How to Get Your Brain to Turn Goals Into Habits | Emily Falk

The Art of Charm

http://www.TheArtOfCharm.com

Education, Health & Fitness, Business

4.7 • 11K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

AJ and Johnny sit down with neuroscientist Emily Falk to explore why our goals so often collapse after January, and what the brain is actually optimizing for when we make decisions. Emily explains how the brain’s value system prioritizes the present self over future goals, why environment beats willpower, and how identity, social influence, and habit systems quietly shape what we do every day. From New Year’s resolutions to loneliness, leadership, and purpose, this episode reveals how to design choices that stick by working with the brain instead of against it. 00:00 – Why resolutions fail after January05:00 – The brain’s value calculator and present bias10:00 – Identity, purpose, and what we think is “fixed”15:00 – How social influence shapes what we value20:00 – Loneliness, power, and perspective loss25:00 – Designing environments that change behavior A Word From Our Sponsors Stop being over looked and unlock your X-Factor today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unlockyourxfactor.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The very qualities that make you exceptional in your field are working against you socially. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠artofcharm.com/intel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for a social intelligence assessment and discover exactly what's holding you back. If you’ve put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Use code CHARM at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠monarch.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in your browser for half off your first year. Indulge in affordable luxury with Quince. Upgrade your wardrobe today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/charm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping and hassle-free returns. Grow your way - with Headway! Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠makeheadway.com/CHARM ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and use my code CHARM for 25% off. This year, skip breaking a sweat AND breaking the bank. Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless plans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/charm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Curious about your influence level? Get your Influence Index Score today! Take this 60-second quiz to find out how your influence stacks up against top performers at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theartofcharm.com/influence⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Episode resources: FalkLab.org Check in with AJ and Johnny! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AJ on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Johnny on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AJ on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Johnny on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Art of Charm on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Art of Charm on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Art of Charm on TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ decision making, values, behavior change, habits, motivation, identity, purpose, social influence, environment design, loneliness, human connection, neuroscience, choices, meaning, leadership, well-being, resolutions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If we want to make a change, we have to change the environment, right? We have to make it so that
0:04.1	for the me who's right here right now, it's easier and more fun and rewarding to do something
0:11.3	different.
0:20.3	All right, let's kick off today's show.
0:22.4	We're talking with Emily Falk, neuroscientist and author of What We Value, who studies how
0:27.9	our brains make decisions about health, relationships, and what matters most.
0:32.3	She's uncovered why your New Year's resolutions might be failing you, how your environment
0:37.2	secretly controls your
0:38.2	choices, and what your brain's value calculator is really optimizing for. Spoiler, it's not your
0:45.4	long-term goals. Welcome the show, Emily. It's great to have you. Welcome to the show, Emily. It's
0:51.3	great to have you. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.
1:03.1	I love for you to set up for our audience the work you do and what drew you to study choice and values in human psychology and neuroscience.
1:11.9	Great. I am really interested in how people make all kinds of decisions. Early in my career, we were focused pretty heavily on health decision making, so things like helping people quit smoking or get more physical activity.
1:17.3	We've done work with teenagers, looking at risky decision making in cars and peer influence.
1:23.8	And now a lot of my work is focused on climate change, because if we think about things that are relevant to our health and happiness, a lot of it has to do with the spaces that we're in.
1:34.1	And so we're doing work on how people make decisions that are relevant to policies and also resilience.
1:41.2	So things that connect us like social connection, having a good time with friends
1:46.0	and family, loneliness, and how we develop a sense of who we are and what we care about.
1:52.2	As I was reviewing the book, I just was struck by, obviously, we're coming out of the new year,
1:57.7	everyone makes resolutions, things that we value in January. And I think
2:02.4	if we were to survey a lot of our audience members, they may have struggled here in February to
2:06.7	keep those resolutions, even though we really value the decisions that we make. What's going on
	...

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