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How to form a daily reflection habit (that sticks)

We all know that small daily investments in our health lead to major benefits over time — so how can we make them a habit?

Ed Blunderfield
7 min readMar 24, 2019

It’s unlikely that sitting down for a 5-minute meditation today will yield life-changing results for you.

But, if you sustain your practice over time, you can experience meaningful changes in your life — both in terms of your subjective experience as well as the measurable activity going on inside your brain.

A lot of us struggle, however, to make self-reflective practices (such as meditation or using Open Dialogue) a daily habit.

We start and then stop.

Start …

… and then stop again.

But there is a framework for understanding why this happens, and how to work with your own human nature to create a daily reflection habit that sticks.

A simple framework for understanding habits

This framework was first introduced to me by James Clear, the habit expert. It illustrates for us the core components of habits, and how these behaviours become self-reinforcing (i.e. “habit loops”).

“The process of building a habit can be divided into four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.” — James Clear

The Cue:

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Ed Blunderfield
Ed Blunderfield

Written by Ed Blunderfield

Guiding Leaders to Confidence, Clarity, Motivation & True Happiness | edblunderfield.com

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