Modern Addictions Are Hard to Break

Most people correctly realize willpower is finite but they don’t realize willpower isn’t evenly distributed across all areas of life.

You see it all the time. Someone who can build a company that makes a hundred million dollars but can't say no to the temptation of a cookie. They end up having health problems that cause serious issues.

Meanwhile, a personal trainer who has negative $10k net worth can say no to the cookie and exercise every day with no issue. It’s not that willpower is finite, the issue is that it is unequally distributed based on the domain people are dealing with.

The problem isn’t a lack of willpower, it’s how unequally willpower is distributed across different domains. Even Bryan Johnson, the most famous biohacker and longevity advocate today, couldn’t find the willpower to focus on his health until he sold his company for $800 million and devoted himself entirely to his health.

The uneven distribution of willpower is a growing problem in today’s frictionless world. Hyper-available, delicious food, endlessly engaging internet content, abundant apps, and subtle chemicals like nicotine make falling into addiction easier than ever.

Unlike traditional addictions that often required major lifestyle changes, modern addictions integrate seamlessly into daily routines—sometimes even enhancing productivity. This frictionless integration exploits lapses in willpower, transforming occasional indulgences into deeply ingrained habits.

My Zyn Habit

I started using Zyn recently. A lot of people have been doing the same thing.

@maxinomics

Have you seen how fast #zyn is growing?

At first, it was great: better focus, sharper memory, appetite under control, quicker reactions. It felt like a small edge, nothing major. But over time, the doses crept up. I didn’t even notice at first. Then the downsides started, cold hands, mood swings, withdrawal symptoms. Before I knew it, I was depending on it just to get through the day. That’s the thing about nicotine, it sneaks up on you. You’re going up in dose without realizing it. Eventually, you’re going to be wrecking your cardiovascular system with it.

I realized I was addicted. I had to stop and reset. Nicotine pouches, though, don’t feel like traditional addictions. They’re subtle, easy to fit into your life. More like a soft habit. I have to rely on willpower with nicotine pouches. It’s not like smoking; it doesn’t demand an identity shift. That’s exactly why it’s tricky.

Smoking Cigarettes for a Year

It wasn’t the first time I have been addicted to nicotine. Ten years ago I got laid off from my job, I was living in an an expensive coastal city at the time. I wasn’t sure whether I’d find another one. Other stuff was happening in my life too that compounded it, breakups. I had to cut some costs. Part of that meant cutting down on pleasures.

But you need pleasure in life. Here’s a tip for increasing pleasure in your life:

Even animals do this

Pleasure is especially important during hard times, or else things can compound and your life can get worse.

So I picked up cigarette smoking for a cheap pleasure for about a year. Not the smartest choice. But it worked. It has benefits. It’s a social drug, the nicotine high is pleasant, it feels good to have a cigarette in your hand. And some of the cigarettes actually taste good.

Don’t get me wrong, the whole thing is extremely unhealthy for you and it’s definitely not Lindy. But in the domain of price-per-pleasure, a cigarette is pretty good value. There’s a reason poor people still smoke a lot. I can see why prisoners enjoy smuggling cigarettes in jail. I’d probably pick up cigarette smoking if I went to jail too.

The reason I ended up quitting is because I ended up getting another job, making money and could afford better pleasures in life.

I also wanted to get healthy. I wanted to be a health guy. It’s hard to be a cigarette smoker and also exercise everyday. While you can smoke and be an athlete, it’s just very annoying and counterproductive.

I didn’t have a problem quitting. I didn’t need to use willpower. I just decided to change my identity. I became a health person.

This is a very Lindy way to overcome traditional high friction addictions.

Cigarettes forced me to choose—health or smoking. Zyn doesn’t. And that’s the problem with modern addictions—they don’t demand you change anything about your life to keep using them. Many modern addictions don’t demand a new identity. A person can maintain their identity as a "health-conscious" individual while using Zyn or a fitness tracker obsessively.

Zyn is much tricker to quit than cigarettes because you can't do regular exercise and be a smoker. You have to choose either/or. You can just morph into a health guy and get off cigarettes. But you can maintain a nicotine pouch habit and still have an exercise routine.

In This Newsletter

1) Quitting Addiction Cold Turkey: If you have issues with addiction I recommend the modern Alan Carr Method of quitting cigarettes.

2) The Ancients and Changing Identity: Ancient teachings emphasize the power of redefining oneself to overcome harmful behaviors, focusing on immediate transformation rather than gradual struggle. This aligns with Carr’s approach, where breaking free from addiction comes from adopting a new identity that renders the addictive behavior incompatible with who you are.

3) The Challenges of Modern Addiction: Modern addictions are uniquely challenging because of their seamless integration into daily life and their convenience. Unlike ancient vices, which often required effort or carried immediate consequences, many modern addictions, like nicotine pouches, social media, or online gambling, fit effortlessly into our routines, making them harder to disrupt or abandon. The solution may be to introduce friction.

The Best Strategy to Defeat Addiction

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