Dr. Arif Khan, a pediatric neurologist at NMC Royal Hospital in Abu Dhabi, lays out three strategies to conquer any bad habit.
“Have you ever noticed how your day begins? You open your eyes, and your hands already know what to do. You take the same path to the kitchen, do the same things… It happens automatically. Habits are part of our character; they are neural shortcuts your brain creates to save energy,” Dr. Khan explained to his YouTube audience.
The thing is, the brain chooses the path of least resistance. Repeating familiar actions requires less energy than thinking through new solutions or suddenly planning for the unexpected. In other words, the brain prefers to operate on autopilot, as reported by Daily Mail.
This is why attempts to change behavior can feel so challenging. They disrupt a smooth, well-established neural pathway and force the brain to work harder.
“Deep within your brain lies the basal ganglia. It acts like an autopilot. When you repeat an action many times, that part of the brain stores the pattern,” Dr. Khan says. He adds that it’s not about a lack of willpower; it’s a biological issue.
He outlined three effective tricks to help break bad habits: signal shifting, the one-step rule, and rewriting rewards.
Signal Shifting
The expert suggested recalling the moment when the habit arises — more specifically, the cue or trigger just before it forms. Dr. Khan asserts that this is the moment to break the cycle.
Once a person recognizes that feeling, they can pause. That pause allows for a reset, letting them avoid the usual automatic path and choose a different one.
The One-Step Rule
The next method focuses on setting realistic goals that won’t overwhelm the brain in the fight against bad habits.
“Your brain resists change not because it’s lazy but because the changes feel monumental. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and discipline, quickly gets fatigued. When a task feels insurmountable, the brain immediately reverts to the old pattern,” the neurologist emphasized.
In this case, tasks should be scaled down to make them “neurologically feasible.” This will help break free from the rut.
“Read one page. Do one push-up. Write one sentence. Drink one glass of water,” Dr. Khan advises.
Rewriting Rewards
Finally, the neurologist highlighted the brain’s reward system. Habits persist because they give us a feeling of reward through dopamine release.
“To overcome a habit, don’t wait for the usual reward. Replace it, and after you establish the new behavior, give your brain a different, meaningful reward,” the expert said. Then take a deep breath and feel that moment of pride: “I did it!”
Your old habits were formed by chance. New ones will be formed consciously. And that can be just as satisfying as the old rewards that are now in the past.
Photo: Unsplash
