How to change your bad habits and improve your life

We all have habits we'd like to break. Whether it's biting your fingernails, smoking, or eating late at night.
But, why are these habits so hard to break?

Because we go into automatic mode during routines, our brains stop fully participating in decision making.
Our habits will automatically unfold every time there is a cue. These habits can be so entrenched that the reward doesn't even have to be good. A study of habitual popcorn eaters at the movies found that they were minimally impacted by hunger, or how much they like the food, and they ate the cinema popcorn regardless of whether it was stale or fresh. Our habits often overrule what we know is good for us.