I below are my notes and link for a really good Ted Talk by Judson Brewer on how to break bad habits. In summary, most of us live on a rewards based learning process. This can be dangerous when the behavior is not healthy, like eating sugary foods or smoking cigarettes as he described in his video. When we are triggered, we should instead be 'curious,' which is a behavior that can bring us pleasure in a more productive way that most of our unhealthier behaviors.
Here is the video. After the jump are my notes.
1:12 – Positive and
negative reinforcement, rewards based learning process.
-
Trigger,
behavior, reward
-
See food, eat
food, feel good
-
See cool,
smoke to be cool, repeat
3:15 – Curiosity over
triggers
- Mindfulness training:
instead of forcing yourself to quit smoking; focus on being curious. Go ahead and smoke, just be really curious
about what it feels like when you do.
4:30 – Move from knowledge
to wisdom. You know its right or
wrong. Know how to change.
4:40 – Prefontal cortex
(youngest part of our brain) knows we shouldn’t do it, and tis called cognitive
control, but is the first part of our brain to shut down when we get stressed
or tired. We can’t help ourselves. We then fall back into our old habits because
its easy.
5:45 – Mindfulness is
seeing clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors, becoming
disenchanted on a visceral level, and let go (on this disenchanted level). Over time, we can let go of old habits. Its about be really interested in what is
going on in our body. Turn toward our
experience, through curiosity (which feels good).
Being curious takes you
away from fear based reactive habits. It
turns you to a scientist that seeks answers and better solutions.
Tap into your curiosity
and see what is happening in your body and mind in that moment.
Notice the urge, get
curious, feel the joy of letting go, repeat.
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