Success Is Not About What You Start… It’s What You Stop
Why Breaking Habits Is the Missing Piece in Your Growth
We all know habits are the key to success. You have probably heard it a hundred times.
James Clear told us in Atomic Habits, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Social media is full of morning routines, productivity tips, and talk of consistency.
And yes, habits are powerful. There is a reason they are at the core of behaviour change and personal development. What we do repeatedly shapes who we become.
But here is the part that often gets overlooked.
The habits that are holding you back
The ones you have carried for years
The ones you do not even notice anymore
They are not just unhelpful. They are comfortable. They are automatic.
And breaking them is harder than building shiny new ones. It is also far more important.
The habits you do without thinking
Most people focus on what they are going to start doing.
I am going to start drinking more water
I am going to start running
I am going to start waking up earlier
But what about what you need to stop?
Like checking Facebook the second your eyes open
Like criticising yourself before you even leave the house
Like saying yes when every part of you wants to say no
These are habits too. They might not live in your planner or on your habit tracker, but they are there, shaping how you feel and how you show up every day.
Why breaking habits feels harder than starting new ones
New habits feel exciting. They come with fresh starts and progress charts and colour coded journals.
Old habits feel personal. They come with emotion, identity, history.
Many of the behaviours we want to stop were created to keep us safe. They are coping mechanisms we learned to soothe, avoid, or belong. They worked. That is why your brain kept them.
Science backs this up. Habit loops are stored in the brain’s basal ganglia; the part responsible for automatic behaviour. The more we repeat something, the more it sticks. Even when we no longer want it, the brain still thinks it is doing us a favour.
That is why adding new habits without addressing the ones we need to break is rarely enough. It is like putting fresh paint on a damp wall. Sooner or later, the cracks show through.
The emotional work of letting go
This is the part no one talks about.
Letting go of habits often means facing the feelings underneath.
The ones we have been avoiding
The stories we have been telling ourselves
The parts of us that are scared to do things differently
But this is the work that changes everything. Not just how you act, but how you live.
You do not have to break every habit all at once. You do not need to shame yourself for the ones that are still sticking. But you do need to be honest about what is helping you grow and what is keeping you stuck.
Start here…
Ask yourself:
What do I do every day without even thinking?
What does that behaviour give me… and what does it cost me?