The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it.
Charles DuhiggThen one day, weโll put the reward in the old place, and put in the rat, and, by golloy, the old habit will rememerge right away. habits never really disappear. Theyโre encoded into the sturctures of our brain, and thatโs a huge advantage for us, because it would be awful if we had to relearn how to drive after every vacation. The problem is that your brain canโt tell the difference between bad and good habits, and so if you have a bad one, itโs always lurking there, waiting for the right cues and rewards.
Charles DuhiggSelf-discipline has a bigger effect on academic performance than does intellectual talent.
Charles DuhiggWhat we know from lab studies is that it's never too late to break a habit. Habits are malleable throughout your entire life. But we also know that the best way to change a habit is to understand its structure - that once you tell people about the cue and the reward and you force them to recognize what those factors are in a behavior, it becomes much, much easier to change.
Charles Duhigg