Atomic Habits - James Clear Page 0,17

act. Make the behavior difficult and you won’t be able to do it. And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again in the future. Without the first three steps, a behavior will not occur. Without all four, a behavior will not be repeated.

THE HABIT LOOP

FIGURE 6: The four stages of habit are best described as a feedback loop. They form an endless cycle that is running every moment you are alive. This “habit loop” is continually scanning the environment, predicting what will happen next, trying out different responses, and learning from the results.*

In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop—cue, craving, response, reward; cue, craving, response, reward—that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits. This cycle is known as the habit loop.

This four-step process is not something that happens occasionally, but rather it is an endless feedback loop that is running and active during every moment you are alive—even now. The brain is continually scanning the environment, predicting what will happen next, trying out different responses, and learning from the results. The entire process is completed in a split second, and we use it again and again without realizing everything that has been packed into the previous moment.

We can split these four steps into two phases: the problem phase and the solution phase. The problem phase includes the cue and the craving, and it is when you realize that something needs to change. The solution phase includes the response and the reward, and it is when you take action and achieve the change you desire.

Problem phase

1. Cue

2. Craving

Solution phase

3. Response

4. Reward

All behavior is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the problems you face.

In the table on the following page, you can see a few examples of what this looks like in real life.

Imagine walking into a dark room and flipping on the light switch. You have performed this simple habit so many times that it occurs without thinking. You proceed through all four stages in the fraction of a second. The urge to act strikes you without thinking.

Problem phase

1. Cue: Your phone buzzes with a new text message.

2. Craving: You want to learn the contents of the message.

Solution phase

3. Response: You grab your phone and read the text.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to read the message. Grabbing your phone becomes associated with your phone buzzing.

Problem phase

1. Cue: You are answering emails.

2. Craving: You begin to feel stressed and overwhelmed by work. You want to feel in control.

Solution phase

3. Response: You bite your nails.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to reduce stress. Biting your nails becomes associated with answering email.

Problem phase

1. Cue: You wake up.

2. Craving: You want to feel alert.

Solution phase

3. Response: You drink a cup of coffee.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to feel alert. Drinking coffee becomes associated with waking up.

Problem phase

1. Cue: You smell a doughnut shop as you walk down the street near your office.

2. Craving: You begin to crave a doughnut.

Solution phase

3. Response: You buy a doughnut and eat it.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to eat a doughnut. Buying a doughnut becomes associated with walking down the street near your office.

Problem phase

1. Cue: You hit a stumbling block on a project at work.

2. Craving: You feel stuck and want to relieve your frustration.

Solution phase

3. Response: You pull out your phone and check social media.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to feel relieved. Checking social media becomes associated with feeling stalled at work.

Problem phase

1. Cue: You walk into a dark room.

2. Craving: You want to be able to see.

Solution phase

3. Response: You flip the light switch.

4. Reward: You satisfy your craving to see. Turning on the light switch becomes associated with being in a dark room.

By the time we become adults, we rarely notice the habits that are running our lives. Most of us never give a second thought to the fact that we tie the same shoe first each morning, or unplug the toaster after each use, or always change into comfortable clothes after getting home from