Probably some of this stuff does work. The real problem is that changing your life is really difficult. Mainly because there is inertia in your environment. People expect you to act and think how you have done in the past, your job expects you to show up at a specific time, think a certain way. The bar you frequent has a set of emotions associated with it. So does the coffee shop. And so it all snowballs, and you try to break free but the memories are everywhere