🎥 MATT’S BLUE ZONE VLOG
Join Matt as we break down the three phases of any habit so that we can create more effortless lasting change toward our healthy goals.
👁 TODAY’S INTENTION
Today, let’s master our habits to foster lasting happiness.
Our habits shape our lives. By understanding the structure of our habits, we gain control over them. Whether it’s breaking an old habit or forming a new one, knowing the triggers and rewards helps us transform routines that no longer serve us. This mastery unlocks the door to a healthier, happier life. Today is about clarity, patience, and the joy of incremental progress.
Ready to dive into the magic of habit transformation!?
🌎 BLUE ZONE INSPIRATION
In Blue Zones, regions where people live exceptionally long lives, healthy habits are deeply ingrained. Daily movement, social connections, and whole food diets are just a few examples. The residents don’t rely on willpower; their environment naturally supports good habits.
By designing our surroundings and routines, we can foster healthier habits more effortlessly.
In his garden, Seiryu Toguchi, 104, savors a few minutes of sun—a source of vitamin D, which can help prevent osteoporosis. Why the red gloves? They’re easy to find.
Thriving in simplicity, let’s take a note from Seiryu and bask in the environmental cues that naturally foster healthy habits and longevity.
💬 QUOTE
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
– Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, profoundly impacted Western thought. His insights into habits reveal that consistent actions shape our character and destiny.
🧬 SCIENCE
Research from Duke University reveals that over 40% of our daily actions are habitual. This automaticity frees up mental energy for more complex tasks. However, it also means that both positive and negative habits can run on autopilot.
To change a habit, we must first understand its three-part structure: (1) trigger, (2) routine, and (3) reward. Identifying these elements allows us to consciously redesign our habits. 🔎👇
🧘 HEALTHY HABIT
Let’s redesign a habit today! Identify one small unhealthy habit you’d like to change. Break it down into its three components:
- Trigger: A place, time, emotion, thought sequence, or people.
- Routine: The action you take.
- Reward: The satisfaction you gain.
Example: If stress eating is your habit, recognize the trigger (stress), the routine (eating), and the reward (relief). Replace the routine with a healthier one, like deep breathing or a quick walk, to achieve similar rewards.
Start by observing just one habit today. Note the trigger, the routine, and the reward. This awareness is the first step towards transformation.
✍🏼 JOURNAL PROMPTS
This exercise will help you identify and replace an unhealthy habit with a healthy alternative using the Habit Loop (Trigger, Habit, Reward).
A habit I want to change:
Write the unhealthy habit you want to replace.
- Trigger:
What cues or situations trigger this habit? (e.g., stress, boredom, after work) - Habit:
What action do you take when triggered? - Reward:
What positive feeling or outcome do you get from this habit?
New Habit Design:
- New Healthy Routine: Choose a healthier habit that provides a similar benefit to the reward.
- Implementation Plan: How will you remind yourself to engage in the new habit when the old trigger arises? (e.g., set reminders, a change in environment, etc.)
⚕️ MEDICINAL MOTTO
Creatures are made of habits.
Our habits shape our lives. By understanding and mastering our habits, we can steer our lives toward health and happiness. Repeat this mantra while reflecting on your power to create change.
📣 AFFIRMATION
I am building a lifestyle of health and happiness.
🙌 KUDOS
Fantastic work today! You’ve taken a crucial step in your health journey by further understanding and transforming your habits. Keep nurturing this intention throughout the day, and remember, every small change adds up to significant transformation.
💬 COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
What’s one small unhealthy habit you’re committed to changing this week?
Share your habit transformation plan in the comments, and let’s support each other on this journey!
I had a really interesting a-ha moment. I chose stress eating as my bad habit, and as I worked through the process of cue-habit-reward, I realized that I while I thought my eating was stress induced or from overstimulation, I think it’s really about having control. So instead of achieving the reward of control by eating crap, I will achieve the reward of control by either making good food choices or not eating if I’m not hungry. Day 7 of the 30 Days of Brave was my transformational moment, and I feel as though this might be the huge breakthrough for me during 30 Days of Health!!
I tend to be hard on myself, and I can’t really see any “gratifying sensation” to this. It is a bad habit that must change, and I have to understand what does gratify me from this.
This is a tough one. Along with habits are rituals we have with the habits that need to be replaced too. For instance, I am trying eliminate alcohol from my life. One of my rituals is/was to chat up whoever is behind the counter at the liquor store. They tend to be the same people all the time so it’s easy to have a relationship with them and it makes me seem more in control than desperate. I miss them when I don’t drink and no other stores where I am have consistent help or are too busy to chat. So breaking this ritual will take some doing! Any ideas for rewards? Chocolate doesn’t do it for me and I already do yoga and if I have an almond croissant everyday that will create more problems than it will solve!
My bad habit is playing games and watching TV right before sleeping, leading to late bed times. I will shift my schedule to include this earlier in the evening and use the time before sleeping to read a book instead.
I make poor food choices when I let myself get hungry. It’s somple eat small regular meals but! My work is currently consistent small travel trips. Eating in cafes or airports on the run. I almost need a daily plan each morning to navigate my days.
I’m starting with packing oats I can make in a hotel room to avoid the load up of bacon and eggs and hash browns at buffet hotel breakfasts.
Whenever I got surrounded by a lot of people, I tend to leave that space and stay somewhere where there is no pressure of thinking what I should talk about with someone. It’s not that I really want to do it, it’s just that I am afraid that I’ll ever disappoint that person. And I really wanna change this.
Looking at pictures
I struggle with this too x They bring memories, sometimes good, sometimes bad but either case… overwhelming x 🙁 Have faith and believe x This too shall pass x
I have a few, but for this exercise, I will replace stress, or bored eating with cleaning a closet which I love when done. Cleaning a drawer, or shelf. It feels good to not only clean but to toss out what we no longer need or use. Like tossing out old habitual habits that no loner work for us.
This is genius for sure! 🙂 Just remember putting pressure on yourself to do a task when you are tired may cause more triggers x I love this plan and think I too may incorporate it! 🙂 Thank you x
I love this 💡!
Great idea, I’m going to use this thanks 🙂 I think the key for me with this is to just do a small task which ends up being satisfying not tiring when invite off too much.
A bad habit of mine is choosing unhealthy snacks or foods. A healthy habit would be to choose fruits and vegetables.
Sounds like a great choice! 🙂 Strawberries are pretty rewarding! 🙂 YOU got this! 🙂
To begin my new healthy life style, i would like to quit smoking. I tend to smoke when i am stressed or bored. I smoke at work and at home. I will replace smoking with hard candy. I have discovered that i really want something to do, sucking on a hard candy will give me something to focus on.
I too tired this when I quit smoking… however I ended up gaining wait and turning into a comfort eater… just food for thought.. no pun intended. I had more success with chewing gum! 🙂 Worst case scenario I ended up with a sore jaw! 🙂
Hi Julie,
Try purchasing sugar-free hard candy. Werther’s, for example, has some great tasting hard candies. I purchased some for my diabetic husband and he loves them as an occasional treat! Good luck!
Yoga is also a great substitute! Stress relieving. The down dog yoga app is free and I love it.