The reason is simple.
Old habits die hard.
Even relatively innocuous habits from your 3 p.m. Mars Bar fix to your ritual after-hours channel surfing share traits with more serious addictions, like taking drugs, says Kathleen Burton, a cognitive therapist who specializes in substance abuse. Consider Myles Schwartz's goal of giving up chocolate. Afterward, he'd suffer through hours of sneezing and headaches. At first, a new way of doing things giving up salty foods, waking up early to meditate can seem alien and uncomfortable, Burton says. You mistake the difficult for the impossible.