If you’ve ever struggled to stop doomscrolling before bed, impulse buying on your credit card or eating one too many sweets, you’ve probably noticed that simply knowing something is harmful doesn’t always translate into taking better actions. But as the US psychiatrist and educator Tracey Marks explains in this short video, we can leverage how our brains are wired to close that gap and break a bad habit. Marks starts by debunking common and unhelpful myths about what it takes to make a change – chief among them the idea that willpower alone is enough – before moving on to concrete strategies, like making the things that trigger a bad habit harder to access, and to how reframing our sense of identity can make new habits stick.
For more on changing habits and cultivating healthier behaviours, read the Psyche Guide ‘How to resist everyday temptations’ (2025). Close the intention-action gap and live the way you want, using insights from the cognitive neuroscience of habits Contrary to classic habit science, certain behaviours never become easy. Recognising this can help you stick with them Achieving your goals has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with using the right mix of psychological tools Do you keep putting things off when you know you shouldn’t?
Get going by understanding the psychology of irrational delay Do your possessions hold too much power over you? Learn to regain control – and benefit your wallet and the planet When your own thoughts discourage and undermine you, it’s easy to get tangled. A change of strategy could get you past it Let Descartes, Kant and other philosophers help you view the world through a more positive filter and you’ll bloom Accept it: your self-control is weak.
You’re more likely to reach long-term goals if you find ways to avoid temptation
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