How to Break Up with Your Bad Habits

About this episode

This episode explores the science behind breaking bad habits and how environmental changes can facilitate lasting behavior change.

Breaking bad habits often feels like a test of willpower. We tell ourselves we’ll stop scrolling, eat better, or exercise more — and then fall right back into the same routines. So why is lasting change so hard? As part of our spring cleaning series, we’re revisiting a powerful episode from The Happiness Lab archives that reveals a surprising truth about behavior change: it’s not about willpower at all. Dr. Laurie Santos sits down with psychologist Wendy Wood to explore what the science of habits really says about why we get stuck — and how we can finally change. Along the way, we hear the remarkable story of American soldiers in Vietnam who abruptly overcame heroin addiction after returning home, offering a powerful clue about how habits really work. If you’re looking to break a bad habit or build a better one, this episode shows how small changes to your environment can make lasting change feel almost automatic. Experts Mentioned: Wendy Wood , Provost Professor of Psychology and Business, University of Southern California. Dr. Richard Ratner , Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, George Washington School of Medicine and…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Laurie Santos

Guest: Wendy Wood

Topics covered

• behavior change
• habits
• willpower
• psychology
• addiction
• environmental changes

Keywords

• bad habits
• behavior change
• willpower
• psychology
• addiction
• environment
• Wendy Wood

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Southern California, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Books & works: Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, How Do People Adhere to Goals When Willpower Is Low? The Profits (and Pitfalls) of Strong Habits

More episodes of The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

• The Surprising Case for Oversharing · June 8, 2026 · 39 min
• How to Feel Happier in Your Body with Jessamyn Stanley · June 1, 2026 · 35 min
• What Your Negative Emotions Are Trying to Tell You · May 25, 2026 · 46 min
• The Hidden Beliefs That Shape Your Happiness with Shawn Achor · May 18, 2026 · 43 min
• The Art of Doing Nothing · May 11, 2026 · 35 min
• What Screen Time Is Really Doing to Your Body with Manoush Zomorodi · May 4, 2026 · 46 min