HABITS
- Zac Wakeman
- Feb 14, 2025
- 5 min read
Habits are the compound of self improvement - James Clear
The Power of Habits: Why Small Daily Actions Create Massive Results
There’s an old saying: We are what we repeatedly do.
Think about that for a second. Not what we think about doing, not what we say we’ll do—what we actually do, day in and day out. That’s what shapes our lives.
Habits, for better or worse, define us. They’re the difference between success and stagnation, between health and burnout, between progress and frustration. And yet, most people either ignore them entirely or try to overhaul them with dramatic, unsustainable changes.
We're not just talking exercise and diet either. Our habits are our automatic responses, reactions and judgements, all of which impact the image people have of us. Do we interrupt people when they're speaking? Do we apologise instead of thanking? Are we punctual? Organised? Thoughtful?.. Yes, these things are all habits.
In true Beyond Boxes fashion, we’re not going to approach habits with the usual ‘just be disciplined’ or ‘manifest your dream life’ nonsense. Instead, we’re going to break them down logically, explore the science behind them, and give you a framework for building habits that actually stick.
What Are Habits? (And Why They Run the Show)
Habits remove the need for motivation—you take action regardless of how you feel in the moment.
Habits are automatic behaviours—things you do without thinking. Some of them serve you well (brushing your teeth, exercising, reading, actively listening), while others quietly sabotage you (scrolling social media for hours, procrastinating, stress-eating, interrupting people when they are speaking).
Your brain loves habits because they save energy. Instead of constantly making decisions, you automate tasks to free up mental bandwidth. The problem? Your brain doesn’t distinguish between good and bad habits—it just reinforces whatever you do repeatedly.
And that’s where things get interesting. Because if you can train your brain to work for you rather than against you, everything changes.
The Science Behind Habits (Why Your Brain is Both the Problem and the Solution)
James Clear, in Atomic Habits, talks about the Habit Loop, a three-step process that governs every habit:
Cue – A trigger that prompts the habit (e.g. waking up, feeling stressed, seeing a notification).
Routine – The action itself (e.g. making coffee, smoking a cigarette, scrolling your phone).
Reward – The benefit your brain gets (e.g. alertness, stress relief, dopamine hit).
Your brain is wired to seek rewards, which is why bad habits are so hard to break. They feel good in the moment, even if they sabotage you long term.
So, how do we flip this process in our favour?
By hacking the system and designing habits that actually serve us.
Beyond Boxes: My Approach to Habit Development
Most people fall into one of two habit-building traps:
The Willpower Trap
Trying to force habits through sheer discipline alone, then feeling like a failure when motivation runs out. You might swear you’ll never interrupt people again, but in the moment, old habits take over. Or you plan to go for a run every morning, only to hit snooze after a week.
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