According to Charles Duhigg, identifying a habit and learning how it works makes it easier to control and overcome (Duhigg, p.13). He makes this claim in response to simple habits such as brushing teeth in the morning, but he does not take into great consideration practices such as taking recreational drugs after a hard day at work. I do not agree with this claim by Duhigg. My claim is that some habits are almost impossible to overcome, and in some cases changing these habits requires more than just the participation of the individuals.
Facts
• Some habits—especially those created out of necessity such as taking three meals a day—are impossible to change.
• Other habits take a lot of time, energy, and support from other habits to change even …show more content…
Alcoholics experience a lot of psychological barriers in their efforts to quit the addiction to alcohol, and in many cases, they need the guidance of psychologists, friends, family members, and even spiritual leaders to overcome their addiction (McLellan, p.250). Simply because John understands that his craving for alcohol kicks in after work will not be enough to give him the self-will to refrain from visiting his favorite pub. In fact, many functioning alcoholics find it difficult to be productive in their work without taking alcohol according to McLellan (p.250). These factors make it incredibly hard to control or change some habits regardless of whether or not they have been identified and understood.
Counter-argument
The examples applied in our argument do not represent typical habits such as sitting on a particular chair or brushing teeth every morning. In fact, these examples may be categorized very differently as they scope many factors—for example, the example in the first argument may be categorized as a traditional custom while that in the second argument may be categorized as a form of chronic addiction. Consequently, the likely counter-argument against my claim is that the examples used do not qualify as habits and, as such, cannot be used to dispute Duhigg’s claim.
Facts
• Some habits—especially those created out of necessity such as taking three meals a day—are impossible to change.
• Other habits take a lot of time, energy, and support from other habits to change even …show more content…
Alcoholics experience a lot of psychological barriers in their efforts to quit the addiction to alcohol, and in many cases, they need the guidance of psychologists, friends, family members, and even spiritual leaders to overcome their addiction (McLellan, p.250). Simply because John understands that his craving for alcohol kicks in after work will not be enough to give him the self-will to refrain from visiting his favorite pub. In fact, many functioning alcoholics find it difficult to be productive in their work without taking alcohol according to McLellan (p.250). These factors make it incredibly hard to control or change some habits regardless of whether or not they have been identified and understood.
Counter-argument
The examples applied in our argument do not represent typical habits such as sitting on a particular chair or brushing teeth every morning. In fact, these examples may be categorized very differently as they scope many factors—for example, the example in the first argument may be categorized as a traditional custom while that in the second argument may be categorized as a form of chronic addiction. Consequently, the likely counter-argument against my claim is that the examples used do not qualify as habits and, as such, cannot be used to dispute Duhigg’s claim.