Inquisitive.me

People love to think humans are rational creatures.

We imagine behavior works like this:

I receive information.
I process the information.
I change my behavior accordingly.

Makes sense.

That’s how a computer works.

It’s just not how humans work.

I work with patients with severe overweight almost every single day. People whose daily life is heavily impaired. They struggle to walk longer distances. They get out of breath quickly. Their joints hurt. Their health suffers.

And trust me:

Those people are not stupid.

They know they have a serious health problem.

Do you really think a person weighing over 150 kilograms who can barely walk 300 meters doesn’t know something is wrong?

Do you think someone who barely survived a car accident without wearing a seatbelt doesn’t know seatbelts save lives?

Of course they know.

Most people don’t have an information deficit.

They have a behavior deficit.

And that’s a huge difference.

Changing someone’s mind with information is hard enough. Changing their behavior with information is harder still.
They only way we’re going to make substantial improvements in health and health care is to make substantial improvements in the behavior of health and health care.

David Asch

If information alone changed behavior, nobody would smoke anymore. Nobody would overeat. Nobody would scroll themselves to sleep at 2 AM while knowing they have to wake up at 6.

The information is everywhere.

We are drowning in information.

And yet, we are arguably facing one of the biggest lifestyle-related health crises in history.

Because humans are not purely rational.

We are emotional. Social. Impulsive. Sensitive to stress, habits, environment and immediate rewards.

We often know exactly what would benefit us long-term — and still don’t do it.

Not because we are broken.

But because our brain heavily favors what feels good, easy or rewarding right now.

Behavioral psychology calls this present bias.

Future rewards are abstract.

Immediate rewards are real.

That’s why resisting a delicious chocolate cake is hard even when your long-term goal is weight loss. Your brain works on what James Clear calls an “immediate return system.” You do something → you expect a reward now.

Unfortunately, most healthy behaviors work in reverse.

Exercise feels hard before it feels rewarding.

Sleep discipline feels restrictive before it feels energizing.

Weight loss demands consistency long before visible results appear.

Once you understand that humans are irrational in highly predictable ways, you stop approaching behavior change like a lecture.

And this completely changed how I work with patients.

I spend far less time bombarding people with random health information they already know.

Instead, I try to shape behavior.

One of the most powerful behavior drivers is surprisingly simple:

Being observed.

That’s one reason why I often transition stable patients into fewer appointments spread over a much longer period of time. Sometimes over months.

Not because they still need constant treatment.

But because accountability changes behavior.

If patients know somebody checks in on them long-term, they’re often far more consistent with exercise, routines and lifestyle changes than patients who disappear after ten weeks and never return.

And honestly?

The people who embrace this approach usually do surprisingly well. They establish routines. They see progress. Their identity slowly changes from: “I should exercise.” to “I’m somebody who exercises.”

Of course relapse can still happen. Humans are human.

But long-term behavior change becomes much more likely once habits become part of identity instead of temporary motivation.

And humans constantly copy behavior from others, whether we realize it or not.

There was actually a study in a Florida hospital where handwashing rates in an intensive care unit were dangerously low. Researchers placed pictures of eyes above the sinks.

Handwashing rates more than doubled.

Just the feeling of being observed changed behavior.

Humans are weird like that.

And honestly, I use this principle myself.

That’s one reason I often work out during group therapy sessions instead of only supervising from the side. Not because I desperately want my patients to watch me train.

But because behavior is contagious.

Preaching that exercise is important is one thing.

Showing it consistently is another.

I think healthcare often overestimates how much information changes people.

And underestimates how much:

• environment
• social modeling
• accountability
• habits
• identity
• and emotional context

shape behavior instead.

Because if we work with human nature instead of constantly fighting against it, healthy decisions suddenly become far more realistic.

🧪 Let’s Experiment

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Humans are irrational in surprisingly predictable ways.

And honestly, once you accept that, behavior suddenly starts making much more sense.

Including your own.

🎯 Try This:

This week, stop judging one of your “bad habits” for a moment and instead become curious about it.

Ask yourself: “What immediate reward does this behavior give me?”

• Comfort?
• Relief?
• Dopamine?
• Convenience?
• Escape?
• Social connection?

Because most unhealthy behaviors are not random.

They solve a problem in the short term.

That’s why they’re hard to replace.

🧠 Final Thought:

Healthy behavior becomes much more realistic once you stop fighting human nature — and start designing around it instead.

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Keep it simple, stay curious, and keep learning—you’ve got this.

Take care,

Carina 🦊