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What Bartlett’s story says—and what it doesn’t prove
In a September 15, 2023 excerpt from The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, Steven Bartlett recounts that his father smoked only in his car. Bartlett says he gave him miniature lollipops, which his father put in his cigarette case, and that his father then stopped smoking. Bartlett described the change this way: “the most important thing he did was not trying to fight the habit, but replacing the final step of the habit loop with a much less addictive reward – the lollipops.” (Scroll.in)
That account illustrates one possible approach: replace a routine’s final action with something else. It does not establish that lollipops work as a smoking-cessation method, or that the story was independently verified or clinically evaluated. For other habits, the more general idea is to identify the cue and prepare a replacement response that fits the situation.
How to break a bad habit without relying on willpower
Habits can become automatic. The American Heart Association recommends identifying the cues associated with a behavior, disrupting them, and replacing the routine. A simple plan makes the alternative easier to act on when the familiar cue appears.
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- Notice the cue. Record what tends to happen just before the habit: the time, place, people, mood, or situation. Look for a recurring trigger rather than assuming the behavior happens at random.
- Ask what the routine provides. It may offer a break, stimulation, comfort, or a response to stress. Naming the function can help you choose a replacement that addresses the same moment.
- Choose a concrete alternative. Decide in advance what you will do when the cue appears. For example, if stress is the cue, select a different response for that moment rather than relying on a broad promise to “stop.”
- Change the environment where practical. The American Heart Association gives moving an alarm clock farther away as an example of disrupting a cue. A small change can make the automatic response less convenient and the intended response easier to take.
The goal is not to assume that every habit has a simple substitute. It is to make the cue, the existing routine, and the planned alternative more visible and specific.
Why trying to suppress a thought is not the same as making a plan
One experiment offers a narrow reason not to treat “just don’t think about it” as a complete strategy. In a 2008 study in Appetite, James A. K. Erskine assigned 134 non-dieting participants to suppress thoughts about chocolate, express them, or verbalize without specific instructions. In a later taste-preference task, participants in the suppression group—both men and women—ate significantly more chocolate than those in the verbalise-only control group. The study abstract describes a “behavioural rebound effect.” (PubMed)
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This result concerns chocolate consumption in one experiment. It does not show that every attempt to resist a habit backfires, nor does it test the effectiveness of a replacement routine. It is a reason to distinguish thought suppression from planning what to do when a known cue occurs.
Make the response specific, not just the intention
A randomized smoking study by Christopher J. Armitage and Madelynne Arden involved 350 participants. It compared a passive control, a plan to quit, and a quit plan combined with an implementation intention—a specific plan linking a situation to a response. At a two-month follow-up, significantly more participants had quit in the experimental condition than in the control conditions; the effect was strongest for participants already in the preparation stage. (PubMed)
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The practical lesson is limited but useful: a general intention such as “I’m going to quit” is different from deciding what you will do when a particular temptation arises. The study does not test Bartlett’s story or lollipops, and its result does not guarantee that a specific plan will work for everyone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When the habit involves smoking
Smoking cessation is not simply a matter of swapping one object for another. Cleveland Clinic guidance discusses making a quit plan and considering support such as nicotine replacement therapy or prescription medication. A substitute action may be part of someone’s plan, but Bartlett’s anecdote is not a basis for treating nicotine dependence or a replacement for appropriate cessation support. (Cleveland Clinic)
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