Alex Korb, PhD

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, ‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.’ Having long-term goals gives you a why.

When you decide on a goal, the prefrontal cortex changes the way the rest of the brain perceives the world. That doesn’t sound profound enough—when you decide on a goal, the prefrontal cortex changes the way you see and smell and hear the world in front of you. Decision making in the prefrontal cortex, which is a high-level brain process, affects the lower-level sensory processes.

Figure out your triggers. It is much easier to avoid temptation than to resist it. If you know what triggers a particular habit, sometimes you can get rid of that habit simply by removing the trigger from your life.

Make an anti-laziness rule. Decide ahead of time that you’ll take the stairs for anything less than three floors. Decide that you’ll walk to do any errand that is less than a mile away or bike to any that are less than two miles away. Commit to never taking an escalator if the stairs are right next to it. Don’t circle the parking lot looking for a closer space, just take the first one you see.

Take a deep breath. When you start to feel antsy or compelled to act on a bad habit, take a deep breath. Let it out slowly, then take another deep breath. Repeat as necessary.

It turns out that just a little change can be enough to push you away from depression and up toward a happier state. That’s because in complex systems like the brain, even a little shift can change the resonance of the whole system. You might have a forecast for rain, but then the wind changes direction, the humidity drops by just 1 percent, and the day is sunny instead.

When everything is up in the air, the amygdala becomes more reactive. So if you tend to worry, reduce your options and make quick decisions whenever possible. As soon as you make a decision, however small, everything starts to feel more manageable.

Ultimately it comes down to the most cliched but scientifically true maxim: practice, practice, practice. To create new, good habits, you have to repeat them over and over again until your brain rewires itself.