Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to stick to a new exercise routine, or why you automatically reach for your phone first thing in the morning? The answers lie in our habits - those routine behaviors we do almost without thinking.

Habits can be powerful allies (when they’re good for us) or stubborn foes (when they’re not). The science of habit building shows that we can train our brains to develop good habits and break bad ones, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

Understanding how habits form is the first step to changing them.

At the core of habit science is the habit loop: cue - routine - reward. This loop was popularized by Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit.

Essentially, something cues or triggers the behavior, then you perform the routine (the habit itself), and then you get a reward (a payoff that tells your brain “do that again next time!”). For example, your phone dings (cue), you check the message (routine), you feel a bit of satisfaction or relief at seeing what it was (reward).

Do this repeatedly, and your brain starts craving the reward whenever the cue happens, and voilà - a habit is formed. Research suggests that building a habit takes consistent repetition.

You might have heard the myth “it takes 21 days to form a habit,” but real studies show it can vary widely. On average, it takes about 2 months (around 66 days) for a new behavior to become automatic, but it depends on the person and the behavior - some habits form faster, others take much longer.

The key is consistency and patience. Now, let’s dive into how to develop good habits effectively, and then we’ll tackle strategies for breaking bad ones.9 Developing Good Habits Cultivating a positive new habit requires strategy and persistence.

Here are some science-backed tips to ## help new habits stick

Start Small and Be Consistent

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you want to start a habit of exercising, begin with just 10 minutes a day instead of an hour-long gym session.

A habit needs to be repeatable even on your worst days. It’s better to succeed at a small habit (like reading 5 pages of a book each night) than to fail at a big one (50 pages a night and you quit after 3 days).

Consistency is more important than intensity at first. Once the habit is firmly in place, you can gradually increase the difficulty.

Use Habit Stacking (Tie New Habits to Existing Ones)

One effective technique is to attach the new habit to something you already routinely do. For instance, if you want to start flossing (new habit) and you already brush your teeth every night, make a plan: “After I brush my teeth at night, I will floss.” The existing habit of brushing acts as a cue for the new habit.

This concept, sometimes called “habit stacking” (coined by author James Clear), leverages your brain’s existing wiring to create a link to the new behavior.

Design Your Environment for Success

Make good habits easier and bad habits harder (we’ll talk more about breaking bad habits later, but environment is key for both). If your goal is to eat healthier, keep fruits and cut veggies at the front of your fridge and junk food out of sight (or don’t buy it at all).

If you want to practice guitar every day, leave the guitar on a stand in the living room where you see it, instead of tucked in a closet. Our environment often shapes our behavior subconsciously.

By structuring your surroundings to encourage the habit, you reduce the effort needed to initiate it.

Use Reminders and Triggers

In the early stages, use reminders to reinforce the habit loop’s cue. This could be alarms on your phone, sticky notes in strategic places (“Time to stretch!” on your computer monitor), or setting out your workout clothes before bed to cue a morning exercise habit.

Over time, the habit ideally becomes cued naturally by a time of day or another activity (like you automatically feel the urge to stretch at 3pm because you consistently did it at that time). Until then, external reminders help keep you on track.

Reward and Celebrate Small Wins

Remember the habit loop - there needs to be a reward to reinforce the behavior. Some rewards are intrinsic (exercise makes you feel good thanks to endorphins), but sometimes you need to give yourself an extra pat on the back.

It could be as simple as crossing the day off on a habit tracker or telling yourself “good job” (it sounds silly but it reinforces the identity of being someone who sticks to habits). You might also pair the habit with something you enjoy - for example, only allow yourself to watch your favorite show while on the treadmill, so the exercise is rewarded with entertainment.

Celebrating each day you stick with your habit, no matter how small, builds positive momentum.

Track Your Progress

Keep a record of your habit streak - this can be a journal, a habit tracking app, or a calendar where you mark an X for each day you succeeded. Seeing a chain of successes can be very motivating (you won’t want to break the chain!).

And if you slip, tracking helps you notice and

• course-correct. Don’t get discouraged by one miss; instead, resolve to get back on track immediately the next day. The idea is not to be perfect, but to be persistent.

Be Patient and Persistent

As mentioned, habits take time to solidify. There will be days you don’t feel like doing the new behavior.

This is where it helps to remind yourself why you want this habit - connect it to a larger goal or value. Maybe you want to learn a new language (habit of practicing 15 minutes a day) because it’s important for your career, or you want to meditate daily because it improves your mental health.

Keeping the bigger picture in mind can motivate you on tough days. And if you falter, don’t give up.

Just restart. Persistence is what turns actions into habits.

Breaking Bad Habits We all have habits we wish we could break - maybe it’s excessive social media scrolling, smoking, biting nails, or late-night snacking. Breaking a bad habit can be challenging because that habit loop (cue-routinereward) is often well entrenched in our brains.

