The Psychology Of Habit William James

In today's article, I'm taking a look at Habit. Habit is a psychological phenomenon played out through human behaviour and it has been studied by psychologists such as William James since the birth of the science. Habit by William James was one of the first detailed accounts of the processes responsible for our behaviour and was to set the stage for subsequent psychological studies into habits and their relationship to success and achievement.

For creative people like you and me, good habits are an essential requirement in pursuit of creative success.

As the father of American psychology, William James said on the psychology of habit; “every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort”.

I remember 20 years ago or more, I was a smoker. The daily consumption of 20 cigarettes was not unusual, the weekends when I was out on the town it could have been 40.

Although initially, I took up the habit to be cool, now in my early 20's I began to realise my folly.

I found giving up the cigarettes very tough. I had tried and failed many times but this time it felt different.

My circumstances had changed, I had a reason to quit. I started dating my now wife and I cared what she thought.

I knew it was a terrible habit and I wanted to quit, but wanting wasn't enough.

When I think of it, taking up the habit in the first place was difficult. But I wanted to be what smoking represented so much, that I was prepared to put in the work.

You see I had an anchor. On reflection that was a significant reason I succeeded in developing the habit. Now, 10 years later at age 24, I wanted to stop smoking and I had an anchor again.

Reader Bonus: Habit by William James is a public domain work. Download your free PDF copy of Habit here FREE

The Importance Of Habits For Creativity

You could say that creatively gifted people have been graced by the gods and us mere mortals could never reach that level of prowess.

You could say that people like Neil Young with 41 studio albums over the course of his career are remarkably gifted and are one in million.

Maybe they are gifted, but I'm not buying that entirely.

My guess is that creativity shows up when we do.

I would suggest that creatively prolific people who produce great work on a consistent basis have developed habits of thought and action that are conducive to great work.

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You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. – Maya Angelou

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Consistency is what every artist is chasing and to me, in order for us to “make it” we need to create that consistency through the formation of positive habits.

That doesn't mean every piece of work must be exceptional – it won't. Rather we should create so much work that we can't be ignored.

Yeah sure, we'll create some crap from time to time but amongst all that work will be some gems.

So to me, developing positive daily habits is vital to creativity.

Giving Up Cigarettes Taught Me A Lesson

Giving up cigarettes gave me the confidence that I can do pretty much anything I put my mind to.

However, that doesn't always translate into formation of good habits for me. Or indeed the eradication of old, unhelpful habits.

I've found simply by observation and subsequently through the reading available material on the subject, that when I change environment some habits fall away.

For example, I drink a lot of coffee at home, when I am on holiday I don't drink nearly as much.

However, when I'm back at home I pick up the habit again.

That tells me my habits are hooked into my surroundings.

Understanding the psychological basis for our habits can help us form the ones that help us reach our goals, and remove the ones that don't.

Psychology tells us that habit formation is the process by which practised behaviours become automatic behaviours.

When we practice a behaviour, new neural pathways are created in the brain that strengthens over time. This is why practised behaviour gets easier.

When we avoid a particular established behaviour, neural pathways in the brain responsible for those behaviours die away.

Easier said than done, eh?

Reader Bonus: Habit by William James is a public domain work. Download your free PDF copy of Habit here FREE

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Every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort – William James

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William James' Maxims For The Formation Of New Habits

William James was an American physician, philosopher and psychologist often referred to as the father of American psychology. He was responsible for publishing many influential works during his lifetime, of which the article Habit published in February 1887 is one.

William James died of a heart attack at his home in New Hampshire in 1910. The 1887 article Habit was subsequently published with other articles in a single title under the same name in 1914.

James was quite forward thinking in his work. In his writings, he refers repeatedly to the “plastic” nature of the brain and organic material.

100 years or so later and we see this term Plasticity used repeatedly in biopsychology and neuroscience to explain the adaptability of the human organism to change.

In Habit, James refers to paths traversed by nerve-current, and how, as that nerve-current passes repeatedly over the same path, that the path is strengthened.

Whatever obstructions there might have been initially, they are slowly swept out of the way until it becomes natural.

Today the psychology of habit is a little more sophisticated and refined, however, the basic premise is the same.

To form a habit we must perform that behaviour over and over until it becomes automatic.

Habit Maxim #1

The acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible. Accumulate all the possible circumstances which shall reinforce the right motives; put yourself assiduously in conditions that encourage the new way; make engagements incompatible with the old; take a public pledge, if the case allows; in short, envelop your resolution with every aid you know.

Here, James is speaking of the importance of environment in the successful cultivation of new habits, and the removal of unwanted habits. Carefully and persistently we must put ourselves in circumstances that encourage success.

Go out of your way to avoid places and people that don't help you get where you want to go.

For example;

• If you're trying to lose weight, remove all foodstuff from your home that doesn't support your goal.
• Want to succeed in business? Hang out with successful business people.
• If you are trying to give up cigarettes stay away from the pub.

Habit Maxim #2

Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again. Continuity of training is the great means of making the nervous system act infallibly right

Here, James is speaking of falling off the wagon. If you are a few days into the practice of the new habit and you miss a day then as he suggests, you lose all your gains.

Keep continuity in your action, and even if you do fall off the horse, get back on again as quickly as possible. I will argue against him though in that any previous work is not completely lost.

Habit Maxim #3

Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting, you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. It is not in the moment of their forming, but in the moment of their producing motor effects, that resolves and aspirations communicate the new ‘set' to the brain.

James is talking about feedback from practised behaviour. As we practice a new habit, that practice becomes part of what is known as a feedback loop.

The feedback loop is a basic tenet of operant conditioning, made famous by behaviourist psychologist B.F. Skinner.

The feedback loop takes advantage of the sense of accomplishment and pride we feel when we carry out tasks in the direction of a goal.

The more we do it, the more likely we are to continue once positive feedback is experienced.

Habit is a short book, maybe 60 pages, but provides great insight into habit formation. It's in the public domain and I've prepared a copy for you here;

Reader Bonus: Habit by William James is a public domain work. Download your free PDF copy of Habit here FREE

The Starting Point For Good Creative Habits

The first thing that we need to do before attempting to establish any new habit is to define for ourselves what success is.

There is no universal definition here so take the time to contemplate what lights your fire, and what an associated major achievement might look like.

Sure, take inspiration from famous creative people but be careful not to get sucked into what others define as success.

Head goals can invariably lead us astray, as they have with me in the past. So focusing on what is meaningful and heartfelt to you is paramount.

Decide what do you want.

If you want to be a writer, commit to writing every day.

If that's a problem in your current home environment, find a location like the local library or college where you can write in relative peace and quiet.

The change in environment will in itself provide a new canvas where you can establish the habit that helps you progress towards your goal.

By doing so you may also see bad habits you've picked up in your current environment fall away.

I'll be writing more on the psychology of habit and its relationship to creativity in upcoming articles. So subscribe below to keep up to date.

Reader Bonus: Habit by William James is a public domain work. Download your free PDF copy of Habit here FREE