Good habits are hard to break, and so are the bad ones. How did you do the last time you tried to “quit” something? Smoking, swearing, drinking, eating, and a host of others. Yet, the formula behind our habits is really simple: cue, response, reward (and repeat!). That’s it.

Most of the choices we make day in and day out are just a mass of habits. So much so that, experts say that as much as 40% of the actions you perform each day aren’t actual decisions but habits, all constructed in the three-part, cue, response, reward pattern.

As a professional coach, I hear and recognize habits constantly with clients, colleagues and frankly, myself. And here’s the real secret for all of us: habits can be changed! We just need to understand how they work inside us and how to interrupt the pattern so we can realize a new reward. Transforming habits isn’t necessarily as easy as drive-thru; it’s not quick and it’s not always that simple. It is, however, totally possible because once we understand the how and the why, we can then determine what we need to do to move to a different outcome.