Acting or thinking in a certain way reinforced by repetition.
A groove worn into the dirt by the passing of many feet.
Or the same feet over the course of years.
To break out of the habit, you must see the groove and work to avoid it.
The depression is the path of least resistance.
Thus the habit.
You must first see your action or thought as the path of least resistance to choose something else.
Then to form a different habit, you must repeat, repeat, repeat.
Photo by C. Z. Shi on Unsplash