Unexpected Ways to Beat Addiction | Suwanaboomja

Why Habits are Hard to Break

Breaking a bad habit can be one of the most difficult things to do. We’ve all experienced the struggle of trying to give up a habit, only to find ourselves slipping back into it soon after. It’s a frustrating and discouraging cycle that can leave us feeling helpless and defeated.

But the good news is that there is a secret to breaking bad habits that you might not have considered before. And that secret is changing your environment.

The Vietnam War and the Radical Change in Environment

The idea that changing your environment can help you break a bad habit might seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually backed by scientific evidence. In 1971, a startling discovery was made during the Vietnam War: over 15% of U.S. soldiers stationed in Vietnam were heroin addicts. But when these same soldiers returned home, only 5% of them became re-addicted within a year. This finding completely upended the accepted beliefs about addiction at the time, and showed that addictions could spontaneously dissolve if there was a radical change in the environment.

How Habits are Formed in the Brain

To understand why changing your environment can be so effective, it’s important to know how habits are formed in the brain. Once a habit has been encoded, the urge to act follows whenever the environmental cues reappear. That’s why it’s so important to change your environment if you want to break a bad habit. By reducing your exposure to the cues that cause the habit, you can cut it off at the source.

The Importance of Changing Your Environment to Break Bad Habits

If you’re struggling to get work done, try leaving your phone in another room for a few hours. If you’re constantly feeling like you’re not enough, stop following social media accounts that trigger jealousy and envy. If you’re wasting too much time watching television, move the TV out of the bedroom. These are all small changes, but they can make a big difference in breaking bad habits.

Small Changes for Big Results: Examples of Changing Your Environment

The people with the best self-control are typically the ones who need to use it the least. It’s easier to practice self-restraint when you don’t have to use it very often. So, yes, perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment.

The Role of Environment in Improving Self-Control

And it’s not just about breaking bad habits, it’s also about forming good ones. If you want to start exercising more, make it easy for yourself by laying out your workout clothes the night before, or finding a gym that’s on your way to work. If you want to eat healthier, stock your kitchen with nutritious foods and avoid buying junk food. By making the cues of your good habits obvious and the cues of your bad habits invisible, you’ll be more likely to stick to your goals.

In summary

To break bad habits and form good ones, you need to create a disciplined environment. By reducing your exposure to the cues that cause the habit, you can cut it off at the source. The way to improve your self-control is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment. Remember that self-control is a short-term strategy, and your energy would be better spent optimizing your environment. This is the secret to self-control, and it’s a secret that can change your life.

FAQs

Is it really possible to break a bad habit just by changing your environment?

Yes, it’s possible. The example of the U.S. soldiers in Vietnam who were able to break their heroin addiction upon returning home is a powerful example of how a change in environment can make a difference. This is because habits are formed through environmental cues, so by changing those cues, you can weaken or even break the habit altogether.

Can this technique be applied to any type of bad habit?

Yes, changing your environment can be effective for breaking any type of bad habit, whether it’s related to productivity, procrastination, or addictive behaviors. The key is to identify the environmental cues that trigger the habit and then make changes to reduce your exposure to those cues.

How can I make changes to my environment to break a bad habit?

There are many ways to change your environment, and it will depend on the specific habit you’re trying to break. Some examples include removing triggers, such as keeping junk food out of the house to avoid overeating, or creating new cues, such as placing your workout clothes in plain sight to encourage exercise. You can also try changing your physical environment, such as working in a different location to avoid distractions. The important thing is to experiment with different approaches and find what works best for you.

Originally published at https://suwanaboomja.blog on February 27, 2023.