When is a "quick fix" not so quick?

When it doesn't actually work!  
"5 simple keys to transform your life."  "7 secrets to wealth beyond your dreams."  Quick grabs. Tweets.  Sound bites.  
Give it to me now.  To even say 'instant gratification' just takes too long.  We're already bored.

We all know that if you eat cream cakes, doughnuts and fried food every day you can't simply apply 'firming lotion' to your thighs and expect the cellulite to disappear.  So how do products with similarly amazing promises disappear off the high-end shelves at such speed?  Often the more expensive, the quicker.

What is going on?

In our hearts we know that we need to eat healthy food, drink lots of water, exercise and get a good night's sleep - regularly - to have the health and vitality of our dreams.  The thing is that the 'quick fix' is so compelling.  We just want to believe in it.  And if it is really expensive, surely it must work?

What about the vibrating belt that exercises for you while you sit on the sofa and watch TV?  Really?

Dr Tal Ben-Shahar, one of the great thinkers and practical teachers in the positive psychology field, acknowledges that our belief in a successful outcome and our passion or desire to get it are two of the most important elements in our success.

The third element, however, is not so sexy.  It is ... wait for it ... (drum roll) .........
persistence.
Yes, that old chestnut: good, plain hard work.  Putting in the hard yards.  Dooopppphhhhhh!!

So the next time you reach for the 'cellulite reduction cream' or the vibrating exercise belt - or some other 'quick fix', think about it and make a conscious choice.  Is it going to support you in the longer term (in which case, go for your life and tell the world), or do you really need to develop some better thinking and some more useful habits?