$108 Coffee

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If we want to have a successful and healthy life, it is important that we develop good habits. Habits are simply actions that we take on a regular basis, and by following them, we can ensure that our life moves in the right direction. There are a few things that you can do to create good habits, but the most important thing is understanding how habits work so you can recognize negative subconscious behaviors and change them.

A couple years ago I was driving to a park to record motivational videos for my online audience. While I was driving I started to feel really dizzy and I thought I was going to faint behind the wheel. I pulled over and walked inside of a fitness facility and told them I was extremely dizzy. They called the ambulance and I was taken to the hospital. After laying in the bed for a couple of hours with an IV in my arm, the Doctor came in and said "You were extremely dehydrated. Other than that you are in great shape. Out of curiosity are you drinking a lot of caffeine and not drinking much water?" When he said this I knew I was guilty of doing both. You see, for years I've been going to Starbucks 5 days a week for what I call my "Self-Improvement Sessions" these were my times to read books, work on my business, develop new software skills etc... They would also result in me drinking $5.41 iced coffees for 20 days out of a month.

"Doctor, I haven't been drinking much water and I have a habit of drinking iced coffee." "Caffeine is a mild diuretic and when you mix that with not drinking water, it will can cause you to become dehydrated. In regards to your health, I highly advise you to change your coffee and water drinking habits before it leads to more severe consequences."

After I left the hospital, I thought about the Doctor's advice. I knew he was right because I'm a health professional in my own right so I knew better to be drinking coffee more than I drank water. The issue that I would have to overcome was the fact I had been engaging in my $108 Coffee habit for years so it was embedded in my mind. This wasn't a habit I could just "Will" away, but something I would have to gradually wean myself off of.

I remembered learning about the work of Charles Duhigg on Habit Formation when I studied for my Behavior Change Specialist Certification. I decided to review his work and apply the principles I learned to my own life.

He described Habit Formation in the form of a Habit Loop which consist of a Que, Routine, and Reward. Que means something that affects the state of your emotions, Routine is the behavior you subconsciously behave in as a result of the Que , and the Reward is the feeling of excitement for achieving whatever the Que encouraged you to do.

To give an example of a Habit Loop, lets say you are driving your car and you were speeding. If you saw a police officer that would be a "Que" because your emotional state would change out of fear of getting pulled over, you would subconsciously start to slow down "Routine", and not getting pulled over would be your "Reward"

Though I loved the Charles Duhigg habit loop approach, I thought it was missing a step for myself so I decided to go with a loop that fit my way of thinking. Based on my research of others who talked about Habit Formation, I decided to go with Trigger (Que), Desire, Behavior, & Reward. The "Trigger" would be the same as a Que, "Desire" would be a feeling of wanting something, "Behavior" would be the action one engaged in, and "Reward" would be one's exuberant feeling of achievement.

Now you are probably wondering, "What does this have to do with your $108 Coffee Habit?" Actually, it has everything to do with it; let me explain.

Remember earlier I said that I was drinking coffee when I was having my "Self-Improvement Sessions" at Starbucks. That was the Initial Trigger of my $108 Coffee drinking habit. You see, over the years, I trained my brain that the ideal place for me to have "Self-Improvement Sessions" was at Starbucks and what does Starbucks sell more than anything? You guessed it! COFFEE!

When I decided to have a "Self-Improvement Session", that Triggered me to go to Starbucks. When I walked through the doors of Starbucks, the smell of Coffee triggered my Desire to enjoy an iced coffee. That desire would lead to me buying the iced coffee, Behavior, and my Reward would be the smooth vanilla creamed filled coffee showering my taste buds.

My "Self-Improvement Session" had created a routine of me drinking coffee which would not have been so bad if I had accompanied that coffee with water. I knew in order to break this routine, I had to start with my Initial Trigger, my "Self-Improvement Session". I created a Action Plan which included not going to Starbucks 5 days a week, but instead, going to the library for one of those days with a bottle of water.

The reason I chose the library is because I could not drink coffee at the library, but I could drink a bottle of water. My goal was to drink the entire bottle of water while I had my "Self-Improvement Session". I also bought a big calendar to put an X on the day that I successful studied at the library and drank my bottle of water.

The first week was brutal because my mind desired to be at Starbucks drinking iced coffee instead of being at the library drinking tasteless water. For 2 weeks, I had a $87 Coffee Habit which included me drinking a bottle of water a week. Writing an X on my calendar was exciting because it allowed me to see my achievement.

The next two weeks, I decided to become a $65 Coffee drinker while also drinking 2 bottles of water. The exuberance I felt from putting two Xs on my calendar for drinking water 2 days out of the 5 days encouraged me to challenge myself even more. Over the next 4 weeks I successfully went from a $43 Coffee drinker to a $22 Coffee drinker and this became my biggest challenge.

I was now studying at the library 4 days a week and drinking only 1 cup of coffee at Starbucks. Though I was being successful with my new Habit Loop, I worried if trying to eliminate all coffee would lead to me relapsing if the Xs of drinking water would no longer excite me.

For several months I remained a $22 Coffee drinker and then I got an idea that changed everything. I like Gatorade alot, so I decided to add a new reward to my new Habit Loop. If I drank 4 bottles of water, I had the option of drinking a Gatorade 0 (one with no sugar or calories) instead of coffee for my 5th bottle. I stuck to this plan for over a year and it has worked in my favor because today I drink 8 cups of water a day and I no longer drink coffee.

So what is your $108 Coffee Habit that is holding you back. What Habit Loop is keeping you from obtaining what you want or becoming the person you desire to be? What habit is that for you because I want to challenge you to break that habit by:

1. Writing the habit down as well as the goal or dream its keeping you from achieving

2. Complete the Habit Loop Statements below so you can understand how its functioning in your life subconsciously:

My habit is Triggered when I..........

The Desire I have when triggered is to.......

The Behavior I normally engaged in because of this desire is........

After I engage in this behavior the Reward I feel I've achieved........

3. Create a Plan of Action that will allow you to tie your Trigger to a more productive action like I did with going to the Library with Water instead of going to Starbucks for Coffee. Then fill out the Habit Loop again with this new action. For example, this is my Library and Water Action Plan:

* My habit of going to the Library with a Bottle of Water is Triggered when I have a "Self-Improvement Session"

* The Desire I have when triggered is to drink more water so I can maintain my health.

* The Behavior I normally engaged in because of this desire is going to the library with my bottle of water.

* After I engage in this behavior the Reward I feel I've achieved is maintaining my kidney function, overcoming my caffeine addiction, as well as feeling more focused and productive.

4. Have a tracking system of your progress, like a huge calendar that you put a X on or a app on your phone. Anything that will allow you to see your progress so you can feel the reward of your achievement.

Habits play a huge role in our lives. They determine the outcome of our lives and whether we are successful or not. If we have good habits, it will lead to us having a healthy and successful life, but if we have $108 Coffee habits, we will trap ourselves in a life of mediocrity. So I want to encourage you to work on developing good habits so that you can achieve your goals and dreams because You Are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!!!!

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