Marty Nemko writes in his essay “On the Difficulty of Getting People to Change” in his “How to Do Life” column at Psychology Today:

What’s going on? In some cases, the person simply doesn’t have the self-discipline to habituate it. Others claim to have forgotten about it. Others say (rationalize?) that it isn’t important enough to habituate without formal homework.

Engendering behavior change can be far more difficult than we might imagine. It sometimes requires not just extended guided practice in sessions plus homework, but an understanding of the psychological and practical gains the person accrues from their “bad habit.” And we may need to accept that sometimes, our clients may claim to want to change but deep down don’t.

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