“I’ve blown it so I might as well go out in style!”

Researchers actually do call it the “what the heck” effect (or something close to that). It refers to the moment when you realize that you’ve blown your calorie goal for the day, so you might as well order pizza and beer. Or the moment when you have one cigarette at a party and go on to smoke a whole pack. The fundamental problem is that behavioural goals that are too brittle, too black and white, too inflexible can lead some of us into cycles of binging and self-blame. This article discusses how this plays out with problem drinking, but it’s really interesting reading for anybody interested in change.