There are few things in life that hold us back more than wanting desperately to make positive changes in our lives but simply, frustratingly, not making those changes, day after day, week after week, month after month. In my heart of hearts, for example, I know that practicing breathwork regularly brings me clarity, a fresh flow of creative ideas for my work and lower stress levels. So, developing a daily or even weekly practice would surely bring untold benefits. But despite putting it in my planner—in caps with three exclamation points—it’s Just. Not. Happening.
If you’re in a similar boat—whether it’s drinking eight glasses of water a day, prospecting one new client a week, finishing that course on public speaking or getting to bed on time for a solid night’s sleep—there’s good news. The psychology of human habits is becoming less of a mystery, and coaches, who regularly deal in the currency of cultivating consistent behaviors, are using these insights with clients daily to learn how to hack our stubborn brains.
Here, we’ve compiled some fresh tips from career, creativity and life coaches to bring you some of the latest thinking on how to hack your habit-building efforts—so you can crack the code and drive the growth you know is waiting for you on the other side.
1. Start Small...Tiny...Tinier
Many habits fail to take hold because they are simply too big or too daunting, which is bound to overwhelm your resolve. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones and a former performance coach, suggests picking a habit that’s so easy that you can do it with hardly any willpower.
If your goal is to write in a gratitude journal every day for 20 minutes, for example, start off with just two minutes, then try to increase that amount by a small percentage every day. If your habit is more complex, say crafting one new course each month, then break it down into smaller pieces, tackling just one small section a day. This approach, Clear says, takes patience. But it should feel easy, especially in the beginning, which is key to getting started and maintaining momentum.
2. Do the Thing that Can’t be Undone
If the challenge is primarily getting started, try a simple, brave act of commitment. If you’ve been wanting to learn how to tap dance, for instance, sign up for the class and pay the registration in full.
“Pick the one thing you’ve been circling—the course, the pitch, the application, the boundary, the hire—and do the piece you cannot walk back,” says Erica Rooney, a human resources executive, coach, speaker and the author of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors: Shattering Limiting Beliefs and Toxic Behaviors to Uncover Infinite Possibilities. “Spend the money. Hit send on the email. Once you do the thing that cannot be undone, you have set the rest in motion.”
Our brains are well equipped to avoid things it deems as uncomfortable or challenging, so removing the negotiation from the table flips a “psychological switch from ‘maybe’ to ‘I’m doing this,'” she adds.
3. Create a Double-Reward Loop
Neuroscientists understand that habitual behaviors are typically formed when they are rewarded immediately. One way to activate this is by “temptation bundling,” or pairing a “should do” task with a “want to do” task.
Grace Adele Boyle, a coach to executives and creatives, has found that when you double up on rewards, you also double your chances of sticking with it.
“Reserve something deeply enjoyable—an addictive audiobook, favorite show or a specific podcast—that you only engage with while doing your habit,” she says. “I take it one step further and include a second reward immediately after habit completion. I call this a ‘double-reward loop,' and it keeps your brain engaged during the habit and creates anticipation for next time through immediate reinforcement.”
For her, this looks like saving certain media only for workouts, then enjoying a crave-worthy chocolate protein shake immediately afterward.
4. Use the ‘Most Days’ Theory
You’ve been pushing hard with a habit or an intention and you just aren’t seeing results. Instead, you are stuck in a shame spiral. If this scenario sounds familiar, try the “most days” theory, coined by Bree Groff, a workplace culture coach, speaker and author, in a viral Substack post. She writes: “It’s the theory that we derive enormous benefit from the habits we practice most days.”
Groff advocates for a gentler approach to change: practice the desired behavior most days—if not every day—because consistent, flexible effort is more sustainable than perfection.
If you’re trying to adopt a daily yoga practice, for example, and you find yourself rolling out your mat five days out of seven, well, that’s a win.
5. Make the New Habit Your Entire Personality
A growing body of research suggests that seeing a habit as something that aligns with your identity (“I am someone who...”) is far more powerful than seeing a habit as something you do.
“You don’t act from goals,” says Grant Muller, a speaker, coach and the author of Top of Heart: How a New Approach to Business Saved My Life, and Could Save Yours Too. “You act from identity. When you activate your reflective brain, behavior follows without as much resistance.”
He suggests a 60-second “identity rehearsal” each morning to choose a word that aligns with the person you’re striving to become, thus setting the tone for the habits you want to cultivate.
Boyle agrees, adding that while willpower can fade, personal values don’t. She suggests asking yourself questions like, “Why does this habit matter to me? What does it make possible? What value does it honor? Who does it help me become?” To set yourself up for maximum success, make your answers to these questions “personal, emotional and visible,” she says.
Image courtesy of Roman Samborsky/Shutterstock
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of SUCCESS Digital Edition. Get your FREE copy here.
