Habit Formation: Taming Your Inner Toddler
A program based on the Kurzgesagt video about habit formation, designed to help you build new habits and break old ones by understanding the 'jungle' of your brain and leveraging routines and triggers. This version incorporates social support and comparison elements, diverse interaction types and personalized triggers and rewards.
Program Modules
Understanding the Brain Jungle
Learn how your brain forms habits and why change is difficult.
Recognize the Gap
Reflect on the gap between your current self and your ideal self. Share your reflections with the community.
“If you are like most people, there is a gap between the person you are and the person you wish to be.”
The Jungle Analogy
Understand the 'brain jungle' analogy and how pathways are formed. Take a quiz to test your understanding.
“Imagine your brain as a lush and dense jungle.”
Routines vs. Habits
Differentiate between routines (wise planner) and habits (impulsive toddler). Participate in a discussion forum.
“A routine is a sequence of actions that you carry out the same way every time because they’ve worked out well for you.”
Building New Habits
Learn how to build new habits by breaking down goals, using triggers, and making actions pleasurable.
Break Down Goals
Break down vague goals into clear, separate actions with low thresholds.
“The first thing to do is to break down this pretty vague goal into clear, separate actions.”
Create Personalized Triggers
Establish clear, personalized triggers (visual pointers, time of day, place) to initiate the action automatically.
“Remember, a trigger is nothing more than a signal that you always associate with the action.”
Make it Pleasurable (or Loss Aversion)
Make the action itself more enjoyable to encourage repetition. Alternatively, frame the action as avoiding a loss.
“To make your new action easier to repeat and more likely to be picked up by the toddler, try to make it pleasurable.”
Example: Home Workout Habit
Apply the principles to create a home workout habit. Compare your progress with others.
Daily Squats Routine
DailyPerform 10 squats every morning to build a workout habit.
What You'll Accomplish
- Understand the neuroscience behind habit formation.
- Differentiate between routines and habits.
- Identify triggers for existing habits.
- Develop strategies for building new habits.
- Apply the principles of habit formation to real-life goals.
Full program access + updates