Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It's not completely clear why. But for many people, exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.
Charles DuhiggAt some point, if you're changing a really deep-seated behavior, you're going to have a moment of weakness.
Charles DuhiggHabits are powerful, but delicate. They can emerge outside our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occur without our permission, but can be reshaped by fiddling with their parts. They shape our lives far more than we realizeโthey are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense.
Charles DuhiggIf you want to do something that requires willpower - like going for a run after work - you have to conserve your willpower muscle during the day.
Charles DuhiggWhat studies say the number one best way to start an exercise habit is to give yourself a reward that you genuinely enjoy.
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