relief that the cigarette promises.

It is important to understand that every craving is related to the desire to change the inner state.

The third step is the reaction, which is the actual habit that one shows as an action or thought. The reaction depends on how motivated you are and how much effort the behavior takes. Their reaction also depends on your abilities, as a habit can only be formed if you are able to perform it.

Reward is the fourth and final step, these are the real goals of any habit. The trigger stimulus points to a possible reward, the craving then tells you that you want the reward, and through the response, you get the reward. Often we want rewards for two main purposes: they satisfy us, and we learn from them. The first purpose means it satisfies your craving for something, and the second purpose means we learn which actions to remember for the future and which not to.

These four steps sound simple, but in reality, they are not so simple. Once a behavior of these four steps is not done, the habit fails.

These four steps can be divided into the problem phase and the solution phase.

The trigger stimulus and desire are in the problem phase, where you realize that something needs to change in your life.

The reaction and the reward are in the solution phase, where you take action to achieve the desired change.

To better visualize this, I would like to give you a few examples that show this system in everyday life.

The first example is one that I am sure everyone has experienced, as nowadays almost everyone has a mobile phone:

1. Trigger stimulus: your phone vibrates because you got a new message.
2. Desire: You want to know the content of the message.
3. Reaction: You pick up the phone and read the message.
4. Reward: You satisfy your desire to read the message.

You have probably done the second example unconsciously even more often:

1. Trigger stimulus: you enter a dark room.
2. Desire: You want to see something.
3. Reaction: you switch on the light.
4. Reward: you satisfy your desire to see something.

Next, the four steps are summarized into the four laws of behavior change, which are as follows.

So that a good habit is built up

1. it must be obvious
2. it must be attractive
3. it must be simple
4. it must be satisfying.

In the same way, if you want to stop doing a bad habit, you can reverse these laws

1. it must be invisible
2. it must be unattractive.
3. it must be difficult
4. it must be unsatisfying.

Just ask yourself these questions if you want a good habit

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?

Habits ultimately serve to solve life’s problems with as little energy and effort as possible.

I got much of this information from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, as well as the last two quotes from him.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the trigger stimulus creates a craving that motivates a response, which in turn results in a reward that satisfies the craving and is ultimately associated with a trigger stimulus.

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