How a Houston Therapist Recommends Building & Maintaining Healthier Habits
I recently heard about habit stacking on a podcast and immediately knew I had to read the book where the idea originated—Atomic Habits by James Clear. As a Houston therapist who supports high-functioning adults looking to make lasting lifestyle changes, I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s a powerful guide for understanding how our environments, daily systems, and behavioral psychology all play a role in whether we succeed or struggle to maintain healthier habits.
What is Habit Stacking?
Habit stacking is a practical and science-backed strategy for creating new routines. It involves “stacking” a new habit onto an existing one, so the original habit acts as a cue. As a therapist in Houston who often works with clients struggling to maintain consistency, I’ve found this method to be both simple and effective.
After practicing habit stacking for a few weeks, I can say with confidence—it works. It taps into how our brains already function by creating associations with behaviors we’re already doing.
The Psychology Behind Habit Formation
Clear outlines the four stages of habit formation:
Cue
Craving
Response
Reward
For example, waking up (cue), craving energy, drinking coffee (response), and feeling alert (reward) shows how a behavior becomes automatic over time. This model helps us build new habits—or break unhelpful ones—by leveraging these stages.
As a Houston-based online therapist, I often use this framework with clients who want to make sustainable lifestyle shifts, particularly when anxiety, overwhelm, or stress make consistency difficult.
How to Build Healthier Habits Using the Four Laws of Behavior Change
Stage 1: Cue – Make It Obvious
You’re more likely to follow through with a habit when the cue is clear and visible. For instance, keeping fruit at eye-level in your fridge makes healthy eating more accessible.
Personally, I struggled to stick with a meditation habit—until I started stacking it with an existing routine. Now, whenever I put on a face mask or do a nightly stretch (legs up the wall), that becomes my cue to meditate. These visual and behavioral triggers helped make meditation a realistic part of my nightly routine.
As a Houston therapist, I often suggest this to clients who feel stuck. Look for small, everyday habits and anchor a new habit onto them.
Stage 2: Craving – Make It Attractive
Once the craving kicks in, the brain is ready for a reward. Enter temptation bundling. For example, pair something you want (like online shopping) with something you need to do (like writing a blog post). “I’ll finish the post, then I can scroll Amazon.” This increases motivation and helps solidify the habit.
Another strategy is to surround yourself with people who already engage in the habits you want to adopt. Being part of a group where a behavior is the norm makes that behavior more appealing.
Stage 3: Response – Make It Easy
Clear emphasizes that habits should feel simple at the start. Even a two-minute daily meditation is more effective than sporadic long sessions. This is because consistency builds identity—you’re reinforcing neural pathways that support the behavior.
Removing friction is key. For example, prepping meals in advance makes eating healthy easier. As a virtual therapist in Houston, I often coach clients on how to reduce friction and plan ahead to support habit formation.
Stage 4: Reward – Make It Satisfying
This final stage encourages the brain to want to repeat the habit. But it’s important to make the reward align with your goals. For example, rewarding a healthy meal with a relaxing walk or hot bath reinforces your identity as someone who values well-being.
It’s less about forcing willpower and more about creating a life that supports who you want to become.
Final Thoughts from a Houston Therapist
Atomic Habits offers a clear and motivating roadmap for anyone struggling to build or maintain healthy habits. If you’ve tried to do this work on your own but find it hard to stay consistent, therapy can help.
As a Houston therapist offering online therapy across Texas, I help high-functioning adults create sustainable systems for change. If you’re ready for support in building habits that align with your goals, I’d love to help.
👉 Schedule a free 15-minute consultation here.
