"Chances are, you have a few habits you wish you didn't have, and quite possibly you've tried (and tried and tried) to break them. Scientists are learning why you may have failed (and failed and failed). In fact, they now know that once you have a habit, you can never really unlearn it. The fact is, even though you can never simply delete habits from your brain and be rid of them once and for all, you can stop indulging in them if you really, really want to -- and scientists have been learning more about that, as well. But be warned: Breaking up with a habit is ha-a-a-rd to do. "There's an expenditure of energy involved in changing behavior," says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md. "That's where motivation comes in." - Anna Haro from Bookmarklet

Why do we do things if they're bad for us? We can blame it partly on how we're made. "Over the course of evolution, a present good was worth two in the bush," says James Gross, psychology professor at Stanford University. That's because early on, life tended to be short. The upshot? Our brains are built to overvalue the rewards we can get right away and undervalue those we might only receive later. Similarly, we tend to avoid any small unpleasantness we'd have to face now even if we know it may mean bigger difficulties down the road. Over the ages, humans have learned to think about, and plan for, the future. It's still not easy for us, though. "If you're not motivated," Volkow says, "there's a real danger of giving in to immediate gratification." - Anna Haro

When changing habits, i often use the term "brainwashing" to explain how i've broken bad ones. I condition myself to think differently about the habit's negative effects. I'll think of all the negatives and convince myself to become disgusted with the effects. Once the negatives outweigh the positives, it's easy to break the habit. An important aspect is to stay positive and know that the desire to change the habit will mean you will succeed. Negativity about myself or my progress can impact the progress. - ·[▪_▪]·