why habits run the show

("the secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine" - habits are the cornerstone of who we are as people and oftentimes, what our lives end up looking like!)

humans are creatures of habit - literally. studies from psychology & health found that approximately two-thirds (⅔) of what we do every day runs on autopilot, out of habit. from brushing your teeth to checking your phone first thing in the morning, your brain is constantly looking for shortcuts. why? thinking is expensive. every decision takes energy, and your brain would rather conserve that energy by running pre-programmed scripts.

that’s what a habit is: your brain saying, “oh, we’ve done this before… let me save you the effort.”

the habit loop: cue → routine → reward

(for any positive habit you're trying to cultivate - or not-so-positive habit you're trying to break - the 'habit loop' is responsible for programming them)

the neuroscience of habits boils down to a simple loop:

1. cue: a trigger (seeing a workout set that’s been set out the night before/// a notification ping).

2. routine: the action you take (grabbing the set/// opening the app).

3. reward: the little dopamine hit that reinforces it (being able to leave for the gym with ease/// or doomscrolling rips).

over time, the loop becomes automatic. the cue itself starts releasing dopamine because your brain already predicts the reward. that’s why breaking a bad habit feels so hard: your brain has basically hardwired it as the “path of least resistance.”

how to “biohack” better habits

(in order to stack the cards in your favor, make your desired habit(s) obvious, easy, and rewarding to repeat!)

the good news? the same wiring works in your favor if you design it right. here are three evidence-backed strategies (popularised as well by the famous ‘atomic habits’):

• make it obvious: want to drink more water? put a glass of water on your desk. your environment should cue the habit without you thinking about it. you can also habit stack: this is when you “attach a new, desired behavior onto an existing, reliable daily routine,” making it even easier!

• make it easy: shrink the barrier to entry, decrease the friction. don’t commit to a 5k run every day; instead, start with 5 minutes of movement.

• make it rewarding: immediate rewards matter more than distant ones. pair habits with something you enjoy (podcast + walk, tea + journaling) so your brain gets that quick dopamine feedback.

think of it less as “grinding it out” and more as “stacking the cards in your favor.”

why consistency beats intensity every time

(the key here is sustainability - habits should be ambitious but also realistic so you are able to keep them up!)

here’s the kicker: your brain doesn’t care how “impressive” the habit is: it just responds to repetition. small, consistent reps literally rewire neural pathways, strengthening them like muscles. that’s why a daily 2-minute meditation is more powerful for your brain than a one-hour session once a month.

neuroscientists call this long-term potentiation: the more often certain neurons fire together, the stronger the connection becomes. or, in plain english: what you repeat, you reinforce.

how i apply this: fitness & founder life

(the habit loop can be applied to so many domains of life, including: fitness, entrepreneurship, and more!)

i’ve always found neuroscience fascinating: especially when you can actually use it to empower yourself!

the habit loop is something i’ve applied to almost every area of my life. for example, when i first started lifting, i wasn’t trying to pr (hit a ‘personal record’) or spend hours in the gym: that’s a shortcut to burnout (and injury!). instead, i focused on mastering the basics, building small, repeatable routines. that consistency - not intensity - is what built strength over time.

the same goes for builtwithhabit. i’m not launching with dozens of products or a flawless go-to-market plan. i truly believe that what’s worked for me and my business is simply showing up every day: sending one more supplier email, sketching one more idea, spending one more hour researching feasibility. each small step deepens the groove until the habit of building feels more instinctive.

for me, my boyfriend has been a huge part of shifting my mentality from a place of ‘paralysing perfectionism’ (i.e. crippling fear of acting/ doing) to just ‘being scrappy’ - i.e. starting with an mvp and just iterating from there!

builtwithhabit (literally!)

(habits are the most central piece of what this brand stands for - including our ethos and how we operate as a business!)

that’s exactly why our brand is called builtwithhabit. 

i heard this in a tik tok, years ago: “self-confidence is really someone who keeps promises to themselves. it’s like your reputation with yourself.” 

i couldn’t agree more - to me, habit is one of the highest forms of self-care! it transforms the way you see yourself, the respect you have for the person you are, and the things you begin believing are within your reach. so, keep pushing and make it: obvious, easy, and rewarding for yourself!