
Best Ways to Build Better Habits & Break Bad Ones | James Clear
Andrew Huberman
Jan 5, 2026
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Prioritize bad days to strengthen habit formation
The bad days, when you show up despite not feeling like it, are more important for building habits than the good days.
Vote for your future self through every action
Every action you take is like casting a vote for the type of person you wish to become, which reinforces your desired identity.
Achieve true balance by sprinting and resting fully
True balance is not doing everything at 50% capacity, but the ability to fully sprint when you're on and fully rest when you're off.
Adapt habits to enhance mental toughness
True mental toughness is not about grinding through no matter what, but about adapting to the circumstances, like doing a shorter or easier version of your habit.
Harness infrared light from greenery to boost mitochondria
Being near greenery exposes you to infrared light reflected from leaves, which can penetrate your body and feed your mitochondria.
Choose media inputs to shape future thoughts
Your future thoughts are downstream from what you consume, so carefully choosing your media inputs is choosing your future thoughts.
Join groups to normalize desired behaviors for habit formation
To make a habit stick, join groups where your desired behavior is the normal behavior, as the desire to belong often overpowers the desire to improve.
Create friction to break phone habits
To break a phone habit, create friction by deleting apps like social media and email, forcing you to re-download them or ask an assistant for the password to log in.
Allow habits to evolve with your life seasons
Give yourself permission for your habits to change shape and adjust based on the season of life you are in, rather than feeling like a failure if you stop a specific routine.
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