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Why Are Habits Such a Hard Habit to Break?
Breaking a habit frequently requires a lot of conscious effort.
People love quick-fix solutions.
From diet and exercise programs to pills to life hacks, modern society has a love affair with seeking and finding the quick fix. Get it done as fast as possible with as little effort as possible.
The problem is that quick fixes are nearly never true fixes.
For example — going on a diet can help a person lose weight. And it will continue to work for as long as you follow the plan. But soon as you’re off the diet — usually weight starts to be found again. (Diet, in this context, is a specific weight loss plan rather than a lifestyle change.)
Then, some want faster — so they seek the latest pill or similar drug to accelerate the fix further.
I find that the quickest fix tends to be the most fleeting fix. It seldom holds. The quick fix is like putting duct tape over a cracked window on a submarine. It won’t be long before the quick fix proves ineffective against the water pressure — and inevitably fail.
When it comes to habits and changing or breaking them — the quick fix nearly always fails. Why? Because habits are complex, multifaceted, and it takes time to build your habit in the…