How to Break Bad Habit Cycles: A Live Discussion with Dr. Jud

Overview

Most people try to break bad habits through sheer willpower — and most people fail. In this 10-minute interview with Kate Green Tripp of 1440 Multiversity, Dr. Jud explains why that approach is doomed from the start and offers a research-based alternative rooted in how the brain actually forms and maintains habits.

The conversation covers the neuroscience behind the habit loop — the trigger-behavior-reward cycle that drives everything from compulsive phone checking to stress eating and anxiety. Dr. Jud walks through why our brains are wired to repeat behaviors that feel rewarding in the short term, even when they cause long-term harm, and how mindfulness-based awareness can interrupt this cycle without relying on the prefrontal cortex.

The key insight: rather than fighting your habits with force, you can use curiosity to examine what those habits actually deliver. When your brain updates its reward value for a behavior — recognizing that it doesn’t feel as good as expected — the habit naturally loosens its grip.

Key Takeaways

• Willpower is unreliable for habit change: The prefrontal cortex that powers self-control shuts down under stress, making willpower the least effective tool for breaking entrenched habits.
• Habits run on a reward-based learning loop: Your brain connects triggers to behaviors to rewards, and repeats whatever felt good — regardless of long-term consequences. Understanding this loop is the first step to changing it.
• Curiosity replaces force: Instead of white-knuckling through cravings, bringing mindful curiosity to the actual experience of a habit helps your brain naturally update its reward value and release the behavior.

Related Resources

• What Is the Habit Loop? — The foundational science behind trigger-behavior-reward cycles
• A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit — Dr. Jud’s TED talk on mindfulness and habit change
• Habit Change Strategies Reviewed — Evidence-based approaches compared
• Curiosity: Our Superpower — Why curiosity is more powerful than willpower for breaking habits