Human behavior develops with the habits and reactions based on instincts or past experiences and frequently becomes harmful to well-being. The ability to regulate and change one’s actions is influenced by reflective and implicit processes (St Quinton and Brunton, 2017). Consequently, a person can manage their health approaches by addressing how a specific doing affects their conditions and identifying the factors that lead them to act against their healthiness. This paper aims to discuss how to improve well-being based on the behavior change approaches, replacing soda with water as an example.
The habit of having unhealthy drinks instead of water is common because soda seems more pleasing, and the latter might not be available when necessary. After the set of actions like taking soda when thirsty forms a habit, an individual performs them unconsciously and cannot regulate them until they notice severe health conditions. Psychologists argue that realizing an issue is the first step towards behavior change as the motivation forces a person to plan how they will regulate themselves (St Quinton and Brunton, 2017). The goal of replacing soda to improve health needs to be narrowed to a more specific course of action with an achievable and timely objective. For example, a 30-day challenge of switching unhealthy drinks to water would be easier to accept, and it would assist in building new behavioral patterns.
The conscious performance of one action instead of another would lead to behavior change when it becomes automated. Then, the human brain erases the old malicious activity making it unpleasant for a person. Thus, to replace soda with water, an individual needs to recognize the triggers of craving, implement the treatment by always having water with them, and perform such actions long enough to form a habit.
Reference List
St Quinton, T. and Brunton, J.A. (2017) ‘Implicit processes, self-regulation, and interventions for behavior change’, Frontiers in Psychology, 8, p.346. Web.