The Power of Habits: Building Lasting Wellness Routines
Does this sound familiar? You set the intention to go to the gym consistently again on Monday. It was a long weekend out on the town and a new season of your show aired. But you’ll be better next week. Monday comes. You laid out your gym clothes the night before. You hit snooze on your alarm.
You leave for work feeling defeated you didn’t make it to the gym this morning.
Let’s be honest—most of us don’t fail at wellness because we lack knowledge. We fail because we try to use willpower where we should be using wiring. Habits aren’t just helpful—they’re neurological shortcuts to a better you.
Habits are Loops
At their core, habits are loops: a cue, a routine, and a reward. Your brain loves them because they save energy. Deep in the basal ganglia, these loops become automatic over time, freeing up your prefrontal cortex for things like critical thinking—or remembering where you left your keys (Graybiel, 2008).
Dopamine, the brain’s motivation molecule, spikes in anticipation of reward, not the reward itself. This anticipation is what drives you to repeat behaviors—good or bad.
In this instance, choosing between your bed and the gym. The decision almost seems like a no-brainer. Your brain anticipates the dopamine of staying in bed. BAM! You end up sleeping in.
Maybe a part of you thinks, “Dang. If only there were a way for my brain to always choose the better option.”
Forming New Habits
That brings us to the infamous “21-day rule”—a myth more persistent than your New Year’s resolutions. A study by University College London found that forming a new habit takes an average of 66 days, with a wide range from 18 to 254 depending on the person and the behavior (Lally et al., 2010). In other words, don’t panic if that morning stretch hasn’t become second nature by week three.
To accelerate the process, use habit stacking, a strategy rooted in cognitive psychology. By anchoring a new habit to an existing one (e.g., reading after brushing your teeth), you’re leveraging an established neural groove to carve a new one. This approach reduces cognitive load and improves follow-through (Fogg, 2009). Bonus: it’s delightfully low-effort.
Breaking bad habits? Start with your triggers. Emotional states, social settings, and even time of day can kick off unwanted routines. Once you spot the cue, swap the routine—but keep the reward. This substitution strategy rewires the brain without leaving it reward-starved (Wood & Neal, 2007).
What if instead of going to the gym in the morning, you go in the evening? Say you pass a gym when you’re on your way home from work. You have to drive that way anyway, why not stop for a quick 20-30 minute workout?
This takes the mental load off you of having to muster up the courage to take the action of going to the gym. You are already moving, so stop by!
You get to spend more time in bed while meeting your goal to get to the gym consistently.
Consistency is king, and small wins keep the crown polished. In a large-scale study, researchers found that tracking progress, even in minor ways, significantly boosts motivation and long-term adherence (Harkin et al., 2016). Think micro-rituals, not marathons.
Finally, real change doesn’t come from bursts of motivation—it comes from sustainable systems. Design your environment to support your goals, build a network of accountability, and allow for flexibility. Your future self doesn’t need a drill sergeant. It needs a smart, supportive architect.
Make a checklist for yourself of your weekly workouts. Find a friend to be your accountability buddy. Take progress pictures. These may seem like little acts in the moment, but they are for the long-term game. You can reflect in a few weeks or months on the changes you have made.
References:
Graybiel, A. M. (2008). Habits, rituals, and the evaluative brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 31, 359–387.
Lally, P., et al. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology.
Fogg, B. J. (2009). A behavior model for persuasive design (PDF). Persuasive ’09.
Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface. Psychological Review.
Harkin, B., et al. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis. PLOS ONE.