Diane GardnerFounder, Adept Business Solutions · Profit First Professional

ChatGPT's Secret to Forming New Habits

30 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this video, Diane Gardner recounts an article titled "I'm Addicted to Running" about a man who despises running but wants to improve his cardiovascular health. He asks ChatGPT for a plan to become "addicted" to running, and the AI provides an ultra‑micro‑step schedule: day 1 buy sneakers, day 2 put them on, day 3 run only a mile, etc. The strict constraints create resistance, but the incremental nature builds momentum, eventually turning the man into a dedicated, healthy runner. Gardner uses this anecdote to illustrate a broader habit‑formation principle: for people facing mental‑health challenges such as depression, lasting change comes from tiny, consistent daily actions rather than grand, one‑off efforts. She emphasizes that setbacks, injuries, and plateaus are normal, and that progress is achieved by accepting small, manageable chunks each day.

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There's another article I read in the last year entitled I'm Addicted to Running. It was a guy who hates running but wanted to get cardiovascular fit. So he went on ChatGPT and said, I hate to run, but I know I need to get fit, and I think running is the most accessible thing for me. How do I get addicted to it? And it said, oh, here's the process. Here's what was interesting. It did very micro movements. It said day 1, buy a pair of sneakers. That was it. So, and then day 2 was, you know, go put them on. But here's what was interesting. It said, "You may not do more than that." It actually constrained it. And it's human nature, when there's constraint, we give resistance. So he's like, "I bought the sneakers. I'm like, come on, can I just put them on? Can I wear them for around the house?" No, you always were anticipating. And so it started building its momentum and now it's like, "You can only run a mile today." He's like, "I want to run more." It's like, "No." And so now the guy is addicted to it. He's an extremely effective runner and healthy. There's a lesson there. If you are experiencing mental health challenges, depression, don't expect No, one credit card swipe and this is fixed. It's going to be small incremental improvements and there will be setbacks too. Injuries happen, but just little chunk every single day and things could turn around. Right. Will turn around.