“Is there any other industry in this country which seeks to presume so completely to give the customer what he does not want?”Sometimes leftovers just sit in the fridge, not because you don't want them, but because they're in the back of the fridge. If you keep fruit out on the table instead of a cookie jar, you're more likely to eat fruit. And if you make it appealing, say by putting a variety of bright colored fruit on the table, you'll be even more likely to grab something on the way out the door.
--Rupert Murdoch
Availability is extremely important in changing habits. Marketing is all about spending lots of money to get a product in front of you. Once you see it, you start thinking about price and quality, but whether you need it is lost in the novelty and appeal. Most of our cultural mores and definitions of beauty are shaped this way. I can't help but think that Rupert Murdoch preferred seeing really skinny, attractive women on TV, which left us a culture of eating disorders and a single-minded warped sense of beauty. Its remarkable!
But if big corporations and marketing firms can psych you out to want what you don't need and like what you never cared about, so can you. Put that fruit bowl on the table, maybe along with some oatmeal in your pantry, and sugar-free juices in your fridge. Avoid TV for a week and see how you feel. Go grocery shopping with a list in hand. Work out a personal budget and use cash more. The tips are endless and you've heard them all before. But there is truth in cliché and when you're better off because of it, it doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is that it works.