Use the records you collected about your target behavior in Activity 3 and in your health journal to identify what leads up to your target behavior and what follows it. By tracing these chains of events, you’ll be able to identify points in the chain where you can make a change that will lead to your new behavior. The sample behavior chain on the next page shows a sequence of events for a person who wants to add exercise to her daily routine but who winds up snacking and watching TV instead. By examining the chain carefully, one can identify ways to break it at every step. After you review the sample, go through the same process for a typical chain of events involving your target behavior. Use the blank behavior chain on the following page.

Some general strategies for breaking behavior chains include the following:

• Control or eliminate environmental cues that provoke the behavior. Stay out of the room where your television is located. Go out for an ice cream cone instead of buying a half gallon for your freezer.
  
• Change behaviors or habits that are linked to your target behavior. If you always smoke in your car when you drive to school, try taking public transportation instead.
  
• Add new cues to your environment to trigger your new behavior. Prepare easy-to-grab healthy snacks and carry them with you to class or work. Keep your exercise clothes and equipment in a visible location.

See also the suggestions in Chapter 1 and in the box "Maximizing Your Chances of Success" on p. 14.