Should Temptations Be Avoided Rather Than Resisted?

For the longest time, our parents, teachers and mentors kept teaching us to RESIST TEMPTATIONS, right?  And to give credit WHERE credit is due, most of us did 'toe the line',  BUT alas, that was the old school of thought.  Fast forward to today, Should Temptations Be Avoided Rather Than Resisted?  I remember sharing this personal info to some of my friends that WHEN 2024 clocked-in, I started a daily early morning walking habit.  My goal ISN'T to be in tip-top shape BUT at least, to be responsible enough with my health and wellness.  And I'm confident that the benefits [from the sun and air] of exercise will do wonders for me and will likely compound over time📗📘📙

Frankly, it can take anywhere between a few weeks to several months to form a new habit [depending on the habit though].  To borrow a technical jargon from scientists, they call this 'self-directed neuroplasticity' because we're intentionally creating a new set of cues, actions, and even rewards for ourselves.  And psychologists claim that WHO can effectively build and break HABITS usually have higher levels of baseline self-control.   The interesting part is HOW these 'SELF-CONTROLLERS' deal with temptations💦💦💦

Along these lines, I came across this quotable quote:  PEOPLE WITH HIGH-LEVEL OF SELF-CONTROL ARE GOOD AT AVOIDING TEMPTATION [AND NOT RESISTING IT].  On the other hand, there are studies which point that people with the highest levels of self-control are actually more likely to be tempted by everything they're trying to resist.  So, perhaps without realizing WHY, they intentionally set up their lives in such a way that they'll avoid things that tempt them❎❎❎

Before I get suspected as a hypocrite, I'll be the first to admit that it's HARD to resist temptations.  Picture the gap between wanting something and having it.  We can imagine a rubber band stretched between you and another thing you want, pulling on you, drawing you toward that thing.  Thing is, we have a HARD time staying in that tension and resisting the pull.  So, we do things [like eating, buying, speaking to release the tension😖😖😖

Our takeaway:  This got me thinking.  Maybe getting the object of our desire ISN'T WHAT we really desire.  Maybe it's the desire itself WHICH we desire.  In other words, maybe it's more pleasurable to want things than to have them.  Think about a good movie you recently watched.  I bet the first few minutes introduced a problem and the rest of the movie was devoted to the tension of a protagonist WHO wants something, then he/she does NOT get it.  So, those good movies follow that formula to keep an audience engaged once the tension dissipates.  So, SHOULD TEMPTATIONS BE AVOIDED RATHER THAN RESISTED?  Absolutely dude, if you can!!!