Why Breaking Bad Habits Is Harder Than It Seems

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

When a person tries to quit smoking they often just try to break that habit without doing anything else.

While this seems to make sense at first there are couple problems that quickly show up.

1. How will they get their fix? Just because they drop their smoking habit doesn’t mean they will change internally. They will still be addicted, still be desiring to smoke and will feel that withdrawal. (Often this is the only problem that is even addressed.)
2. What will they do in that time? At this point they probably habitualized stepping outside for a smoke or taking smoking breaks at certain times of the day to help them relax. This time now has to be occupied by something else or they will feel that withdrawal much stronger.
3. What will they do to get the same benefits? For most people their bad habits give them some good rewards, otherwise there would be no point to them. Drugs make you feel good, smoking relaxes you, and you may eat food to cope with stress. Either way there is a benefit that you will miss out on when you quit your bad habit. What are the alternatives you will put into place to keep that benefit?
4. How will they change their environment? A smoker will have to raise multiple times the effort to quit smoking when their environment remains the same. The same…