How to Form a Habit Part Ten

​Much like the abdominal muscles, back muscles and the muscle around the pelvis is the core strength of the body, likewise, the four components that we need is the core strength of forming a good habit. Thus far, we have discussed the "reminder, motivation and the response," the fourth element is the "reward" that is derived from the initial three components.

These four elements are a neurological process that can be summed up as the "if, then" that we have been discussing. The "if," contains the (reminder and the motivation), and the "then," contains the (response and the reward).

 To illustrate, let us say you are experiencing a slight physical discomfort such as pain, this would be the reminder and the motivator to visit your primary doctor, this is the (if). After consulting your doctor, he proceeds to prescribes exactly what you need, which is the (then), this is the response and the reward. We are all going through this continuous loop in our daily behavior, whether we are aware of it or not.

However, the key is awareness of the reward from the very beginning of this endless loop. The reward is involved from the foresight of our actions or behavior from the inception of once we remind ourselves. There is an awareness, this is the foresight of the reward that will be derived from visiting your doctor, and it is the satisfaction of pain relief, your reward.

Similarly, I have known individuals that did not remind themselves to visit their doctor when they suspected they needed to go, it was not strong enough, and unfortunately, it resulted into an irreversible physical condition much to their detriment. The awareness was present, yet fleeting, however, the importance was ignored enough to make the difference by pivoting to motivation, response and finally the reward, good health.

 I must say that the human behavior never ceases to amaze me, we are all driven by varied factors whether positive of negative. For example, this individual that refused to perceive the importance of visiting his doctor, not sure whether it was fear of confirming his suspicion or another factor. The point is, the importance was not what drove him, and when we speak of importance, the element of the reward is implied, for rewards provide benefits at every turn.

  These four phases of behavior are not occasional but are constantly repeating themselves every moment we are alive, even as you are reading this post. Of course, some actions we perform require a little more thought than other activity, nonetheless, the endless loop is assiduous. The brain is an amazing organ, it is always scanning intrinsically and extrinsically for rewards, and this is occurring in a split moment. 

Once we become adults, we are hardly aware how habits run our daily live. The rhetorical question is, what habit is important to you enough to put into practice?