“To escape from this trap, we must first stop moralizing our behaviors. Instead of using fuzzy feelings of “right” and “wrong” and “good” and “bad” to guide our actions, we need to remember why we’ve committed to doing the hard things like exercising, following a meal plan, educating ourselves, sticking to a budget, and working overtime. We need to view these actions as independent steps necessary for achieving the outcomes we desire, not as “good” behaviors that we can “cash in” for sins. For our purposes here, remember that our goal isn’t just good workouts or on-target eating. It’s enjoying shopping for clothes again—especially for the breezy, summer, sleeveless stuff. It’s throwing away the scale because you don’t need it anymore. It’s the surprise on people’s faces when they haven’t seen you in a while. It’s the newfound intimacy in your love life. In short, bingeing on chocolate and missing workouts aren’t little “oopsies” that you can erase with the right thoughts. They’re direct threats to your overarching objectives. Remember that when you come face to face with sticky willpower challenges.”