How Small Habits Produce Big Changes

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post explaining how I came to believe I’m capable of change. For me, it started with practicing minimalism. I didn’t make a big, sweeping change all at once, but took many tiny steps toward my goal over time. Since then, I’ve been working on developing more good habits, and I’ve done some research on how to make them stick. The more I’ve learned about the science of habits, the more I’ve become fascinated by the way our brains work. We can apply what we know about habit formation to improve our lives in many ways. Here are seven key things I learned about habits:

1. Habits help the brain conserve energy.

When I’m performing a task for the first time, I have to think about it. I’m deliberately making choices and figuring out the best course of action. Suppose I’m cooking my first-ever pot roast. I’m going to be focused on the task because I need to decide what seasonings to use, what vegetables to add, and how long to cook it. After I’ve made pot roast a hundred times, the process requires very little thought. I can easily throw everything in the pot while chatting with my husband or helping my son with his homework.

The brain wants to turn our actions into habits so it can conserve energy. When an action is repeated, the brain can convert conscious decisions into automatic behaviors, forming habits that don’t require us to think intentionally. The more habits we have, the less the brain has to work to make decisions. Jeremy Dean, author of Making Habits, Breaking Habits, puts it this way, “The mere act of making decisions depletes our mental energy. Whatever can be done automatically frees up our processing power for other thoughts.”

Take driving for example. A person who is learning to drive must think deliberately about every action – buckling his seatbelt, adjusting the rearview mirror, shifting into drive, moving his foot from the brake to the gas, etc. Someone who has been driving for years will do all those things automatically without giving the routine any conscious thought. Have you ever been driving and suddenly realized you don’t remember traveling the last mile or so? The part of your brain that stores habits took over for a while, giving the reasoning and memory parts of your brain the opportunity to think about something else.

2. Habits are the structure upon which our lives are built.

According to researchers, at least 40% of a person’s daily actions are done out of habit. “Habits, as much as memory and reasoning, are at the root of how we behave,” says Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit. In other words, we can be in a situation where we don’t consciously remember what to do, and we aren’t deciding what to do, we are simply doing what the brain tells us to do based on what we’ve done in the past.

Interesting! So how does this knowledge help us? I think it reveals that we aren’t as aware of our behavior as we’d like to believe. Many people (myself included) want to practice living more intentionally or “mindfully.” How can we be mindful of our actions when we aren’t even consciously aware of what we’re doing half the time? We must examine our habits and re-train ourselves to automatically perform the habits we want, rather than the habits we don’t want. “The process of behavior change always starts with awareness,” says James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. Let’s look at this from two points of view: breaking bad habits and establishing good habits.

3. Habits can’t be erased, but they can be changed.

First, we’ll consider how to break an undesirable habit. We need to understand what Charles Duhigg calls “the habit loop.” A habit is made up of a cue, a routine, and a reward. A cue triggers the brain to act automatically; a routine is a behavior habitually performed; and a reward is the payoff that conditions the brain to act the same way again in the future. The whole process is driven by the brain’s anticipation of a reward, otherwise known as a craving. 

The brain won’t eliminate a habit loop it has learned, so bad habits must be replaced with good ones. Duhigg says we can deliberately fight a habit by changing the routine. For example, those who want to quit smoking may opt to chew gum when they have the urge to smoke. Those who want to watch less TV might try reading when they want to be entertained. A new habit can take over an old pathway in the brain.

James Clear points out how a bad habit can also be thwarted by changing the cue. This is accomplished by altering the situation or environment. In Atomic Habits, Clear gives a fascinating example of how the environment impacts a person’s habits. During the Vietnam War, many American soldiers became addicted to heroin while serving in Vietnam. Heroin is one of the most addictive substances known to man. Surprisingly, most of the soldiers were able to break their addiction by coming home to the United States. Without the environment of the war and its geographic location, the soldiers weren’t prompted to use heroin. Conversely, many heroin addicts here in the U.S. quit using heroin in rehab, then relapse when they return home. The old environment cues the old routine. If the undesirable habit is going to be broken, part of the habit loop has to be changed.   

