If you find yourself perpetuating some bad habit--or maybe a few bad habits!--don't be too hard on yourself, because habits really are difficult to break. It's not because we're lazy or weak, and there's actually a lot of science out there about why we tend to fall into bad habits over and over again.
"In fact, the brain starts working less and less," says Duhigg. "The brain can almost completely shut down. ... And this is a real advantage, because it means you have all of this mental activity you can devote to something else."
The idea is that we make things like eating healthy meals and exercising regularly the ones that become automatic rather than hitting the snooze button, which can actually make us more tired in the long run.
So what happens when you want to break an unhealthy habit and replace it with a healthy one? Create rewards for yourself for all those good habits you're trying to start. They can be little things, like promising yourself a coffee and healthy breakfast with friends immediately after finishing a work out. You could reward yourself for waking up with the first alarm by getting yourself some amazing body scrub to use in a long, hot, sense-awakening shower. Looking forward to those showers might be just what you need to get out of bed.
This week, try a little exercise to get those habits changed:
1. Choose one habit you'd like to change, and try to identify the reward you've been giving yourself that makes it difficult to stop indulging. Work on removing that reward.
2. Choose one healthy habit you'd like to begin, and a reward to go right along with it.
Starting off slow an easy is key. Be nice to yourself, and don't get too upset if you slip up once in a while, because we all do!
Good luck with all those habits, and feel free to comment below to talk with others about their habit progress.
