The Synergy of Habit Formation and Psychedelic-Assisted Growth Part Two

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Chemical Collective or any associated parties.

Introduction

Habits. They are both big and small. They are small because they can be tiny actions that we do day in and day out. They are big because they have the power to shape who we are and who we become.

When we combine the potential of habits with the transformational effects of psychedelics—and their ability to support the creation of new habits through neuroplasticity—we have a potent combination.

But how do they work together? And how can we use lessons of habit formation science and psychology to help us in our psychedelic integration process?

Well, that is the topic of this two-part series here on the Chemical Collective blog.

In part one, we looked at the power of small habits, the importance of systems over goals, and the value of building identity-based habits. If you missed it, check it out here.

In this, part two, we will focus on the implementation of systems to support habits through ‘The Four Laws of Behaviour Change’ from the bestselling book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

I will start by sharing two examples of psychedelic insights and how they might form the basis of a course of habit formation. I will then go through the Four Laws of Behaviour Change, and using these examples, illustrate how to use them to create successful behavioural change.

My intention is to leave you with a practical framework for implementing positive habit change that you can use in your psychedelic integration process.

Guided by Insights: Starting Your Transformation

Psychedelics often illuminate what truly matters to us. They can give us powerful insights and an impetus for change, directing us toward what is genuinely important in our lives. This is a good starting point to identify habits we would like to adopt.

For example, in a psychedelic experience, say you had a deep realisation of the importance and value of your health. You might see the value of a well-functioning body and feel highly motivated to take better care of yourself through healthy eating habits. This could be integrated by choosing less processed and junk food, and more whole foods, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Another example could be the realisation of the value of a healthy mind and the need for time dedicated to reflection. In this case, the integration process might involve establishing a regular journaling habit. This can help improve mental clarity, emotional processing, and self-reflection, supporting a healthy mind.

So let us say that in this case, your goals are to eat healthier and journal more.

We learned in part one that the first thing you need to do is work on your identity and beliefs about yourself.

So you want to create an identity which aligns with these actions.

This might look like:

• “I am a person who eats healthily.”
• “I am someone who journals regularly.”

Then, you can create systems to support the building of this new identity and embed these habits into your life.

This is where the Four Laws of Behaviour Change come in. They offer a structure to implement change through habits.

The Four Laws of Behaviour Change

The Four Laws of Behaviour Change are laid out in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. They are based on what he has identified as the four phases of a habit. They are:

1. Cue: Something that sets a habit in motion. For example, receiving a notification on your phone.
2. Craving: The desire or motivation to act in response to the cue. For example, feeling curious about the notification and wanting to know what it is about.
3. Response: The actual behaviour or habit itself. For example, unlocking your phone and opening the social media app to check the notification.
4. Reward: The benefit or satisfaction gained from the habit, which reinforces the behaviour. For example, seeing new likes or comments on your post, which gives you a sense of social validation and a little dopamine boost.

This example illustrates how the four components of the habit loop work together in a common everyday scenario. The notification (cue) triggers curiosity (craving), which leads to checking the app (response), resulting in social validation (reward). This cycle can reinforce the habit of frequently checking social media.

When it comes to creating positive new habits, there is a law for each of these stages that we can follow to help implement systems. These are:

1. Make it Obvious – Ensure the cues for your habits are clear and visible.
2. Make it Attractive – Make the habit appealing so that you are motivated to follow through.
3. Make it Easy – Simplify the habit so that it is easy to start and maintain.
4. Make it Satisfying – Add an element of immediate reward to reinforce the habit.

Let us go through them one by one, using the examples of healthy eating and journaling to illustrate how they work. To help create systems, we will turn each of these laws into a question.

1. Make it Obvious

How can you make healthy eating and journaling obvious?

To make healthy eating more obvious, you can start by focusing on visible cues. You could do this by placing a bowl of fresh fruits on your kitchen counter or dining table where they are easily seen. This means that healthy snacks are the most visible and accessible option. You could also organise your fridge so that fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole foods are at eye level. When you open the fridge, these are the first things you see, making them the obvious choice.

For journaling, you can designate a specific spot for your journal, such as your bedside table or desk, where it is both visible and easily accessible. This way, it becomes the first thing you notice when you are ready to wind down or reflect. To further reinforce this habit, you could use visual cues like a sticky note on your mirror or set a reminder notification on your phone. These reminders can prompt you to journal at a specific time each day and help integrate it into your routine.

2. Make it Attractive

How can you make healthy eating and journaling attractive?

To make healthy eating more attractive, you could experiment with vibrant, colourful ingredients and try out new recipes. If your meals look and taste great, you will likely be more inclined to choose them over less healthy options. You can also pair healthy eating with something enjoyable. For example, you might watch your favourite YouTuber or listen to your favourite podcast while preparing your meals. This creates a positive association with the habit.

To make journaling more attractive, you could create a ritual around it. Turn your journaling time into something you look forward to by adding small pleasures, such as some nice music, your favourite tea, or using a special pen. These little touches can make the act of journaling more appealing. You can also remind yourself of the benefits of journaling, such as increased clarity, emotional balance, or heightened creativity. When you remember these benefits, the act of journaling naturally becomes more desirable.

3. Make it Easy

How can you make healthy eating and journaling easy?

To make healthy eating easy, you can start by preparing in advance. Simplify your routine by prepping meals or snacks ahead of time. For example, chop fruits and vegetables in bulk and store them in the fridge so they are ready to grab and eat without any extra effort. You can also simplify your choices by keeping your cupboard stocked with healthy, easy-to-prepare options like nuts, whole grains, and canned beans. If your kitchen is filled with simple, nutritious ingredients, cooking a healthy meal becomes less of a chore and more of a quick and easy choice.

