The yin and the yang

It’s hard to get rid of toxic habits or relationships. Or anything that’s bad for you in general.

Take alcohol for example. A lot of people who have a drinking problem think that they depend on alcohol in order to enjoy their lives. They believe that the parties, the hanging out with friends, or the days spent enjoying a cricket match while drinking some beer, are only fun because of the alcohol. This is why they are reluctant to give it up. If they give it up, will they lose all this goodness as well?

But there are two sides to this coin. What these people fail to realize is that there are both good and bad things associated with their habit. They are concerned about losing the good, but they are ignoring the fact that they would get rid of the bad stuff as well. No more hangovers, no more waking up at 6 PM on a Saturday not remembering what you did last night.

It’s human nature to exaggerate the worst-case scenarios and underestimate the best-case ones. It takes effort to realign your focus on the good stuff, and that’s most of the effort that goes into getting rid of a bad habit.