You’ve committed to change. You’ve made progress. And yet… here you are again. 
Back in an old pattern. Frustrated. Disappointed. Wondering: 

“Why do I keep ending up here?” 

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone—and more importantly, you're not broken. 

Relapse can feel like failure, but it’s actually part of the normal change cycle. The problem isn’t that it happens—the problem is when we don’t understand why it happens. 

Let’s explore the most common reasons relapse occurs—and what you can do to interrupt the cycle. 

1. You’re Treating Willpower Like a Long-Term Strategy 

Willpower is great for getting started. But it's not meant to carry you through long-term change. 

If your habits depend entirely on "trying harder," you’ll burn out. 

What to do instead: 
Focus on structure and systems. Replace vague goals like “I’ll eat better” with “I’ll prep 3 healthy meals on Sunday.” Structure reduces decision fatigue and protects your energy for the real work: staying consistent. 

2. You Haven’t Identified Your Triggers 

Relapse doesn’t just happen. It's usually triggered—by stress, fatigue, certain people, environments, or emotions. 

If you haven’t taken time to map out what triggers your old habits, you’ll always feel like you’re starting from zero. 

What to do instead: 
Track your recent setback. What happened right before it? What were you feeling, doing, or avoiding? 

Self-awareness is the first layer of relapse prevention. 

3. Your Progress Isn’t Being Measured 

If you don’t have a way to see how far you’ve come, it’s easy to lose motivation—and fall back into old patterns. 

What to do instead: 
Find small, meaningful ways to measure progress. It could be a journal entry, a habit tracker, or a weekly check-in. 

You don’t need perfection—you need patterns. 

4. You’ve Made the Change Too Hard to Maintain 

Sometimes relapse happens because we overcommit. We try to change five things at once, or we adopt routines that require massive amounts of time and energy. 

Then life happens—and the system crumbles. 

What to do instead: 
Choose the simplest sustainable version of your habit. The easier it is to do on a bad day, the more likely it is to stick. 

5. You Don’t Have a Recovery Plan 

Most people plan to succeed—but don’t plan to relapse. 

The truth is, it’s not if a relapse happens. It’s when—and how you’ll respond. 

Without a recovery plan, shame and frustration take over. 

With a recovery plan, you respond instead of react. You bounce back faster. You stop the spiral before it begins. 

Relapse doesn’t mean you’re weak—it means you’re human. And humans succeed when they’re prepared. 

You don’t need more discipline. You need a better strategy. 

That’s why I created the Relapse Recovery Plan Template—a free resource to help you reflect, reset, and rise again after a setback. 

Get your copy and build a plan that works with your humanity—not against it. 

Click here to download the free template now.