My Story - Dr Prabath

By Dr. Prabath, Founder of Millionaire Health Habits & Owner of Unique Medical Cranbourne, Australia

Live Richer in Every Way

By Dr prabath

How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your Bad Habits

In this chapter, James Clear focuses on understanding the root causes of bad habits and how to address them effectively. He explains that bad habits often arise because they fulfil a specific need or craving, even if the behaviour itself is harmful. To change a bad habit, it’s essential to identify the underlying cause or trigger that drives it.

For years, I struggled with needing to have one or two glasses of red wine in the evening. My cue was coming home after a long, emotional day spent with my patients and needing to relax. I broke the habit by reading a few books on the harmful effects of alcohol to scare myself! I then got into a new routine of running on my indoor treadmill to relieve my anxiety.

As you can see, my cues are forever there, and on a terrible day, I revert to my old habits. I had to keep the same cue and introduce a new habit to get the desired outcome. I didn’t drink for the taste of the wine; I drank to get the desired reward of getting relaxed after a long day at work

Clear introduces the concept of the “habit loop,” which consists of a cue, craving, response, and reward. By analysing this loop, you can pinpoint what triggers your bad habit and what reward you seek. Once you understand this, you can work on altering the environment or your response to break the cycle.

He also emphasises the importance of making bad habits unattractive or difficult to perform, such as increasing friction or removing cues that prompt the behaviour. For example, if you want to stop checking your phone excessively, you might leave it in another room or turn off notifications.

I had to clear my cupboard of all liquor to make it impossible to have a drink. I removed all social media applications from my phone to avoid mindless scrolling and comparison

I removed my bedroom TV to avoid watching hours of Netflix

We can make new habits, which are hard at the beginning, more attractive by adding another habit. I hated running for a long time, but now I am ok with it as I put on my headphones and listen to my favourite dance music! So running gets me to listen to my favourite music, so I associate running with the anticipation of hearing my favourite music

You can make any difficult habit tolerable or mildly enjoyable by adding your favourite activity to the hard one

Examples

If you want to eat healthy and eat green vegetables instead of that yummy fried rice all the time, eat that healthy meal while watching your favourite TV series!

If you want to sleep on time instead of a late-night Netflix binge watching, have sex before bedtime. In this way, you and your wife will both be happy!

Ultimately, Chapter 10 teaches you to regain control and replace harmful behaviours with healthier ones by diagnosing the true causes of bad habits and strategically disrupting the habit loop.

So be a detective, analyse your habits, and change them!

Stay connected

He also emphasises the importance of making bad habits unattractive or difficult to perform, such as increasing friction or removing cues that prompt the behaviour. For example, if you want to stop checking your phone excessively, you might leave it in another room or turn off notifications.

I had to clear my cupboard of all liquor to make it impossible to have a drink. I removed all social media applications from my phone to avoid mindless scrolling and comparison
I removed my bedroom TV to avoid watching hours of Netflix

We can make new habits, which are hard at the beginning, more attractive by adding another habit. I hated running for a long time, but now I am ok with it as I put on my headphones and listen to my favourite dance music! So running gets me to listen to my favourite music, so I associate running with the anticipation of hearing my favourite music
You can make any difficult habit tolerable or mildly enjoyable by adding your favourite activity to the hard one

Examples

If you want to eat healthy and eat green vegetables instead of that yummy fried rice all the time, eat that healthy meal while watching your favourite TV series!
If you want to sleep on time instead of a late-night Netflix binge watching, have sex before bedtime. In this way, you and your wife will both be happy!

Ultimately, Chapter 10 teaches you to regain control and replace harmful behaviours with healthier ones by diagnosing the true causes of bad habits and strategically disrupting the habit loop.

So be a detective, analyse your habits, and change them!