Habits are misunderstood

There is a lot of misunderstanding around habits. Some people feel that habit only refers the small number of behaviors that we dislike but do anyways. They think about biting their nails. They remember when they had a smoking habit.

Even science has come out with misinformation. Many people have heard about the studies that show a habit takes 21 days to form. They say that is average but almost all habits fit into this structure. But this is completely incorrect.

Habits are much more than those small behaviors. Habits rule our lives. Some psychologists claim that over 90% of our behaviors can be classified as habit. The patterns to our thoughts and behaviors can highlight these habits.

Spotting patterns means that something is driving that action. That means that whenever a specific cue comes about, the habitual response follows. Many aspects of life fit this pattern. Yet most people never realize that even the way they scan a menu for dinner at their favorite restaurant uses habits. Something so simple seems to be free from habit, yet we all tend to look over a menu in a similar manner each time. Then we order similar items regardless of where we are ordering.

When we test the common belief that it takes 21 days to form a habit, we will likely find the original studies were not comprehensive studies on habit. They were actually formed through studies that looked at amputees.

They noticed that amputees had a difficult time adjusting to their missing limb. On average, they said it takes 21 days for the individual to feel natural without their arm or leg.

Through that, many have stretched the insight from those studies and apply them to many other habits. They say you have to work out for 21 days and then, BAM, you now have a new habit. Unfortunately, this isn’t the way it works.

If someone starts abusing addictive drugs, they can become addicted much quicker. They have new habits form much sooner than 21 days. If you set out to develop a new workout, you might find that it is difficult to keep up with it months after you started.

The other day my daughter lost her 4th tooth. This was her top, front tooth. She immediately was perplexed by the way her mouth felt with the missing tooth. She kept saying how strange it felt.

Each morning while eating breakfast I would ask her if it is normal yet. After only a few days she had to really think about it. It had become normal in a matter of a few days, not 21 days. While certainly not a scientific study, this got me thinking about those original studies. It made me realize that the observations from them, have been completely twisted over the years. They were used in marketing strategies for companies trying to emphasize the value of forming habits.

There are many factors that go into the timeframe for forming a habit. Instead of trying to nail down a specific time to develop, we should just keep working. If we do, we know that eventually we have a high likelihood of forming a habit.

The power of habit is incredible. In order to unlock it, we have to learn how to turn the thoughts and behaviors we desire, into the actions we take. But don’t get too caught up in the timeframe it will take to become automatic.