Creating new habits is often more effective than relying on willpower because habits work with the brain’s natural tendency toward automation, reducing the mental effort required to perform desired actions consistently. I discovered this first hand when I was a fitness instructor holding 5 am group fitness classes. 4 am the alarm went off, I got up to turn off the alarm which was in the bathroom, (key to my success, it gave me no reach to hit the snooze button) when in the bathroom, used the toilet, washed my face, brushed my teeth, got dressed, headed to the kitchen to make my pre-workout drink and to fill a water bottle. Grabbed my backpack, headed down stairs to the garage to the car and drove to the gym. I did this 3-4 times a week for 5+ years. Was it hard at first, of course! But soon became a habit where I didn’t think a thing about it. That is where you want to be. Here are some key reasons why habit formation outperforms willpower:
- Limited Resource: Willpower is a finite resource, meaning it gets depleted over time as we use it throughout the day for various decisions and self-control tasks. When we rely on willpower alone, we’re setting ourselves up for failure as we become mentally fatigued. Habits, however, operate more automatically and don’t rely on active mental resistance, which means they’re more sustainable in the long run.
- Efficiency through Automation: Habits take advantage of the brain’s automation processes, particularly in the basal ganglia, which is responsible for habit formation. Once an action becomes habitual, it requires less cognitive effort and is easier to maintain because it doesn’t require constant decision-making.
- Consistency without Exhaustion: Since willpower requires constant conscious effort, it’s hard to stay consistent without feeling exhausted. By contrast, habits build through repetition and consistency without the mental drain, as they eventually become second nature.
- Environmental Cues: Habits are often linked to environmental cues, which trigger the desired behavior automatically. This creates a “cue-routine-reward” loop, where cues in our environment prompt us to act in certain ways without requiring a conscious decision each time. Willpower doesn’t have this built-in advantage, making it more challenging to sustain.
- Gradual Identity Shift: Habits reinforce identity changes over time. When you repeatedly engage in certain behaviors, you start to see yourself as the kind of person who performs those actions, leading to deeper, more lasting change. Willpower alone doesn’t necessarily lead to this internal identity shift, as it’s focused on resisting rather than evolving behaviorally.
- Reward System Compatibility: Habit formation aligns with the brain’s reward system. Small rewards, even if they’re intrinsic (like feeling satisfied after completing a task), keep us motivated without requiring a mental struggle. Willpower often requires us to override immediate rewards, which is mentally taxing and hard to maintain.
Creating habits, then, is a way to set up sustainable changes that become effortless over time. Willpower might help to initiate the process, but it’s the habit itself that locks in the behavior for the long haul. Give it a try. Start small and see what new habits you can create.