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Heroin study shows the best chance at keeping New Year’s resolutions requires more than willpower

New Year’s resolutions are common … but so is breaking them. So why do we find it so difficult to stick to our resolutions? And is there any hope we can we increase our chances for success?

Science tells us that we might not have to be so hard on ourselves, because the environment around us that has a lot to do with how we translate our resolve into actionable behaviours that we can stick to.

Turns out that environmental cues are very powerful psychologically, especially when we conduct repetitive behaviours. And in order to stop the behaviours we would consider bad habits, it’s best to disrupt the environments around us.

So when we give in to those late night cravings and eat that box of cookies or tub of ice cream, we are probably doing it in front of that same television or comfy couch we always did, and we are acting on auto-pilot.

Researchers say that even behaviours we don’t like, such as smoking, can be directed by our environments.

Think about all those office workers smoking in front of the entrance to their workplace.

For these smokers, that front door is an enormously powerful mental cue for them to light up, researchers say.

So what can we do to ensure success in cutting these mental ties? Disrupt the environmental cues that actually drive the behaviours we want to change.

For example, something seemingly small like holding your spoon in your non-dominant hand or using a different entrance to avoid the old pathways can help break habits.

Interestingly, the proof that that we can actually cut these deeply-ingrained cues comes from a Vietnam War-era research study on heroin use by soldiers outlined in a recent NPR story.

Conducted by the U.S. government in the early 1970s, the research tracked how the habit of using this very addictive drug - which 15 per cent of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam were hooked on - was successfully kicked for good by most soldiers upon their return home. In fact, an astonishing 95 per cent of those treated for the addiction in Vietnam avoided picking back up the habit when they returned home. However, addicts who were treated upon their return to North America relapsed by an astonishing 90 per cent.

According to the study, the reason for this dramatic difference in outcome in heroin re-addiction rates is that soldiers treated first in Vietnam ended up leaving for a radically different environment from which they picked up their addiction or habit.

So for this New Year, if you are looking to kick that habit of reaching for a bag of chips or leftover cheesecake and stick to your diet, the key to success may very well hinge on not letting your environments unconsciously dictate your behaviours. It’s all about reasserting control.

Now, where did my kids hide all those holiday chocolates?