  Quotes from an article from Dr. Robert Westermeyer Habits and urges go hand in hand. People with bad habits often don't really get pleasure from it, what fuels the negative behaviors are cravings. When people first try to change habits, the urges could dominate thinking and make people exhausted.
It is unreasonable to expect urges to vanish completely. But if people stick to the change program, they'll experience the urges less frequently, and able to react in a way that avoids relapse. The "three Ds" can be helpful in coping with urges and craving. They stand for Decatastrophizing, Disputing expectancies and Distracting. Decatastrophizing Inability to satisfy urge can lead to frustration and inner statements like "I can't stand this". These catastrophic thoughts make people give up their change program. Take this into perspectives and think about how unbearable it really is, is it as unberable as getting stabbed in the stomach?
Disputing expectancies Beck and his colleagues identified three beliefs associated with "the acute decision to engage in substance abuse": anticipatory, relief oriented (I won't have to worry about this paper if I go do something else), and permissive (I've been good all day, I'm entitled to treating myself). Since we rarely think about distant consequences when craving, we need to bring them to mind deliberately.
Urges are "myopic" in that they can only see advantages. You must shed some light on your cravings in order to effectively control it. Imagine that someone very close to you is voicing the very urge you are experiencing. How would you go about convincing them not to give in? Distracting Distract myself from not doing what I shouldn't do. Now I'm very good at that, so I don't really to worry about this strategy.
Research supports a model of addictive behavior which posits that urges and loss of control are essentially the "activation" of memories about the addictive behavior and associated emotions, physiological responses and behavioral programs (e.g. Goldman, 1989, Goldman & Rather, 1993). We are habitual creatures and, due to an extremely advanced central nervous system, are equipped to do many quite complex behaviors without wasting a great deal of cognitive capacity. This is because our memories are stored and configured in such a way that they guide future responses automatically. The result is an incredibly efficient mechanism which can handle vast amounts of information simultaneously. This "system" is particularly adept at guiding responses which avoid pain and bring pleasure. What is pursued or avoided will depend on the information that is stored, and this will vary from person to person. In essence, if certain things have been stored in memory as "good" then stimuli "out there" will activate these memories when you come into contact with them, "coaxing" you to go after them (or at least think about going after them). Every time a person "gives in to the urge," the network of information is strengthened! 
