Our mind is a complex mechanism and its complexity is as far as it goes in our world. This computer is increasingly intricate and contains a lot of data in the form of memories, experiences, knowledge, etc. The power it holds is infinite and it can also be trained.
According to researchers at Duke University, around 40% of our behaviour every day can be accounted for as habits. A habit is a routine behaviour that is repeated regularly and occurs subconsciously. They consist of a large part of our lives and make our lives simpler. Think about your morning routine, things you do just after you wake up, or when in the middle of the night you get hungry and mechanically walk towards the kitchen. Think about the route you take from home to your workplace. All these things have been ingrained in your mind as habits.
Has it ever happened to you that you went to work and couldn't remember if you switched off the lights or if you locked the door but when you came back you found the door locked and the lights off? You don't remember turning off the lights even if you remember what you were doing before that.
We know what habits are, but what about the mechanics behind them? How can we create new habits?
In his book 'The power of habit', Charles Duhigg talked about the components present in the formation of habits. There is a simple neurological loop at the core of every habit. This is known as the habit loop and consists of three things :
1. A cue
2. A routine
3. A reward
Without these three things, we won't be able to form a habit. A cue is a trigger that starts the habit, it's a trigger that the mind understands and consequently goes forward with the habit. This trigger directs our brain into automatic mode and selects which habit to use. A routine is the main part of the habit, it is the action or the behaviour that follows a cue and reward is the benefit that the brain receives after a habit is performed.
The cues can be anything:
· A location – a certain place (your home or workplace)
· Time – (a specific time to do a task)
· An Emotional state – (like hunger)
· Other people
· Immediately preceding action
These cues lead to routines like reaching the kitchen and then a reward follows, here satisfying your hunger. This reward determines if the habit is worth remembering for the future.
"Initially a habit is a choice that we deliberately make at some point, and when we do it regularly, we stop thinking about it but continue doing it, often every day."1
Think about your new year resolution, were you able to keep it up for a month? Did you follow through your aim to exercise daily or to increase the consumption of greens? What happened to the thought of reading 15 minutes everyday?
The reason you couldn't complete your resolution was that you didn't know how to integrate or begin a new habit in your life. Suppose you want to exercise for half an hour every day. The first thing to find is a cue. What can be your trigger for the exercise? Do you want to work out early in the morning (time) or whenever you wake up (preceding action). The workout is the routine while the reward is an important aspect here. Every time you successfully complete the process you give yourself a piece of chocolate or anything else which will be your reward.
You couldn't build a habit earlier because even when you think that you want to exercise, it's our brain's tendency to think that "you are a liar and you hate exercise" and only after tricking your brain with rewards like chocolate, which you genuinely enjoy, you could push yourself into habit building. Studies show that after six months you will even stop eating chocolate as the brain learns that exercise produces endorphins (neurotransmitters that reward us).
In the early 1900s, Claude C. Hopkins (the famous advertising person of that time) made a million dollars by understanding the essence of habits. Claude was approached by an old friend who had a product named 'Pepsodent' and wanted an advertisement for the same.
At the time only 7% of America had toothpaste in their medicine cabinet. Due to Claude, by the next decade, 65% of the USA started brushing their teeth. Pepsodent became one of the most famous products globally.
Claude was a genius as he exploited minor cues and marketed his products in such a way that convinced consumers to use his product every day. For Pepsodent, Hopkins needed a trigger to ensure its daily use. He sat down with a bunch of dental textbooks.
"It was dry reading." He wrote, "But in the middle of one book, I found a reference to the mucin plaques on teeth, which I afterwards called 'the film.' That gave me an appealing idea. I resolved to advertise this toothpaste as a creator of beauty. To deal with that cloudy film."2
Hopkins advertised Pepsodent as a ‘creator of beauty’. His advertisement prompted people to run their tongues across their teeth. This was a brilliant move as the cue – tooth film – was universal and impossible to ignore. People would feel a film and immediately feel that something was wrong. The fact that people didn't know was that the film is a naturally occurring membrane that builds up on teeth regardless of how frequently you brush or what you eat. You can get rid of it by eating an apple, brushing, or running your finger over your teeth. One of the leading dental researchers said that all toothpastes – particularly Pepsodent – were worthless.
Hopkins' advertisement would cause people to comply with the cue as it is easy to trigger. Furthermore, the reward was irresistible. Who doesn't want a beautiful smile when all it takes is a quick brush with Pepsodent? Three weeks after the first Pepsodent ad campaign, it's demand exploded. The company could not keep up with the orders.
However, the reward was not the full explanation of why Pepsodent was a success. There's another aspect to it. It was found that Pepsodent contained citric acid, unlike other toothpastes of that period. Pepsodent's inventor used those inputs to make his toothpaste minty, but this had an unexpected effect – it created a tingling sensation on the tongue and gums. Hence, there was another pattern in effect here – neurological craving. When people forgot to use Pepsodent, they recognized it as they missed that cool, tingling sensation in their mouths hence they craved that feeling and if it wasn't there, their mouths didn't feel clean.
Therefore, it turns out, Claude Hopkins wasn't selling beautiful teeth, he was selling that sensation. When people equated that tingling with cleanliness, brushing became a habit. This craving is what drives a habit. In the following decades, every other company incorporated this sensation into their toothpaste. That is the reason you feel that tingling after you brush your teeth. It was an accident that led to healthier habits.
If we can understand the foundation of habits, we can create habits that can help us immensely. If you exercise daily, with time your brain will crave that endorphin rush which will make it easier to exercise.Given the ongoing pandemic, we all are locked in our houses. The free time we have right now is of immense importance as we can invest it in building a lot of new habits which can benefit us. The easiest way to form a habit is with the cue of a previous action as this helps in building a chain of habits. You can now create any habit that you want as the power of habits rests with you.
https://medium.com/@aidanhornsby/notes-on-the-power-of-habit-8d8b93df8069
Excerpt: My life in advertising- by Claude C. Hopkins
By Samyak Garg
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