DailyInspire.ch 2025

 

 

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day." — Jim Rohn

 

 

Short vacation, short daily entry.

 

I keep building my habits. Push-ups done, vinegar, turmeric, and other treats already consumed—now just a walk, and another day of habits completed! My usual home triggers are missing, but this blog is here. It reminds me of my habits. It gives me strength.

There is something that influences our habits more than willpower, motivation, or even goal awareness:

 

Triggers.

Triggers in Habit Building – Psychological Mechanisms and Practical Applications

Habits shape our daily lives in a far more fundamental way than we are willing to admit. Most of our actions do not stem from rational decisions or conscious choices but from automatisms that function based on conditioning. At the center of this process are triggers—stimuli that initiate specific behaviors.

The psychology of habits, based on behavioral and neurobiological research, proves that our brains operate in a way that minimizes cognitive effort. Automating behaviors saves energy and allows us to focus on more demanding tasks. However, this mechanism can work both for us and against us.

Triggers – What Are They and Why Do They Work?

Every habit consists of three key elements:

• Trigger (initiating stimulus) – a situation, place, emotion, or specific action that activates a certain behavior.
• Routine (behavior) – a repetitive response to the stimulus. This can be a beneficial action (e.g., starting exercise) or a harmful one (e.g., reaching for sweets).
• Reward (reinforcement) – a positive reinforcement that solidifies the habit and makes the brain want to repeat it in the future.

What makes triggers so effective is their deeply ingrained presence in the brain structures responsible for learning and conditioning. The brain is programmed to avoid uncertainty and act based on predictable patterns. Triggers enable quick decision-making without engaging higher cognitive functions, saving mental resources.

In other words, you don’t have to wonder whether and when to perform a given habit—you simply do it at a set time, following a specific action. (Brushing your teeth at night? Trigger: pajamas. Simple? Simple!)

 

Types of Triggers and Their Impact on Habits

 

Triggers can take different forms and originate from various aspects of our lives. In behavioral psychology, several main categories are distinguished:

• Time Context – Many habits are tied to a specific time of day. For example, morning coffee is often not about an actual need for caffeine but because it has become part of the morning routine. Routine.
• Physical Environment – The place where we are influences our behaviors. Entering the kitchen, we may automatically reach for a snack, even if we’re not hungry. Place.
• Social Stimulus – The presence of others can act as a catalyst for habits. People who spend time with physically active friends are more likely to engage in sports, while being around smokers increases the likelihood of picking up a cigarette. People.
• Emotions – Stress, boredom, or frustration can lead to impulsive reactions, such as emotional eating or compulsive social media browsing. Brain.
• Previous Actions – Some habits are cascading, meaning one action automatically triggers another. For example, after brushing our teeth, we might habitually use dental floss because one action has become the trigger for the next. Past.

 

How to Effectively Use Triggers to Build Positive Habits?

1. Associating with Existing Routines

The most effective way to implement a new habit is to link it to an already existing routine. This technique, known as habit stacking, is described by habit researchers as a way to "trick" the brain and weave new behavior into a well-known context.

Instead of introducing a new habit in isolation, it’s better to attach it to daily routines. For example:

• After each cup of coffee, I write one sentence in my journal in English. I learn.
• After entering the house, I always put my keys in the same place—a small habit, but one that saves a lot of time in the future.
• After brushing my teeth, I do five minutes of stretching exercises.

This way, the new habit doesn’t require a separate stimulus—trigger—because it is already embedded in an existing context.

Use old triggers for new, positive habits. That makes it easier!

2. Consciously Modifying the Environment

The environment we live in has a huge impact on our habits. If we want to drink more water, we should place a bottle on the desk. If we want to reduce unhealthy snacks, we should remove them from sight.

Research shows that people are more likely to choose options that are easily accessible and visible. One experiment conducted in a tech company found that placing fruits at eye level increased their consumption by 30%, while hiding sweets in cabinets reduced their intake by 40%.

3. Changing Reactions to Emotional Triggers

Emotions are one of the strongest triggers of negative habits. For example, stress often leads to eating unhealthy food, and boredom results in excessive phone use.

To change this pattern, we need to consciously replace the reaction to the trigger:

• If stress leads to eating sweets, we should introduce an alternative, such as a short breathing session or a walk.
• If boredom results in compulsive phone browsing, we can replace this habit with reading a few pages of a book.

The key is to understand that the reaction to an emotional trigger doesn’t have to be automatic—it can be modified through conscious action.

 

Practical Application Example

 

Let’s say someone wants to develop the habit of writing regularly but struggles to find time for it. Applying habit stacking and a conscious trigger could look like this:

• Trigger → After or during morning coffee, I open my notebook. I write in English.
• Routine → I write three sentences about my thoughts or plans for the day. (I write my tasks and mark completed or unfortunately uncompleted tasks from the previous day.)
• Reward → After writing, I feel satisfied with starting the day productively. The reward is endorphins and a positive mindset for the new day and tasks.

After a few weeks—I personally follow a 60-day method and completing the habit in at least 85% of those days—this pattern becomes automatic and no longer requires conscious effort. The brain starts treating writing as a natural part of the morning routine.

Trigger > habit > reward 😊

 

Triggers – A Long Story

 

Today, I only touched upon triggers, but I will definitely develop this topic further. My examples—morning exercises > vinegar with water > coffee > updating my calendar > writing this blog—show that even a habit can become a trigger. That way, you can loop it endlessly. Beautiful stuff.

Know this—building habits is not about willpower but about skillfully managing triggers and strategy. Like in life and games—you need a strategy. The brain functions predictably—it strives to minimize effort and repeats actions that lead to a reward.

Let’s give it a break—let it sleep a little longer, while you’re already done with your positive habits. Sounds amazing and simple.

In simplicity lies the greatest power.

(Repeating my motto!)

Effective Habit Shaping:

• Link new behaviors to existing routines. Trigger new habits and ideally replace old, bad ones.
• Modify the environment in a way that facilitates positive choices.
• Consciously manage emotional triggers.

Habit change doesn’t happen overnight, but understanding the mechanism of triggers allows you to gradually take control of automatic behaviors and effectively build long-term changes.

Take control. Find the triggers in your daily life and get to work. Start with something small: right after getting out of bed in the morning, give thanks that your eyes have opened and your heart is beating as it should.

 

See you tomorrow. It’s a beautiful day today! Right?