I was thinking about why this no soda challenge hasn't been that much of a challenge for me, and I think it comes down to two words: acceptable alternatives. Rather than trying to deprive myself of everything, which is a recipe for failure, I gave myself acceptable alternatives. I can have flavored beverages as long as I pick things like tea, coffee, or juice. Life doesn't have to be bland as long as what I'm selecting isn't full of sugar and other things that aren't good for me.
Maybe this is an important life-lesson in general: If you want to kick some habit, give yourself acceptable alternatives. Don't try to change everything at once. Focus on one area at a time until you've got that area of your life conquered and move on to the next. The chances of success doing it this way are much greater than the chances of your success when you're trying to change everything all at once. I think that's one reason new diets fail so often: you're trying to change every habit you have rather than changing one habit at a time.
I think it's a natural tendency of human beings to focus our attention on the big results, and to want to get the big result fast. In fact, our tendency is to focus so narrowly on the big things that happen in life that we often overlook the small things and the little changes as being insignificant and unimportant. Yet it is the little changes we make that end up having a cumulative and more lasting effect over our lives. It's a scientific reality that is reflected in every day life: every big thing is made up of infinitely smaller particles coming together, working together, to create something powerful and far more lasting.
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