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🏷️ Categories: Habits, Behavior, Mental models.
In 2009, behavioral scientist BJ Fogg created a simple model that changed the way we think about habits and human behavior.
His idea is simple, but powerful: for you to do something, three things have to align: wanting to, being able to do it, and a reminder that pushes you to act.
B = Behavior → What you do
M = Motivation → How much you want to do it
A = Ability (or ease) → How easy it is to do it
P = Prompt (or cue) → The push that gets you moving
Today we call this the Fogg Behavior Model. And although it sounds technical, it’s actually a simple and very useful tool for understanding why we do what we do (and how to change it if we want to).
Let’s talk about what it is and how to use it to build good habits and drop bad ones.
Why do you do what you do?
In the past it was thought that habits came from who you are. That if you don’t achieve something, it’s because you’re missing something internal: character, discipline, willpower…
And you’ve surely heard phrases like these:
“It’s that I don’t have the willpower to diet”
“It’s that if I focused, I’d do it, but I get distracted”
“It’s that I’m just like that and I can’t change that”
The problem with thinking this way is that it boxes us into something that isn’t true. It makes us believe our habits are fixed, as if we were predestined to something. The reality is that current models of psychology tell a very different story.
And a more hopeful one.
The key isn’t in who you are. It’s in where you are and what’s happening around you. For you to do something, three things need to align:
Wanting to (motivation)
Being able to do it (that it’s easy)
Getting a push (a cue that reminds you to act)
So, if you struggle to stick to a diet, maybe it’s not because you’re “weak.” Maybe it’s because there are always cookies in sight in your kitchen, or your friends invite you out to eat every weekend. The environment controls more than we think. Much more.
Here’s the key: you can change your habits from the outside, without changing who you are.
Let’s look at each of these factors and how to use them in your favor.
Personal elements: motivation and ability
1. Motivation
We are not condemned to be as we are.
Our skills and talents are not a destiny. They can be developed and improved. But there’s a small detail: you have to be willing to do it.
Psychologist Carol Dweck spent years studying how we think about our abilities. Her conclusion is key: there are 2 ways in which we see our abilities.
Fixed mindset: It’s the inner voice that says: “This is just how it is, this is just how I am, I don’t change.” If you’re not good at math, well, you’re not. If you don’t have talent for drawing, neither. That’s just how things are.
Growth mindset: It’s the voice that says: “I can learn. I can improve.” It doesn’t deny the difficulties, but it sees them as part of the process.
The curious thing is that we can have both mindsets depending on the context. Maybe you believe you can improve in sports, but you think singing or dancing “isn’t for you.” That belief conditions your motivation to try.
What does all this imply?
The way you see yourself affects your motivation to change. If you want to change, start carrying out small actions that define you as the kind of person you want to be. Each action is one more demonstration in favor of your new identity.
Once motivation appears to act, we move on to the second element.
2. Ability
Reducing friction is key.
When an action is more accessible and less energetically costly, it’s much more likely to happen. That’s why, many times, we don’t fail from lack of motivation — it’s because the behavior is too difficult. If it requires too much effort or time, our brain will look for something easier.
That’s why an effective strategy is to make the initial habit very easy.
Instead of setting out to “read every day,” start by reading one page.
Instead of “exercise for an hour,” start with 10 minutes of exercise.
At the start it’s not about doing a lot, the key is to naturalize the behavior until it becomes intuitive for us. It’s just a matter of time before you can then read more than one page and do more than 10 minutes of exercise.
Make it small and easy, then expand from there.
External elements: Choice architecture
Let’s talk about the last ingredient of the Fogg model: the cue or trigger.
It’s that small push that tells us “now is the moment.”
And here’s the interesting part: many of these cues come from our environment, not from our head.
The environment is an actor
Sometimes it seems like the environment is just something that happens to us.
It’s hard to change where you live, who you work with, or which people surround you. But the truth is there are many ways to adjust your space so that the changes you want activate almost on their own. What you have to do is change the triggers.
Let me tell you how I applied this.
I wanted to drink more water because I noticed I was drinking very little each day and that isn’t healthy. Instead of relying on my memory, I simply put a bottle of water in every habitual place I’m in. And I started hydrating better instantly.
Did I also have water at home before? Yes.
Was it an obvious cue from my environment? No.
I changed the environment and my habits changed. And all without any effort.
The power of physical space
Richard Thaler, in his book Nudge, explains something we’ve all felt: products at eye level sell much more than the ones on the floor.
At Massachusetts General Hospital they managed to get people to drink 25% more water just by rearranging the drinks in the cafeteria.
In a cafeteria, 48% more people opted for healthier menu options just by changing the order in which the menu was displayed.
This is called choice architecture. There are countless examples. The key is to arrange your environment so that the best decisions are the default options.
The digital space
Social media notifications, emails, phone alerts... they all act as triggers that activate automatic habits.
The problem is that they almost always distract us from what’s important.
That’s why I learned to simplify my digital environment and eliminate what’s not necessary. If you want to avoid phone distractions and get back at least an hour a day for life, you can check out the digital minimalism guide I wrote.
The key question is: is your environment working for you or against you?
Motivation, ability, and environment
Changing bad habits and maintaining new ones isn’t easy. But BJ Fogg’s model explains it simply: an action happens when three factors coincide.
Motivation: having reasons to do it
Ability: that it’s easy to start
Cue: a reminder that activates the action
When these three elements align, habits become intuitive, based on a system that supports them. Make it easy, create clear cues, and feed motivation.
If these 3 pieces are working in your favor, changing your habits will be an intuitive process.
— Álvaro
Want to know more? Here are 3 related ideas to explore:
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References
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Fogg, B. J. (2009). A behavior model for persuasive design. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology. Association for Computing Machinery. URL
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness.
Thorndike, A. N., Sonnenberg, L., Riis, J., Barraclough, S., & Levy, D. E. (2012). A 2-phase labeling and choice architecture intervention to improve healthy food and beverage choices. American Journal of Public Health, 102(3), 527–533. URL