Erika Jones, CFO, CCTAProfit First Professionals · Certified Fractional CFO and Profit First Professional

ChatGPT's Secret to Forming New Habits

30 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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1:05

In this monologue, the speaker recounts an article titled "I'm Addicted to Running" in which a man who disliked running asked ChatGPT for a way to become addicted to it. ChatGPT responded with a series of ultra‑micro, constrained steps—buying sneakers on day 1, merely putting them on on day 2, and limiting the first run to a single mile. By deliberately restricting each day's effort, the person built momentum, overcame resistance, and eventually became a dedicated, healthy runner. The speaker extracts a broader habit‑formation lesson: for people facing mental‑health challenges or depression, lasting change comes from tiny, incremental daily actions rather than grand, one‑off efforts. Setbacks such as injuries are normal; the key is to keep the daily “chunk” small and consistent, using constraints to drive progress.

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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.