You could make journaling easier by setting a time limit. Commit to just five minutes of journaling each day. This lowers the barrier to entry. Knowing it will not take much time makes it easier to start and maintain the habit. To further simplify the process, you can use prompts to avoid blank-page syndrome. Keeping a list of journaling prompts or questions handy keeps it easy, as you do not have to think about what to write. You can just pick a prompt and begin.

4. Make it Satisfying

How can you make healthy eating and journaling satisfying?

To make healthy eating more satisfying, you can start by incorporating immediate rewards. After eating a healthy meal, treat yourself to something you enjoy, like a piece of dark chocolate or a relaxing cup of herbal tea. This immediate reward reinforces the positive behaviour, making you more likely to repeat it. You can also track your progress by using a food journal or an app. Visually seeing how many days you have eaten well can be satisfying and motivating, and give you a sense of accomplishment.

For journaling, you can celebrate completion by taking a moment to appreciate the clarity or relief you feel after a session. You can also reward yourself with something small, like a short walk or your favourite podcast episode, to reinforce the positive experience. You can also periodically review your past journal entries to see how far you have come in your thinking, emotions, or creativity. This reflection can be satisfying and encourage you to continue journaling.

These are just a few examples but I hope this illustrates how you can lay a solid foundation for integrating new, positive behaviours into your life by applying the Four Laws of Behaviour Change and making habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. These principles can help you to not only start habits, but sustain them over the long term.

Breaking Bad Habits: The Inverse of the Four Laws

Just as the Four Laws of Behaviour Change can help you establish positive habits, applying the inverse of these laws can help you break bad ones. By making undesirable habits less obvious, less attractive, more difficult, and less satisfying, you can begin fighting back against behaviours that no longer serve you.

Let us take a look at how this works by using the inverse of the healthy eating example. This would be how to break unhealthy eating habits.

1. Make It Less Obvious

To start breaking a bad habit, it is key to reduce its visibility and accessibility. For unhealthy eating, you can apply the principle of “out of sight, out of mind”. You can do this by storing junk food, processed snacks, and sugary treats in less accessible places, like high shelves or in hidden containers. By reducing their visibility, you lower the likelihood of impulsive consumption. You might also consider removing unhealthy food from your home altogether. If it is not readily available, you will be less tempted by it.

2. Make It Less Attractive

Next, work on lessening the appeal of the habit. You could do this by avoiding pairing junk food with positive activities, such as using it as a reward for completing tasks, as this can create an association that makes it more appealing.

3. Make It More Difficult

To further break the habit, increase the effort required to engage in it. With unhealthy eating, you can make it less convenient by storing unhealthy snacks in inconvenient locations or requiring multiple steps to get to them, like using a special key or code to unlock a cabinet. By adding obstacles like this, or even having to leave the house and drive to get junk food, you can help deter yourself from giving in to cravings.

4. Make It Less Satisfying

Finally, work on reducing the immediate rewards associated with the habit. To make unhealthy eating less satisfying, find ways to reduce the instant pleasure it provides. This might be by keeping a habit tracker to monitor unhealthy eating. So every time you indulge in an unhealthy snack, you have to record it in your tracker. Knowing that it will be recorded each time can make the habit less gratifying.

These are just a few examples, but if you want to use the inverse laws to help break bad habits, you start by asking: How can I make this behaviour less obvious, less attractive, more difficult and less satisfying?

Going Through the Phases: From Unbearable to Unstoppable

Now we know how to apply the Four Laws of Behaviour Change to support the creation of new habits and the breaking of bad ones.

Easy, right? Well, not so fast.

It is important to remember that changing our identity and our habits can take time. It is a process, rather than a single event, and that process is not always easy. So try to embrace the journey with all of its challenges and remember that it is a process of aligning with your values and becoming closer to the person you want to be. A worthy pursuit indeed.

With this in mind, I would like to finish by sharing three common phases that we go through when we are starting a new habit, in the hopes that it will make the process a bit easier for you.

Phase One: Unbearable

In the first stage, the changes we are trying to make can feel overwhelmingly hard. It is unbearable! It might seem like such hard work, and you might wonder, “How am I ever going to keep this up? This is way too hard.” Remember, this feeling of difficulty is a period of adaptation and will not last forever. Soon, you will move to phase two.

Phase Two: Uncomfortable

In the uncomfortable stage, the new behaviour is no longer unbearable but still uncomfortable. It does not feel agonising or require massive willpower, but it does still require some effort and feels a bit uncomfortable. Despite the discomfort, you are making progress.

Phase Three: Unbeatable

Finally, you reach the unbeatable stage. This is where the new habit starts to stick. At this stage, it is no longer uncomfortable, and you feel confident that you can continue with the new habit. You might even think, “Hey, I am unstoppable!”.

Final Thoughts

Habits, when combined with the transformative power of psychedelics, can lead to profound life changes. This two-part blog series has explored how to leverage the insights gained from psychedelic experiences to create lasting, positive habits.

By understanding the Four Laws of Behaviour Change and applying them to your desired habits, you can effectively implement systems that support your goals. Keep in mind that it is a process of transformation and that the initial stages may be challenging. However, with persistence and a focus on making good habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying, you will be well on your way to creating habits that help you grow.

Best of luck!

John Robertson | Community Blogger at Chemical Collective | mapsofthemind.com

John is one of our community bloggers here at Chemical Collective. If you’re interested in joining our blogging team and getting paid to write about subjects you’re passionate about, please reach out to David via email at blog@chemical-collective.com