Other forms: hardwired; hardwiring; hardwires
To hardwire is to make something automatic or instinctive, such that it happens without thinking. It's easy to start a new routine; it's harder to hardwire that routine into your brain.
Hardwire originated as a computing term meaning to implement a function through physical circuits, called hardware, rather than by using software. Because hardware is fixed, once you hardwire a process, it cannot be easily changed or reprogrammed. The term is still used in this way, but it's also now commonly used to describe the act of turning a conscious behavior into an automatic instinct. By practicing a new routine or healthy habit consistently and persistently, you can hardwire it into your brain's default setting.