Why do we do things that are bad for us?

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Akrasia is built into a tiny part of every human being. Sometimes, or most of the time in some cases, we know it's not good, but we can't help it, we lose self-control. No matter how hard we try to not act against our better judgment, we are human, we do what makes us happy in the short run.

This cannot be summed up in one big example but in several small ones. Every day, we choose between a better option and an easier one. I can't speak for everyone but I choose the easier one 50% of the time, even though I know it's not good. This is mostly true for decisions that have no immediate consequences. A simple choice between going to the gym or watching TV with loads of junk food might make me question my judgment. There's a high chance of me picking the first - and clearly better - option if everything is fine, but even a minor inconvenience will most likely make me pick the second option. The minor inconvenience will act as an excuse to avoid what I know to be good. Even though we know what is good for us, we look for excuses to evade it because it's inconvenient. 

This is also scientifically proven. Our brains are wired to be reward-based and our "reward" is the feeling of comfort, that we associate with bad habits. That short-lived release of dopamine makes us crave the things we're trying so hard to resist.

Comments

  1. RyanApril 7, 2024 at 7:53 PM

    I really liked your inclusion of examples, it made your argument a lot more understandable and applicable to my own real life as something I could relate to.
    I also really liked the point that people use minor inconveinences to try and justify to themselves why they shouldn't do something good for themselves. I liked this partly because I've done it a lot myself to be honest. But I mainly liked it because it's very true that people like to avoid doing what they know is better for themselves if it's harder, and having an excuse to say that life is already hard enough and it's not worth more difficulty is a very easy pitfall for people to slip into.

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