The Science of Habit Formation

Introduction:

Habits can make you a winner or a loser. Identifying and managing your habits is a lifelong task. I have tried to explain this in an interactive way with day-to-day life problems. It will be a combination of conversations and narrative explanations. Let's deep dive into habits.

What is a Habit?

It is a fine Monday morning, and the entire office is in a hurry. With more people in an agitated state, the whole office looks like a country preparing to wage war against another.

The cabins in the office are rowed, and the corner cabin lies near the window. It seems it is the most peaceful place in the entire office. There, we can check on two friends, Arjun and Chaitanya, who sit next to each other. Both are from the same team, and they both are the heroes of our series. Let's hear what they talk about.

Arjun: Hey Buddy, I missed my cab again today. That guy didn’t wait a few more minutes and canceled.

Chaitanya (with a smile): Dude, it's been three times this month. Right? What happened?

Arjun: I went to a movie last night. I couldn't wake up in the morning. My bad...

Chaitanya: Then it's your fault, bro. You should have planned properly.

Arjun: Come on. Not another lecture.

(They just concentrate on their work. Five minutes later...)

Arjun: I wanted to ask you this for a long time. How do you manage to come on time daily? Don't you enjoy? Do you really have a life outside of the office?

Chaitanya: Hahaha... Don't pull my leg. I do have my weekend plans. But whether it's planned or unplanned, I have a habit of waking up early no matter what. Long-term habits, bro.

Arjun: You must be lucky to naturally wake up early every morning. I wish I had that kind of routine!

Chaitanya: It's not luck; it's a habit. Habits are formed. You too have habits. From what I noticed, you have a habit of not following a procedure.

Arjun: Here you come. A leg for a leg? I still don't get these habits. Habits are things that just happen. Right?

Chaitanya: No bro. Habits are things you make happen in the long run.

Arjun: Again, one of your confusing topics. My understanding is, habits are something that is from childhood. Isn’t it?

Chaitanya: Yes... For most people, it's from childhood, but that doesn’t mean it can't be changed. It can be changed for our greater good.

Arjun: You seem to know more about it. Could you explain more?

Chaitanya: Of course... All you have to do is ask.

Arjun: Ok, Ok, Ok. Excuse me, Sir. What is a Habit?

Chaitanya: You ever heard about the term automation? It's doing something without much manual intervention. The machines are automated so the cars are produced without much manual work. We just need to monitor and supervise. If something goes wrong, we intervene and fix it.

Arjun: Yes. But how does it relate to habits?

Chaitnaya: Wait. Let me explain. Your body and mind are like a factory. Habits are the automations you feed to that factory. If you feed the right automations (habits), your factory works in a productive way. If you feed wrong automations, it goes wild.

Arjun: So you mean it can also destroy the factory?

Chaitanya: Not directly. But if a car factory is automated to produce a car in a month and remains idle for all day, won't it be a loss to the factory and the boss? Remember, the machines should be used often; else, their efficiency will decrease. The same goes for the body and mind as well.

Arjun: Yes. You are correct. Now I'm getting it. But still, you haven’t given a direct definition of habit. Enough of these examples.

Chaitanya: Okay. Let me be straight. Habits are some activities you feed your mind and body daily. After some time, it becomes part of your subconscious mind. Then your mind and body pick it up and do it without your conscious knowledge.

Arjun: Okay. (And thinking)

Chaitanya: Give it a thought. How did you learn to ride a bicycle?

Arjun: It was a very long time ago. I started as a noob like everyone. My father taught me.

Chaintanya: Initially, you might have had difficulties in riding it. Once you got a hold of it, it would have been easier for you to ride. Again, you might have found it difficult to ride in traffic, with many people on the road. Right?

Arjun: Yes... I remember the time I fell down and apologized to the fellow travelers.

Chaitanya: If you ride it now, will it be that much difficult now?

Arjun: Ha. I could do it without a sweat now.

Chaitanya: How and what changed now?

Arjun: I got used to it. What else would be the reason?

Chaitanya: Actually, the more you train to ride, the more you feed the subconscious mind with the patterns. Once it recognizes the patterns, without you consciously making decisions, it makes decisions for you. Now try to remember how many times you consciously made decisions while crossing the signals.

Arjun: Mmm. Pretty much every day.

Chaintanya: No... You are making decisions. But not consciously. Once you get used to something, even if your mind is occupied with something else, your subconscious mind will guide your body. Like driving on the same road you take daily to go home. Your mind knows where the speed breakers and traffic signals are, and it will do things according to the printed pattern in your subconscious mind.

Arjun: Mmm. Yes, that's true.

Chaitanya: That's how a habit forms. In other words, habits make your life easier. Now you know how long it takes to form a habit and how hard it is. Right?

Arjun: I am not sure whether you explained it well or if I am a quick learner. 😊

Chaitanya: It seems it became your habit to pull my leg often.

(With a smile, both continued their work.)

Now we learned something from their conversation. What is a habit? It's something we form by doing regularly. Whether it is good or bad, whether we do it knowingly or unknowingly, once it becomes a habit, it impacts our daily lives. In short, it is a tool you use to make your life happy or miserable. But who wants a miserable life, and how do we choose the habits and monitor the existing ones we have? Maybe in the next chapters, Chaitanya may give the details. Let's wait for the time being.