Module 4 · Change & break habits · Research-supported

Swap in something else

Keep the cue, change the response — an alternative that meets the same need.

6 min read · Level: Intermediate · Free — no account needed to read

The problem it solves

If you remove a habit, what fills the gap?

The concept

The cue of an old habit usually keeps turning up. Substitution keeps the cue but changes the response: when you feel restless at your desk, stand and stretch instead of opening social media.

The alternative response works best when it meets the same need as the old habit, is easy to do in that moment, and is planned in advance. A replacement that is unpleasant or complicated won’t hold.

This also changes how you frame the goal. “Stop scrolling” is something to resist; “stretch when restless” is something to do — and approach goals like this tend to go better than avoidance goals.

Why it matters

In a large experiment on New Year’s resolutions, “start doing” resolutions were more likely to succeed than “stop doing” ones, and if–then plans linking an old cue to a new response have helped break habits.

Research-supported: Good studies support it, but there are fewer of them, the effects are modest, or they come from a narrow set of situations.

See it happen

Lina bites her nails when she reads work emails.

The ordinary first approach

She should just catch herself and stop.

With the idea

She keeps a smooth stone on her desk and holds it whenever she opens her inbox.

What changed

The same cue now has a response ready, one that keeps her hands busy.

Easy to get wrong

• Choosing a substitute that doesn’t meet the same need.
• Picking something harder than the habit it replaces.
• Deciding on the substitute in the moment instead of in advance.

Try it now: Swap the response

1. Write the cue and the unwanted habit.
2. List three alternatives that meet the same need and are easy in that moment.
3. Pick one and write: “When [cue], I will [alternative].”

Apply it to one of your habits

For one habit you want to change, what will you do instead when its cue arrives?

Reflect

• Which alternative felt most natural when you tried it?

Go deeper — evidence & sources

• Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson & Rozental (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0234097
• Adriaanse, Gollwitzer, De Ridder, de Wit & Kroese (2011). Breaking Habits With Implementation Intentions: A Test of Underlying Processes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. doi:10.1177/0146167211399102
• Azrin & Nunn (1973). Habit-reversal: A method of eliminating nervous habits and tics. Behaviour Research and Therapy. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(73)90119-8