There are two types of triggers - internal and external. Internal triggers are the feelings or thoughts that prompt a habit. They are powerful, and ideal for making habit formation stick.

But in the beginning, you can’t rely on internal triggers to do what you want. They don’t exist yet. So you want to set up the appropriate external triggers to help in the meantime.

The Habit Formation Statement

Fogg suggests the best way to write habit statements is with the following format:

<aside> 💡 After <existing trigger>, I will <new habit>.

</aside>

You find something you’re already doing. And then you attach the new behavior (ideally a very simple version to maximize ability) to the end.

In the beginning you want to keep this simple - building one simple habit at a time, using an existing external trigger. Eventually, as you build the habit formation muscle, you can start to “stack” together, using the newly encoded habit as the trigger for the next habit you want to develop.

We’ll talk more about creating daily routines in week 6, but this is the approach for developing a morning routine. For example:

• Month one: After I wake up, I will say to myself, “Today is going to be a great day.”
• Month two: After I say “Today is going to be a great day,” I will drink a large glass of water.
• Month three: After I drink a large glass of water, I will put on my running shoes and go for a jog around the block.

And so on.