Those around us who seem to have tremendous willpower—people who run three miles every morning, are focused at work, hit the books hardest at school, and generally seem to make the right choices—are not actually endowed with a preternatural ability to resist temptation. Instead, good habits keep them from facing temptation head-on in the first place. They don’t even think about making the wrong decision. They hit the gym each day because it’s a habit, not because they carefully evaluated the pros and cons. They grab a smoothie for breakfast because it’s their routine, not because they
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