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The Habit Loop

A one-page worksheet drawn as the four-stage habit loop — cue, craving, response, reward — laid out as a closed clockwise cycle around the habit at its centre. Name one habit, choose whether you're building it or breaking it, then trace each stage in a line or two. Every stage carries its Law of Behavior Change, flipped for building versus breaking, so the sheet doubles as a menu of levers: make the cue obvious or invisible, the craving attractive or unattractive, the response easy or difficult, the reward satisfying or unsatisfying. It closes with the single change you'll make to the loop. Habits run on a loop, not willpower — see the loop and you can bend it. Leave any stage blank to map by hand.

Best for: Diagnosing why a habit sticks — and finding the one stage to change to build it or break it.
Badge: Composed

A still life that evokes the The Habit Loop

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Build your the habit loop

Composed printable

See the loop.

Every habit runs the same four-step loop: a cue triggers a craving, the craving drives a response, and the response delivers a reward that trains you to do it again. Name one habit, trace it around the ring, and the sheet shows you the Law of Behavior Change for each stage — the four levers you pull to build a good habit or break a bad one.

How it works

Pick a mode — building a habit or breaking one flips each stage's law.
Trace the loop — describe the cue, craving, response, and reward in a line each.
Bend one stage — commit to the single change that reshapes the whole loop.

Portrait, one page. Leave any stage blank to fill in by hand.

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