Getting used to a routine is something that many people experience. But getting used to it and a habit is something that characterizes human beings themselves.

Regardless of whether it's a good habit or a bad habit, humans are creatures of habit. In particular, our brains are highly complex evolving machines. Our brain regulates basic processes such as breathing and food intake.

As creatures, we have needs. We need to eat, so we eat. As somewhat intelligent and social creatures, we love to chat with each other, and that's exactly what we do. And there are dozens of behaviors that are just as complex, how can we solve all of these?

That's where habit comes in. Habits help us live our days. When we do something ordinary, everything becomes easier. Humans have dozens of habits that make him not think too much when doing those habits.

Understanding Humans As Creatures of Habit

For most people most of the time, habits are created unconsciously, and they are done automatically. Habits help us all do the hundreds of things we need and want to do in our lives.

Because we can practice a habit without having to think about it, it frees up our thought processes to do other things. This is a clever trick our brain has developed to make us more efficient.

Intentions can change quickly because we can make conscious decisions about what we want to do in the future that may be different from the past. However, when habitual thoughts are involved, our habits function largely outside of consciousness.

We cannot easily articulate how we do our habits or why we do them, and they change slowly through repeated experiences. Our minds don't always integrate in the best way. Even when you know the right answer, you cannot make yourself change a habitual behavior.

Wise willful thoughts slip easily and people tend to fall back into habitual behavior. Forty percent of the time we are not thinking about what we are doing. Habits allow us to focus on other things, willpower is a finite resource, and when it runs out, you fall back into habit.

Habit Component

Cues or Triggers

It is part of a habit loop in which you are triggered to take some kind of action through cues in your internal or external environment.

Action

For better or for worse, this is part of the habit circle where you actually take action on the habits you want to adopt or get rid of.

Rewards

This is part of the habit loop in which your brain receives a reward for doing the desired activity (or not as you'll see in just one second).

The more you do something, the more likely you are to do it in the future. The habit-driven brain doesn't differentiate between good and bad behavior; it simply builds repetitive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings into increasingly powerful neural circuits.

We are Beings of Change and Adaptation

It turns out that even though we are creatures of habit, humans are also creatures of change and adaptation. Our brains are constantly changing in response to our changing environment.

Our adaptability is the secret to our success as a species. The challenge is to harness our adaptability and use it for a positive purpose, to make choices about who we want to be in our world.

You don't have complete freedom to create yourself; You do come with genetic gifts and limitations, or temperaments. But you have more power to become the person you want to be than you might think.

Experience not only changes connections, but there's also this wonderful new perspective on the capacity of the adult brain to change that's encouraging for those of us who want to continue to grow and learn as we age.

It is empowering to know that we can change bad habits and learn new skills throughout life, we don't have to be victims of our past or our genes. But adult brains are much more difficult to change than children's brains. With all our innate habits, we have to work hard to change them when we grow up.