Why Telling Yourself ‘Don’t Think About It’ Makes Bad Habits So Hard to Break

There’s a much more effective way to conquer your vices

Nir Eyal
Forge
Published in
4 min readMay 7, 2021

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Credit: Westend61/Getty Images

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, there’s a scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are captured by a magical plant called Devil’s Snare. The vines wrap around their bodies like hungry pythons as they struggle to escape.

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Nir Eyal
Forge
Writer for

Posts may contain affiliate links to my two books, “Hooked” and “Indistractable.” Get my free 80-page guide to being Indistractable at: NirAndFar.com