Two years ago, I was eating a lot of grilled cheese. I wasn’t exercising. I was drinking somewhat regularly. Bad habits wove into more bad habits.

Then, my doctor told me I was overweight and had high cholesterol levels.

Habits can be sneaky. One day of grilled cheese does not immediately cause high cholesterol or obesity. It doesn’t make or break us to have one off day. But the sinister part of habits is the cumulative effects of our daily choices.

Bad habits plus bad habits get us further and further off center and can ultimately lead to worse physical and mental health, but these impacts sneak up on us. We don’t notice them right away. Then, when we do start to notice the impacts of our cumulative habits, it can feel insurmountable to change our habits and get back on track.

Charles Duhigg brought the concept of keystone habits into mainstream consciousness with his book The Power of Habit. Keystone habits are small behaviors that have chain reactions, ripple effects that can spread and lead to more small behaviors that........

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