But with conscious effort, you can disrupt the loop and ## replace it with healthier behaviors.

Here are strategies to tackle bad habits Identify the Triggers (Cues)

The first step is to become aware of when and why you do the bad habit. What’s the cue?

Is it time of day, a particular emotion, or being around certain people or places? For example, perhaps you notice you bite your nails (routine) whenever you’re anxious (cue) because it provides a momentary sense of relief (reward).

Or you always grab a sugary snack (routine) at 3pm (cue) because you get an energy slump and the sugar gives a quick rush (reward). Write down or mentally note each time you catch yourself doing the habit - what were you feeling or doing just before that?

Replace the Habit with an Alternative Behavior

Simply trying to stop a habit by willpower is tough; it leaves a void where the habit used to be. A more effective approach is to replace the routine with something else that satisfies the underlying need.

Using the 3pm snack example

if the real need is an energy boost or break, you could replace the candy bar habit with a short walk or a healthier snack (nuts or fruit) for energy. If you tend to check social media when bored, you might replace it by texting a friend or doing a quick stretch instead - something that gives a similar shortterm reward of connection or movement.

The idea is to keep the same cue and reward, but change the action in between.

Increase Friction for Bad Habits

Make it more difficult to engage in the bad habit. If you have a habit of watching too much TV late into the night, unplug the TV and put the remote in an inconvenient spot when you’re not using it.

That way, when the cue strikes (maybe “I’m bored” or “It’s 10pm”), the effort to start watching is higher, giving you a moment to reconsider. If you’re trying to break a phone addiction, you could log out of the addictive apps, or even keep your phone in another room for certain hours.

For unhealthy foods, don’t keep them readily accessible at home - if they’re not around, you can’t eat them on impulse. The more steps or inconveniences between you and the habit, the easier it is to avoid.

Use Accountability and Support

Tell a friend or family member about the habit you’re trying to break and ask for their support. Sometimes just voicing your commitment out loud increases your resolve.

You can also partner up with someone who wants to break a habit too - keep each other in check. If you’re trying to quit something serious like smoking, consider formal support groups or

• counseling; there’s no shame in getting help, and structured programs can double your chances of success. If your bad habit is minor but annoying (like nail biting), even a simple thing like using a habit-tracking chart where you reward yourself for each day you don’t bite can help, possibly combined with a physical reminder (like bitter-tasting nail polish designed to deter biting).

Practice Mindfulness to Combat Urges

Urges to do the bad habit will inevitably come - cravings, boredom, stress, etc. Training yourself in mindfulness can be a powerful tool.

When you feel the urge, instead of immediately giving in, try to pause and observe what the urge feels like. For instance, “I’m feeling an urge to eat a cookie.

My stomach isn’t rumbling, so I know I’m not truly hungry; I’m just stressed from that meeting. The urge feels like a tightness in my chest.” Often, if you acknowledge the craving and wait a few minutes, it will pass like a wave.

Deep breathing, drinking water, or distracting yourself with another activity for 5-10 minutes can also ride out the urge. Every time you resist and replace the bad habit, you weaken its hold a little bit.

Be Kind to Yourself (Avoid All-or-Nothing Thinking)

Breaking a habit is rarely a straight path. You might do well for a week and then slip up.

It’s important not to throw in the towel when that happens. Instead of thinking “I messed up, so I’m back to square one,” realize that one lapse doesn’t erase the progress you made.

What matters is your overall trend. If you fall back into the habit once, consider what triggered it and how to avoid that scenario next time, then reaffirm your commitment and move on.

Beating yourself up or feeling ashamed can actually lead to giving up; self-compassion will keep you motivated to continue improving. ## Conclusion Changing habits - whether forming good ones or breaking bad ones - is a process that involves understanding your own behavior patterns and consistently applying smart strategies. Science tells us that our brains are capable of change (thanks to neuroplasticity), and every time you practice a new habit or resist an old one, you are literally reshaping neural pathways.

The key takeaways

Start with small, manageable changes; use cues and rewards to your advantage; design your environment to support the behaviors you want; and be patient with yourself. Habits aren’t destiny - they’re learned, and they can be unlearned or replaced.

It might feel hard at first, but over time, the new habits will require less conscious effort as they become part of your routine. Imagine your life a year from now with the good habits you want firmly in place and the bad habits largely behind you.

That outcome is entirely possible with the steps you take starting today. Stay consistent, adjust your tactics as needed, and don’t underestimate the power of even tiny daily actions.

They add up to big changes. As the saying goes, “We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” By mastering habit building, you’re essentially taking control of the steering wheel of your life, guiding it toward the positive changes you seek.