Have you ever accidentally broken a good habit? Like, you forgot one time to do yoga, and somehow it never happened again?
Suddenly, a behavior you spent weeks working on is just wiped out. You did everything right — so what went wrong?
For a habit to stick, you need to do more than just repeat it, says behavioral scientist BJ Fogg, founder of Stanford's Behavior Design Lab. You need motivation, the ability to do the action and a prompt to do it. "When those three things come together, the behavior happens."
Fogg shares insights based on the Tiny Habits method, a research-backed approach he developed in 2007 on how to create lasting change.
This comic was drawn by the cartoonist Vreni Stollberger, based on writing by Mika Ellison and reporting by Marielle Segarra.
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But when I left that job for freelance work in 2018, I also left my yoga habit.
<< ILLO of my yoga mat in a corner covered in spider webs>>
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like doing it. So why can’t I keep it up?! >>
For a habit to stick, you need more than just the will to do it.
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These concepts are the foundation of Fogg’s Tiny Habits method, an evidence-based approach on how to create lasting change. Fogg explains how to start — and keep — a new behavior using this framework. << ILLO me asking Fogg: “Okay, so how do I restart my yoga habit?” >>
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If a task is easy, people tend to have higher motivation — and ability — to do it.">
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Vreni Stollberger is a cartoonist based in Queens, N.Y., who loves using comics to break down complex topics, from policy and science to history and culture.
The podcast episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis.
The comic was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is CJ Riculan. We'd love to hear from you. Email us at LifeKit@npr.org. Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or sign up for our newsletter.
