What are habits? How can we change the habits we have and form new ones? Dr. Jibran Khokhar defines what a habit is and suggests ways we can develop good habits throughout the year.

Definition of a habit

Habit is a shift in our behaviour from being goal-oriented to being automatic or habitual. It's our brain's way of automatizing behaviour so that we become more efficient in our daily actions.

Characteristics of habits

1. Habits are unaffected by the value of the outcome
2. Habits are created through the repetition of behaviour
3. Habits can form quicker if the reward is unpredicted, or occurs at an unpredictable schedule