Why Do I Know What to Do but Can't Stick to Healthy Habits?
At this point, you've lived long enough to have a pretty good idea of what you're supposed to do to get healthy. Eat more vegetables. Drink more water. Exercise regularly. Get enough sleep. Find a way to deal with your stress. None of this is exactly an earth-shattering revelation.
You've probably read plenty of articles, saved tons of recipes, bought more than one water bottle, downloaded several apps, and maybe even started this whole healthy-habits endeavor more than once. Yet somehow, a few days or a few weeks after those good intentions are made, you're right back where you started. It's frustrating because knowledge isn't the problem. You already know plenty about what you "should" be doing. So why can't you stick with it? Why do those good habits seem to run out the door as soon as they get the chance?
Well, here's the kicker. Knowing what to do, actually doing it, and doing it consistently are three very different things. And that space between knowing and doing, that is where healthy habits are either built or vanish like a magician into thin air.
The Chaos Cat Part of You: But I KNOW What to Do!
Oh yeah, the Chaos Cat part of you has plenty of good intentions. We all do. Intentions are great. Without an intention, you don't even have a direction to go. That part of you really does want to eat healthier. It does want to go for that walk. It does want to remember the water bottle and get to bed at a reasonable hour instead of watching one more episode or spending another hour on social media.
But, that same Chaos Cat part of you also lives in real life. The healthy plan you made when you were motivated now has to compete with a busy schedule, old familiar routines, unexpected problems, exhaustion, convenience, and whatever other parts of life decided to show up today. That's when it becomes surprisingly helpful to go one step beyond knowing what you want to do and decide what you're actually going to do next. Knowledge doesn't automatically create a behavior, action does.
What does that look like? You know taking a walk would probably make you feel better, but you still sit on the couch. You know exactly what you'd like to eat for breakfast, but you still grab whatever is fastest on your way out the door. It doesn't mean you don't care enough to do it. It simply means the steps in the behavior you're trying to build haven't become easy and familiar yet.
Wise Owl Wisdom: Knowing and Doing Aren't the Same Thing
This is where the Wise Owl part of you gets curious about why instead of being overly critical of what could be considered a failure. Researchers have actually studied the gap between wanting to do something and actually doing it. Having good intentions helps, but intentions alone don't guarantee that the behavior will happen and turn into a successful habit.
One strategy researchers have studied is called an implementation intention. ¹ Don't worry. It sounds much more complicated than it really is. It's basically changing the way you think about your plan. Instead of saying: "I'm going to drink more water." You decide:
"When I start my coffee in the morning, I'll fill my water bottle." Now your good intention is attached to a behavior you already have. You've given your brain a when, a where, or a what happens next instead of leaving it with the vague assignment of "be healthier today."
Research suggests that this kind of specific planning can help turn healthy intentions into actual healthy habits.¹ There's another piece of this puzzle called self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is your belief that you're actually capable of doing something. Research across different health behaviors has found that changes in self-efficacy can influence actual behavior change.² What does that mean? It means your past experiences can start whispering in your ear. "Here we go again." "I always fail." "I never stick with this." "How many times have I tried this already?" You might recognize this as that little devil sitting on your shoulder, happily reminding you of every time you tried, failed, or never quite got started.
Here's the good news. Every time you successfully repeat one step, you get to collect a different piece of evidence. Now the little angel cheerleader on the other shoulder gets something to work with. "Hey, I actually did that." Do it again, and you've got another win. "Look at me. I did it again." Little by little, you're giving your brain new evidence about what you're capable of doing.
The goal isn't simply to know more. It's to make the behavior specific enough, doable enough, and repeatable enough that you actually get the chance to practice it. Research looking specifically at healthy eating has also found that implementation-intention strategies can help people turn intentions to eat healthier into real-life habits.³
Maybe the Wise Owl part of you doesn't need another book about everything you should be doing. Maybe it just needs a better plan for what you're going to do next.
Happy Hound Habits: Turn What You Know Into Something You Do
This is where the Happy Hound part of you really shines. This part of you isn't worried about accomplishing everything right now. It's looking for the one next step you can actually repeat to get those healthy habits moving forward.
To help keep your Happy Hound Habits going, try one of these:
1. Be specific. "Drink more water" is a great intention. "I'm going to fill my water bottle while the coffee is brewing" gives you a plan to make it happen.
2. Pair it like peanut butter and jelly. Put the new behavior next to something you already do. After you brush your teeth, stretch for two minutes. After you eat lunch, walk for five minutes. Pairing the two gives your new habit something familiar to travel with.
3. Start with the small version. Your first step doesn't have to look anything like your eventual goal. If your goal is a 30-minute walk, starting with 10 minutes still gets your shoes on and gets you moving out the door.
4. Have a backup option. Don't build a habit that only works on your best day. Decide what you'll do when you're busy, tired, running late, or simply don't feel like doing it.
5. Repeat it before you grow it. Give one new behavior a chance to become familiar before handing Chaos Cat four more things to remember.
Of these five, choose one thing that's been waiting on your "I know what I need to do" healthy-habits list. Then, for just a moment, stop trying to learn more about it. Practice doing it.
Dr. B's Takeaway
Sometimes we assume that if we know better, we should automatically do better.
While knowledge is power, human behavior just isn't that simple. Knowledge can point you in the right direction, but your intentions need a plan that tells you where you want to go and how you're going to get there. That plan gives you steps you can take repeatedly in everyday life, and those repeated steps begin turning what you know into something you actually do.
So, if you've been asking yourself: "I already know what to do. Why can't I just do it?"
Try changing the question today:
"What's one step I already know I can take today to make one of my goals easier to do?"
It's very likely you don't need more information. You just need a clearer next step.
Share Your Win
Choose one healthy habit you already know you want to do and make the first step smaller, easier, or more specific.
When you take that step, share your win with us.
Big or small, we'd love to hear about it.
Related Reading
If your healthy plans tend to disappear when you're exhausted or overwhelmed, read Why Is It Harder to Make Healthy Choices When You're Tired or Stressed? next.
Want a Little More Help?
If you know what you'd like to change but aren't sure how to turn it into realistic steps, explore the Healthy Habit Programs for plans designed to help you put healthy habits into everyday life.
Sources
1. Adriaanse MA, Vinkers CDW, De Ridder DTD, Hox JJ, De Wit JBF. Do implementation intentions help to eat a healthy diet? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Appetite. 2011.
2. Sheeran P, Maki A, Montanaro E, et al. The impact of changing attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy on health-related intentions and behavior: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology. 2016.
3. Carrero I, Vilà I, Redondo R. What makes implementation intention interventions effective for promoting healthy eating behaviours? A meta-regression. Appetite. 2019.
