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Like positive habits, bad habits exist on a continuum of easy‑to‑change and hard‑to‑change
When you get toward the “hard” end of the spectrum, note the language you hear — breaking bad habits and battling addiction
It’s as if an unwanted behavior is a nefarious villain to be aggressively defeated
But this kind of language (and the approaches it spawns) frames these challenges in a way that isn’t helpful or effective
I specifically hope we will stop using this phrase: “break a habit
” This language misguides people
The word “break” sets the wrong expectation for how you get rid of a bad habit
This word implies that if you input a lot of force in one moment, the habit will be gone
However, that rarely works, because you usually cannot get rid of an unwanted habit by applying force one time