Magical Habits The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary habits negative self talk & how to change it an easy & proven way

Habits are behaviors we perform on a daily or otherwise regular basis. They're not just any behaviors, though. A behavior is a habit if some component of it is at least somewhat "automatic."Some studies estimate that habits make up 40% of our everyday behavior.With a habit, there's some cue that triggers a behavior. For example, if you eat at the same time every day, time is the trigger, eating is the behavior-that's a habit.Habits are reinforced by rewards. Sometimes the rewards are easy to spot. Take our eating example: the pleasure of eating food is the reward.Sometimes the reward is not so easy to spot. If you're in the habit of checking your phone every time you're bored, the reward is a bit more subtle-and there's a good chance it's relief from the anxiety of your own thoughts. But I'm getting ahead of myself...We've all got a few bad habits. No one's perfect. Whether it's eating too much candy, leaving everything until the last minute, watching too much TV, skipping workouts, or letting e-mails pile up at work, we all do things that go against our best interests.So why don't we just drop our bad habits? Every year, millions of us make New Year's resolutions in a bid to change. Unfortunately, as you know, it's not that simple. Our bad habits become a regular way of life. We start to say things like, "Oh, that's just how I am!" and "It's just what I do." It can feel impossible to break a habit once and for all. In fact, the more you try to resist a habit, the more it can stick.