The idea that a little discipline would solve all our problems is deeply ingrained in our culture. However, recent research suggests otherwise, offering a new perspective on how self-control actually works.
When scientists study people who appear to have a great deal of self-control, they find that they are not much different from people who lack the same level of self-control. The difference is that disciplined people are better able to organize their lives without the need for heroic willpower and self-control.
In other words, they spend less time in tempting situations. The people with the best self-control are usually the ones who need to use this skill the least. It’s a paradox, but it’s true: it’s much easier to control yourself when you don’t have to do it too often.
Strength, perseverance, and willpower are certainly essential to success, but building these qualities won’t make you more disciplined. The real key is creating that environment.
This paradoxical idea makes more sense when we understand the processes that go on in the brain when habits are formed. Once a habit is embedded in the brain, it’s ready to be re-engaged in the right situation. If you’re not careful about your cues, you could end up engaging in the very behavior you want to stop.
Bad habits work like autocatalysts: one habit feeds on another. They reinforce the feelings you’re trying to suppress. Researchers call this phenomenon “cue-induced craving.” This is a signal, triggered by an external factor, that makes you want to repeat a bad habit.
You can break a habit, but you probably won’t be able to unlearn it. Once a habit has left its mental imprint on the brain, it is almost impossible to eradicate it—even if you don’t show it for a long time.
The approach you can rely on more often is to remove the source of the habit. One of the most practical ways to break a bad habit is to reduce the proximity of the habit to the signal that activates it.
This approach is the reverse of the “First Rule of Behavior Change.” Instead of making it obvious, you can make it invisible. Remove one signal, and the entire habit often follows suit.
The important discovery is that self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one. The real secret to self-control is to make the signals of good habits clear and the signals of bad habits invisible.
If you want to change your life, start not by working on self-control, but by controlling your environment.