The Habit Loop

2021 is here! We are back to business as usual. January is known as the month of New Year's Resolutions and February is usually the month of the end of those resolutions. All of us are guilty of starting goals and not going through with them. But we can help you. The Habit Loop is a way to keep those goals going strong, and create not a mission but a habit of it. 

The youth chat featured a Tedx youth talk with Adithya Chakravarthy who shared a short lecture on how setting high expectations and goals can lead to never completing the resolution. But keeping smaller expectations and goals by completing a small part of it each day will lead to completing it. 

The Habit Loop is a method that will help you develop your resolutions into goals. The three-part method starts with a cue that kicks the brain into an automatic mode (tells it which habit to use). Then the routine, a physical, mental, or emotional response. Lastly, a reward which is the prize telling your brain "this loop is worth remembering in the future." Check out the following graphic to see an example of the Habit Loop. 

What were your New Year's Resolutions? Will you use the Habit Loop to help achieve them? Let us know in the comment section below. For any new subscribers, we are hosting the SPAN Youth Chats on Zoom every Wednesday at 3PM-3:30PM, so don't miss the next one. Bring a friend! Thank you so much for continuing to support us into the new year. 2021 here we come!

Author,

Jeremy Hayer 

Resources: 

1. How to Keep Your New Year's Resolution | Adithya Chakravarthy | TEDxYouth@UTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es5QhGNqhzc

2. Keep those resolutions with…: https://charlesduhigg.com/keep-your-resolutions-this-year/

3. Subscribe to SPAN’s YouTube channel: SPAN Parent Advocacy Network

4. Link to SPAN’s website: www.spanadvocacy.org

5. Link to SPAN’s Youth In the Know Resource Page: Youth in the Know

6. We’re here for you! Call SPAN if you need assistance: 1-800-654-7726