(1)In he 19th century, there used to be a model ofhow to be a good person. There are all these torrents of passion flowingthrough you. Your job, as captain of your soul, is to erect dams to keep thesepassions in check. Your job is to just say no to laziness, lust, greed, druguse and the other sins.

    (2)Thesedays that model is of fashion. You usually can’t change your behaviour bysimply resolving to do something. Knowing what to do is not the same as beingable to do it. Your willpower is not like a dam that can block the torrent ofself-indulgence. It’s more like a muscle, which tires easily. Moreover, you’rea social being. If everybody around you is overeating, you’ll probably do so,too.

    (3)The19th-century character model was based on an understanding of free will. Today,we know that free will is bounded. People can change their lives, but orderingchange is not simple because many things, even within ourselves, are beyond ourdirect control.

    (4)Muchof our behaviour, for example, is guided by unconscious habits. Researchers atDuke University calculated that more than 40 percent of the actions we take aregoverned by habit, not actual decisions. Researchers

have also come to understand the structure ofhabits—cue, routine, reward.

    (5)Youcan change your own personal habits. If you leave running shorts on the floorat night, that’ll be cue to go running in the morning. Don’t try to ignore yourafternoon snack craving. Every time you feel the cue for a snack, insertanother routine. Take a walk.

    (6)Theirresearch thus implies a different character model, which is supposed tomanipulate the neural（神经系统）networks inside.

    (7)To bean effective person, under this model, you are supposed to coolly examine yourown unconscious habits, and the habits of those under your care. You aresupposed to devise strategies to alter the cues and routines. Everyrelationship becomes slightly manipulative, including your relationship withyourself. You’re trying  to arousecertain responses by implanting certain cues.

    (8)Thisis a bit disturbing, because the important habitual neural networks are notformed by mere routine, nor can they be reversed by clever cues. They areburned in by emotion and strengthened by strong yearnings, like the yearningsfor admiration and righteousness.

    (9)If youthink you can change your life in a clever way, the way an advertiser can getyou to buy an air freshener, you’re probably wrong. As the Victoriansunderstood, if you want to change your life, don’t just look for a clever cue.Commit to some larger global belief.