MYTH #3
Once you’ve had a habit for a long time, it’s permanent.
MYTHBUSTER It’s true that old habits are harder to break because they’re more ingrained in your routine, but breaking them is far from impossible.
“The good news is that our brains are always plastic. The more we pay attention to the habit cycle, the faster we break habits, no matter how long we’ve had them,” Dr. Brewer says.
To break a habit, you need to disrupt the habit cycle—removing cues, changing your routine, and replacing the reward.
Let’s say you stop for a chocolate shake on your drive home from work every day—your cue is getting into your car, your behavior is buying the shake, and the reward is the tasty treat.
To break the cycle, you might leave work earlier or later and change your route home. Instead of the shake, you might reward yourself with a dishy podcast in the car.
“If you can find something more rewarding than your old bad habit, you can ‘overwrite’ that habit by remembering and experiencing the positive result of a good habit,” Dr. Brewer says