I knew I'd run into this reaction. Here's the secret: an individual can be fully dedicated to a cause, but the weight of surrounding circumstances defeats them. See, e.g., food deserts. No, it is not more fun to go through live believing you have enough mental fortitude only to have context tap you on the shoulder the moment you take that first step.

I don't, for the record, disagree with much OP's point, though I do have some misgivings about "food addiction" being explanation for everyone's struggle with weight (I don't think that's his point, really, but it's clearly what his experience has been and it's the focus of the piece). His approach mirrors my own (successful) approach with any of a number of challenges. I just question the effectiveness as a complete solution.

> No, it is not more fun to go through live believing you have enough mental fortitude only to have context tap you on the shoulder the moment you take that first step.

It is also possible to have enough mental fortitude to read beyond the first item in a list that you yourself wrote about an hour ago.

Yes, you can’t mental fortitude yourself out of every situation. But you can be committed to change and figure things out.

Or you can just say “Nah, I’ll let somebody else fix things for me. I’m sure I’m high on their list of priorities.”

I'd invite you to point out where I said that we should all expect others to fix our problems, but you won't be able to. I said, and I'm correct, that there is a larger context than simply one's mental approach to a problem that can the problem more difficult to solve than it should be, even when it is an already difficult problem, and, in some cases, makes it impossible. For some, the external context is a less significant factor and they are able to find a path; for others, the external factors are insurmountable (food deserts again spring to mind). But absolutely nowhere did I say, or even imply, that the solution rests solely outside the individual.

> Much like fighting climate change, placing all the responsibility on the end user without changing some of the social conditions is a flawed approach, even if there are some things individuals can do to help

Who is changing some of the societal conditions here? You or someone else?

You also started your comment with a list of individual excuses.

You may not have said “4” but you said “2+2” and it’s not that big of a leap to make.

Americans, and lots of folks, love excuse culture and the "victim" mindset(life happens to them, they dont have agency). It's really easy to blame someone or something else than to just be honest with themself. It's always so and so's fault, or the corporations, or the government, or the climate, or you just had a big bad day, or something.

It's rarely "This is really hard and I doubt I have it in me right now" or some other honest answer.

No, because you'd be trapped in a cult of selfishness. A religion of self is a very bad place to be. I am not a self-contained sovereign god-being who just miraculously actualizes the positive reality I envision.

Yes, positivity is essential, and negative thinking is also a trap, but this "Believe In Yourself!" and "Follow Your Passion!" is rotten fruit from the $16 self-help bookshelf in the public library.

But isn’t the advice of if something sucks in your life, attempt to take action to change it the only thing that actually works?

... "something"? Like, anything at all? Or within the context of this article?

But no, that is not the only thing that works. If anyone despairs or believes such as this, then refer back to "cult of self" we're trapped in.

What specifically are the other things that work?

I get that you can hope someone else helps you or that circumstances change on their own.

But again while you’re sitting around waiting, shouldn’t you exhaust the options that you control?

I don’t get how trying to improve your life yourself is a “cult of self” or being portrayed as a bad thing.