Successful Habit Creation Through Chaining

In behavioral psychology, chaining (as used in a response chain) involves the reinforcement of individual responses occurring in a sequence to form a complex behavior. In behavioral research it is used frequently for training the behavioral sequences (or behavior "chains") that are beyond the current repertoire of the learner. In practical usage this is the procedure that is used for training multi-step behaviors. When trying to adopt a new habit, chaining can be used to reinforce a new behavior by pairing with an existing behavior. For example, if you want to start taking vitamins but find that you forget to do this every morning. You can chain taking the vitamin with a behavior that you already do, like brushing your teeth. In this scenario, you would need to place your vitamins next to your toothbrush. You chain a great number of behaviors from exercise to thoughtful time with your children. The key here is pairing the new or desired behavior with an existing behavior. Maybe car rides become the time when you ask your children to share the highest and lowest points of their day.

Recap of Topic: Chaining

To get started with chaining, you will need to do the following:

• Identify behaviors that you consistently do each day as these will become your opportunities for pairing.

• Identify behaviors that you want to adopt and which ones make most sense to pair with your existing routine. Getting in steps likely doesn’t pair with brushing your teeth, but it could pair with checking the mail or walking the dog.

• Start small and create one pair that you want to reinforce for the next three weeks.

Repetition is the Mastery of Learning

Repetition is the mastery of learning. Most of us have heard this expression at some point in our lives, but how many of us have ever actually questioned why this is. The explanation here is nuanced and a lot scientific, but I will boil it down to a few key things. First, our brains our energy misers. They do not like to expand unnecessary energy which is why we can drive from point A to point B without a lot of conscious awareness. We have driven the route so many times that we have “mastered the task”. At this point, we can enter into a comfortable place of auto-pilot where our brain uses less energy thereby creating less resistance to do the task. If you want another example of this, how easy is it to do something we have always done a different way. While that is a welcome task for some, it is an imposition to most. Our brain is protesting the use of additional resources in that moment. In order to reduce the resistance of the new, we need to repeat a task many times over to make it familiar and known. Some of you may have heard that you need to adhere to a habit for 21 consecutive days in order for it to stick. While I can think of many examples that would defy this rule, there is something to committing to doing something consistently so that it becomes known. Finally, our bodies and brains are fantastic sponges. They both store memories garnered from repetition. While you may not be as adept at playing the sport you did in high school, you likely still possess some of the form and technique that you once did. This would be an example of your body storing this data. With repetition tasks become easier thereby reducing the mental load to complete them.

Recap of Topic: Repetition

While possibly labor intensive to begin, repeating a behavior over and over will reduce the mental and physical load associated with completing this behavior. One way to successfully establish a habit is by simply, allowing for this repetition. To incorporate repetition in your life for habit setting,

• Set aside dedicated time for the behavior. Small chunks of time are recommended in the beginning to allow for a period of adjustment.

• Commit to repeating the behavior at your pre-determined interval for best results. Fastest results will come from doing the behavior daily.

• Reward yourself for the behavior. Some behaviors have rewards built in (i.e. exercise, cleaning the house, and a bed time routine) but others may need you to create benchmarks for celebration which is the thought behind cheat days when dieting.

Neurohacking Your Way to Habit Creation

You probably have figured out that our strategies are intended to build on top of each other. We are now going to explore why some habits are so easy to create while others are not. In addition to being an energy miser, your brain is a pleasure seeking machine. It enjoys feeling happy, excited, aroused, curious and fulfilled. All of these feelings are generated through neurotransmitters. Some habits immediately flood our brain with happy neurotransmitters (i.e. drinking, gambling, shopping, eating, etc.) while others require work for the reward. For example, most of us know that we feel better after leaving the gym but getting ourselves there and committing to the work out still feels like a daunting task. The simple explanation here is that you have to do the work before you brain releases endorphins from physical exertion and dopamine from a feeling of a job well done. In contrast to alcohol, where your brain starts releasing serotonin, dopamine and glutamate as soon as the alcohol reaches the brain and requires little effort from you. At this point you may be thinking that I just made an excellent argument for why you should stay home and crack a cold one the couch. There is a catch and a critical distinction between a flood of dopamine in our brain from alcohol versus that of feeling accomplished. As the alcohol leaves your body, it will take it’s happy neurotransmitters with it and then some. It can actually weaken your brain’s ability to naturally produce neurotransmitters from other activities, like exercise. In contrast, your brain will strengthen after exercise ensuring the survivability of neurons who are responsible for producing and transmitting our happy neurotransmitters. Ongoing exercise not only strengthens your neurons but it continues to dump serotonin and dopamine into your brain thereby increasing your levels naturally. Boom! With enough repetition you now have a habit that your brain will recognize as capable of making happy neurotransmitters.

Recap of Topic: Neurohacking

When creating a new habit, it’s important to understand why some habits are so easily made and others require more persistence. If we understand that our brains are pleasure seeking machines, then we can acknowledge that whatever creates happy neurotransmitters the fastest is going to be the thing it wants to do. This does not mean that we are incapable of creating habits that require work for the reward. To start the reward snowball rolling you may want to try

• Completing a small simple task that requires minimal effort for that initial hit of dopamine.

• Chaining this small task with larger tasks that are more labor intensive. If we take the dog walking example, maybe you walk the dog for a lap and then complete another lap for additional steps.

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