To break unhealthy habits, stop obsessing over willpower

People often repeat everyday behaviors out of habit. If you regularly drink coffee, you likely do so automatically as part of your habitual routine – not just out of tiredness.

It’s unsatisfying to say that we do something out of habit just because it’s what we’re used to doing. Instead, we concoct more compelling explanations, like saying we drink coffee to ease our morning fog.

This reluctance means that we fail to recognize many habits, even as they permeate our daily lives.

Habits are formed in specific environments that provide a cue, or trigger, for the behavior.