Human beings make tens of thousands of choices every day. Almost half of these daily actions are habitual — conducted on “autopilot” without much conscious thought. And when we try to shake up our behavior, we often think it comes down to willpower: having the self-control to decline a second glass of wine, head to the gym after work, or skip a cigarette break. But according to psychiatrist and addiction expert Judson Brewer, willpower is a pervasive but misleading myth. It’s steeped in our collective psyche but has little neuroscientific basis. While self-control certainly exists, it’s one of the worst...
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