I understand that he was trying to be clever and thought provoking, but it was neither. Reducing work just by itself is a good thing. If someone doesn't have any passions, does it make sense for them to work 12 hour days in the interim? I don't think so.
It really isn't the same. If you have a habit you're trying to break, abstention is the most obvious tool and everybody goes for it (and everybody faults themselves or each other when it doesn't work). If you've ever heard the term "white knuckling", that concept can often describe this sort of situation. "I'll just suck it Up and stop"
But many self improvement advisors across a host of problems from overeating to addiction agree that the way to kick a habit is to crowd it out of your life. You don't have time to eat a cheesecake because you're going for a run or to a volunteer event or to the park with your kids.
