Assumption of the Ability to Change or Recover

By Deane Barker

Sometimes we delay changes or rationalize bad behavior because we assume the ability to recover and change in the future, perhaps assuming we can repeat a past success with the same ease.

Examples

A smoker might not quit because he claims “I can quit anytime I want to.” If the smoker had “quit” sometime in the past, he might think quitting is simple because it’s been done once before.

People who lose weight might slowly regain it, but not be initially alarmed because since they lost the weight once, they assume they can do it again, so the weight gain is just a temporary “phase.”

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