4. Our intentions don’t necessarily shape our habits.

Now let’s consider how to create good habits. It seems like we would start with good intentions, right? But remember, we set intentions in the conscious mind, and habits develop in the subconscious mind. “Although people intend to change, when habits are strong, actual behavior change is relatively low,” says Jeremy Dean. This explains why many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions within a few weeks (or even days). One might set an intention such as, “I’m going to exercise and get in better shape,” but after a few visits to the gym after work, reverts to the old habit of going straight home for dinner instead.    

The good news is there are effective strategies to help us form new and better habits. The experts seem to agree that people who make a plan, practice simple actions, and repeat those actions frequently are the most successful at changing habits. Setting a vague intention isn’t as effective as writing down a specific plan: “I’m going to spend 10 minutes at the gym every day after work.” (Note: This isn’t a goal; it’s a plan. Setting a goal such as “I’m going to lose 20 pounds” isn’t specific enough for habit formation either.)

Doing the minimum is a great place to start. (Only 10 minutes at the gym.) Repetitive action is the best way to develop a habit. (Going every day.) Small wins are essential to maintain motivation and spur us on to more significant change. Charles Duhigg says, “Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.”

Another beneficial habit-forming tool is “habit stacking.” We can stack a new habit onto an old habit. For example, if I already have a morning routine or bedtime routine, I can add a new habit to that routine to help it stick. I might add two minutes of prayer time in my morning routine or write one line in a gratitude journal before I go to sleep. These are tiny habits that support a broader intention to practice gratitude.

5. It’s best to adopt habits that fit with our natural tendencies.

Change is difficult, so why not make it a little easier on ourselves? Gretchen Rubin, author of Better Than Before, suggests we tailor our habits to the fundamental aspects of our personalities. In other words, don’t try to establish a habit of working out at 5:00 in the morning if you’re a night owl! “We can build our habits only on the foundation of our own nature,” according to Rubin.

James Clear advises us to choose behaviors that align with our personality and skills so we’ll develop satisfying habits. A highly satisfying habit is easier to maintain. He says, “Choose the habit that best suits you, not the one that is most popular.” In my case, practicing minimalism was a good fit because I’m frugal by nature and I enjoy keeping my home tidy.

6. Some habit changes require us to rethink our identity.

While some parts of our nature are hard-wired, other aspects of our identity are flexible. Sometimes we need to change long-held beliefs about who we are in order to change our habits. In Atomic Habits, Clear gives this example: Two people who recently quit smoking are offered a cigarette. The first one replies, “No, thanks. I’m trying to quit.” The other one says, “No, thanks. I’m not a smoker.” There is a small, but powerful difference in their replies.  The person who is willing to change his identity along with his habit is more likely to succeed.

Identity is broader than personality traits – it includes beliefs, values, self-image, and more. Think about the person you want to be, not just the tasks you want to do. Start telling yourself that you are that person. I started calling myself a minimalist long before my home began to look like I practice minimalism. Don’t sabotage yourself by saying things like, “I’m not athletic” or “I’m always late.” The way we describe ourselves affects our habits.  And that brings me to my last, and perhaps most important point…

7. In order to change habits, we must believe we can.

If we want to use statements about our identity to reinforce our habits, we have to believe those statements are true, right? How do we prove to ourselves that we’re capable of adopting these new habits? The answer is found in keystone habits.

Keystone habits are habits that result in the “small wins” I mentioned earlier. Keystone habits also create a framework for dramatic change. Duhigg explains in this excerpt from The Power of Habit:  

“Take, for instance, studies from the past decade examining the impacts of exercise on daily routines. When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they fell less stressed. It’s not completely clear why. But for many people, exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.”

In Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin talks about the four foundation habits: sleep, move, eat/drink, and unclutter. These are the areas where small wins can turn into big gains and spill over into other areas of life. I experienced this firsthand when I became a minimalist and uncluttered my home. Making significant progress in that area of my life inspired me to make changes in several other areas.

“The most effective form of motivation is progress,” says James Clear. That’s why keystone habits and the small wins they provide are so important. They show us our progress. They prove that lasting change is possible. They make us believe.