Why changing habits feels so hard – and why this is actually a good thing

uses up a disproportionate amount of energy for its size. Although it accounts for only about 2% of your total body weight it uses up around 20-25% of your energy when your body is at rest. So, your brain is incredibly hungry but, unlike the rest of your body, it doesn’t have the means to store energy; it needs a constant supply of energy to work well.

This means your brain is very sensitive to energy demands and it is always trying to find ways to save energy. But here’s the thing: any kind of new skill or habit you want to adopt, whether that’s learning French or taking up Tango, requires the development of new neural pathways in your brain. It’s like laying down new train track to get to a different part of town – you need the materials , a skilled crew and energy to make it happen.1.

2. The energy it takes to lay down new tracks is what is perceived psychologically as ‘effort’. This means that the point at which you start to feel that you are having to try with that French revision is the point at which your brain is changing. Effort is what it feels like when your brain is getting stronger.When trying to achieve fitness goals, people often get stuck when feelings of effort are thought of as something negative.

Importantly, there are a couple of caveats to this principle. First, there is a threshold. After a certain point, extensive effort becomes stress and excessive stress is harmful to the brain and body. Secondly, adequate rest is an essential feature of the system. Rest and sleep both prime the brain for effort and help to consolidate the new information.

How does this information influence how you think about change? First of all, it should make you more resilient to the vicissitudes to

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