Podcasts · The Psychology of your 20s

424. How to ACTUALLY change your bad habits ft. Harvard Behavioural Scientist, Julia Dhar

1 Jun 2026 · 1 h 02 min

We all have something about our behaviour or our lives we really want to change. But every time we go to try, we find we lose motivation very quickly and end up back where we started with the behaviour still in tact. Whether it's quitting smoking, exercising more, wanting to eat healthier, sleep better, stop gossiping, be a better partner; bad habits usually all have the same psychology.

In today's episode we invited on Harvard-trained behavioural scientist & BCG Managing Director, Julia Dhar, to give us the step by step guide to changing bad habits. We talk about:

• Where bad habits come from? • Why bad habits stick? • What's happening in our brain when we can't quit a bad habit? • The 3 principles of behaviour change you need to know to change • How to help OTHERS change when they don't want to? • Why your approach to failing will determine if you're successful • Plus much more!

Happy listening!

Buy Julia's book here: How Change Really Works

Watch her TedTalk here: How to Disagree Productively

Watch on Netflix: HERE

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com

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Links in the notes 7

• https://www.bcg.com/capabilities/people-strategy/how-change-really-works
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phgjouv0BUA
• https://netflix.com/thepsychologyofyour20s
• https://www.instagram.com/jemmasbeg/?hl=en#
• https://www.instagram.com/thatpsychologypodcast/?hl=en#
• https://substack.com/@thepsychologyofyour20s
• https://omnystudio.com/listener

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)