The Science of Wellbeing: Forget willpower, try tapping into this inbuilt superpower for greater health

Each month, Ali Roff Farrar explores the deep and mysterious realms of psychology and neuroscience, to help us understand and reach greater levels of wellbeing in body and mind...

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New Year, New Me! New goals, new healthy habits, new workout plans — all fuelled by the sense of a new beginning in the air, and with a pinch of willpower and a sprinkle of hope — this year will be different... won't it?

But then I read the depressing statistics that get rolled out every January, of how likely it is to actually stick to our New Year’s resolutions (in case you were wondering, a 2023 study found that 63% of us ditch our attempts by February, increasing to 94% by June).

So what if, instead of leaning on motivation (that will ultimately fade), and willpower (which will eventually run out), you could neuro-hack your way to health using the inbuilt skill of ‘interoception’ to reach your wellbeing goals for 2026? In short, instead of counting, restricting, and tracking apps, what if you connected with yourself?