Running a busy business comes with a whole stack of pressure. Sometimes being busy can be a great excuse to skip the gym or grab a coffee and chocolate croissant for breakfast 5 days in a row.

Good habits can be the foundation of your success. This includes things like leaving work at work, going to the gym to look after your physical and mental health, making time to see family and friends outside of work hours, and reading positive books to help improve yourself and your business. Bad habits, however, can cripple our goal setting efforts and can sabotage our self-confidence just as much. I guess if we each looked at ourselves we could each find one bad habit we need to break - probably even more than one.

Turns out science can help you break some bad habits and it increases your chances of success by up to 8 times. It's as simple as using the words "I don't" instead of "I can't".

Who knew changing a habit could be so simple!?

Dr Vanessa Patrick, Professor of Marketing at University of Houston, found in her research that this little trick will make huge changes. The research is based on insights of language and self talk, specifically the self-talk and feedback mechanism "that either enhances or impedes our goal oriented behavior."

Changing a phrase or framing a refusal as "I don't" instead of "I can't" empowers you to be more successful at resisting the desire to do that particular thing.

Let's consider this example, "I don't eat pizza" vs "I can't eat pizza". Saying, "I don't" provides you with more self-control and is three time more effective than saying "No" and 8 times more effective that saying "I can't".

The power of self-talk can make positive change in all areas of your life. Try it today with some bad habits you've picked up. Say after me: I don't skip the gym, I don't eat pizza and I don't eat chocolate croissants everyday.