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Your Habits Are Only As Strong As Your State of Mind

Emotional well-being plays a bigger role in habit change than we think.

Author

Selim Uysal
May 16, 2025

Hi friend,

Ever noticed how it’s easier to stick to your good habits when you’re feeling calm, clear, and in control?

And how, during moments of stress, sadness, or burnout; you start skipping workouts, eating junk, scrolling endlessly, or staying up too late?

That’s not a lack of discipline. It’s how habits and emotional states are deeply intertwined.

As Wendy Wood writes in Good Habits, Bad Habits, when we’re stressed or overwhelmed, our brains naturally fall back on automatic behaviors, which are often the very habits we’re trying to change.

This means:

  • If your emotional baseline is strong, your chances of sustaining new habits are higher.

  • If you’re running on fumes, old patterns will resurface fast.

So instead of blaming yourself when you “fall off,” pause and ask:
What’s going on emotionally right now?

Your first job isn’t always to push harder, it’s to reset your state.

Breathe. Walk. Journal. Talk to someone. Sleep.

Stability inside leads to consistency outside.

What habits do you fall back on when life gets hard, and which ones help you stay grounded? (Comment below or send me a DM!)

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