How to Break Bad Habits: The Replacement Method + The Polgár Sisters Experiment

Make Bad Habits Unappealing

How do you break free from harmful, destructive habits?

The answer is simple — make the habit unappealing.

There are countless habits that satisfy the same underlying need. And your current one isn't necessarily the best solution to the problem.

Let's say you're tired and bored, so you grab a six-pack of beer. But for that same money, you could buy a discounted video game or an engaging novel. Beer gives you pleasure just for tonight, but a game will keep you entertained for days or weeks. And reading a novel? Besides being captivating, it sharpens your language skills and makes you a more interesting person to talk to. Plus, you'll save money on beer the next time you're tired or bored.

Our behavior depends on how we interpret the events happening to us.

For example, two people can look at a cigarette completely differently. One feels the urge to smoke, while the other feels disgusted by the taste and smell.

The same trigger can create entirely different sensations — and it works the same way with beer, once you start seeing it as a waste of money.

One more word about the importance of environment, specifically when working on destructive and harmful habits.

People eat sweets simply because they saw them on the table. And if you want to do something, put the necessary item somewhere visible and easily accessible.

I currently live in a single room, but it's clearly zoned. And I never violate these zones with activities that don't belong there.

So when I sit at my desk — I work. When I sit in my armchair — I read. When I lie down on my bed — I watch something.

Don't let your environmental contexts bleed into each other, and eliminate the cues and triggers that activate bad habits.

And now, an interesting example and some practical exercises