Hi, it's Sam here. Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Thursday.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about creating habits that are helpful to my well-being.

I remember reading The Power of Habit by Charles DuHig when I was in grad school, and finding

it so helpful in understanding how habits are formed and changed.

Becoming aware of your habits helps you to identify with curiosity, what emotions are

at play, and what triggers are compelling you to act in a certain way.

The book describes how in order to change a habit, you have to take time to figure out

what prompts the behavior you want to change, and what reward you get out of it.

Then you have to think of alternative behaviors that will lead to the same reward.

The first habit I explored was my 4pm pre-commute cookie craving.

I realized that the cookie made my stressful commute more bearable, by bringing me just

a small moment of joy amidst rush hour traffic.

And when I thought of other activities that decreased my stress, exercise came to mind.

I was really into spin classes at the time.

So I tried it out the next day, feeling the craving for the cookie, and instead booking

the cycling class.

And I ended up feeling great.

I was less stressed, and because the class took place during rush hour, I was relieved

that my commute actually took less time.

One of the most common questions I receive as a mindfulness teacher is how to make meditation

a habit.

When I started meditating, I was so eager to make it a daily habit.

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