A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit

Core Vocabulary

meditate /ˈmedɪteɪt/: v. to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time.

retreat /rɪˈtriːt/: n. a quiet place where one can go to relax or reflect.

exhausting / ɪɡˈzɔstɪŋ/: adj. very tiring.

drift off: to gradually fall asleep.

daydream /’dedrim/: n. a series of pleasant thoughts that distract one from the present. v. to indulge in daydreaming.

evolutionarily – conserved: (phrase) preserved through evolution.

reinforcement /ˌriːɪnˈfɔːrsmənt/: n. the process of encouraging or establishing a belief or behavior.

calorie /ˈkæləri/: n. a unit of energy.

survival /sərˈvaɪvl/: n. the state of continuing to live or exist.

context – dependent: (phrase) reliant on the surrounding conditions.

nerd /nɝd/: n. a person who is very interested in technical subjects.

rebel /ˈrebl/: n. a person who opposes authority or control. adj. resisting control. v. to resist authority.

dork /dɔrk/: n. a socially awkward person.

obesity /oʊˈbiːsəti/: n. the condition of being very overweight.

morbidity /mɔr’bɪdəti/: n. the condition of being diseased.

mortality /mɔːrˈtæləti/: n. the state of being subject to death.

mindfulness /ˈmaɪnd.fəl.nəs/: n. the practice of being aware of the present moment.

cognitively /ˈkɑːɡnətɪv/: adv. in a way related to the mental process of understanding.

disenchanted /ˌdɪsɪn’tʃæntɪd/: adj. no longer enchanted or fascinated.

prefrontal cortex: (phrase) the front part of the brain associated with decision making.

cognitive control: (phrase) the ability to regulate one’s thoughts and actions.

restrain /rɪˈstreɪn/: v. to hold back or limit.

visceral /ˈvɪsərəl/: adj. relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.

stance /stæns/: n. a position or attitude toward something.

paradox /ˈpærədɑːks/: n. a statement that contradicts itself but might be true.

craving /’krevɪŋ/: n. a powerful desire for something.

sensation /senˈseɪʃn/: n. a physical feeling or perception.

restlessness /ˈr ɛstlɪsnɪs/: n. inability to rest or relax.

clobber /’klɑbɚ/: v. to hit hard.

choke on: to have difficulty breathing because of something in the throat.

simplistic /sɪmˈplɪstɪk/: adj. oversimplified.

hypothesis /haɪˈpɑːθəsɪs/: n. a proposed explanation for a phenomenon.

posterior cingulate cortex: (phrase) a part of the brain involved in emotional regulation.

activate /’æktə,vetɪd/ /ˈæktɪveɪt/: v. to make active or operative.

sucked in: (phrase) drawn into something.

target /ˈtɑːrɡɪt/: n. a goal or objective. v. to aim at something.

core /kɔːr/: n. the central or most important part.

mechanism /ˈmekənɪzəm/: n. a system of parts working together.

perpetuate /pərˈpetʃueɪt/: v. to make something continue indefinitely.

exhaustive /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv/: adj. thorough and complete.

self – referential: adj. referring to oneself.

default mode network: (phrase) a network of brain regions activated during rest.

Speech Text

When I was first learning to meditate, the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath, and when my mind wandered, to bring it back.

When I first started learning meditation, the guidance was simply to pay attention to my breath, and when my thoughts wandered, to bring them back.

Sounded simple enough. Yet I’d sit on these silent retreats, sweating through T-shirts in the middle of winter. I’d take naps every chance I got because it was really hard work. Actually, it was exhausting. The instruction was simple enough but I was missing something really important.

This sounded simple enough. However, I would sit in those silent retreats and sweat through T-shirts even in the middle of winter. I would take naps whenever I could because it was really hard work. In fact, it was exhausting. The instructions were simple, but I was missing something very important.

So why is it so hard to pay attention? Well, studies show that even when we’re really trying to pay attention to something — like maybe this talk — at some point, about half of us will drift off into a daydream, or have this urge to check our Twitter feed.

So why is it so hard to focus? Research shows that even when we are genuinely trying to concentrate on something—like perhaps this talk—at some point, about half of us will drift off into a daydream, or feel the urge to check our Twitter feed.

So what’s going on here? It turns out that we’re fighting one of the most evolutionarily-conserved learning processes currently known in science, one that’s conserved back to the most basic nervous systems known to man.

So what is happening here? It turns out that we are battling one of the most evolutionarily conserved learning processes known in science, a process that dates back to the most primitive nervous systems known to mankind.

This reward-based learning process is called positive and negative reinforcement, and basically goes like this. We see some food that looks good, our brain says, “Calories! … Survival!” We eat the food, we taste it — it tastes good. And especially with sugar, our bodies send a signal to our brain that says, “Remember what you’re eating and where you found it.” We lay down this context-dependent memory and learn to repeat the process next time. See food, eat food, feel good, repeat. Trigger, behavior, reward.

This process of learning based on rewards is called positive and negative reinforcement, and it basically works like this: We see food that looks appealing, our brain says, “Calories! … Survival!” We eat the food, we taste it — it tastes good. Particularly with sugar, our bodies send a signal to our brain saying, “Remember what you ate and where you found it.” We form this context-dependent memory and learn to repeat the process next time. See food, eat food, feel good, repeat. Trigger, behavior, reward.

Simple, right? Well, after a while, our creative brains say, “You know what? You can use this for more than just remembering where food is. You know, next time you feel bad, why don’t you try eating something good so you’ll feel better?” We thank our brains for the great idea, try this and quickly learn that if we eat chocolate or ice cream when we’re mad or sad, we feel better.

Simple, right? Well, after a while, our creative brains say, “You know what? You can apply this to more than just remembering where food is. Next time you feel bad, why not try eating something nice so that you feel better?” We thank our brains for the great idea, try it out, and quickly learn that if we eat chocolate or ice cream when we are angry or sad, we feel better.

Same process, just a different trigger. Instead of this hunger signal coming from our stomach, this emotional signal — feeling sad — triggers that urge to eat.

Same process, just a different trigger. Instead of the hunger signal coming from our stomach, this emotional signal—feeling sad—triggers the urge to eat.

Maybe in our teenage years, we were a nerd at school, and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and we think, “Hey, I want to be cool.” So we start smoking. The Marlboro Man wasn’t a dork, and that was no accident. See cool, smoke to be cool, feel good. Repeat. Trigger, behavior, reward. And each time we do this, we learn to repeat the process and it becomes a habit. So later, feeling stressed out triggers that urge to smoke a cigarette or to eat something sweet.

Maybe in our teenage years, we were a nerd at school, and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and think, “Hey, I want to be cool.” So we start smoking. The Marlboro Man was not a dork, and that was no accident. See something cool, smoke to appear cool, feel good. Repeat. Trigger, behavior, reward. And each time we do this, we learn to repeat the process, and it becomes a habit. So later, feeling stressed triggers that urge to smoke a cigarette or eat something sweet.

Now, with these same brain processes, we’ve gone from learning to survive to literally killing ourselves with these habits. Obesity and smoking are among the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the world.

Now, with these same brain processes, we’ve transitioned from learning to survive to literally harming ourselves with these habits. Obesity and smoking are among the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the world.

So back to my breath. What if instead of fighting our brains, or trying to force ourselves to pay attention, we instead tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process … but added a twist? What if instead we just got really curious about what was happening in our momentary experience?

So back to my breath. What if, instead of battling our brains or forcing ourselves to concentrate, we tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process… but with a twist? What if we simply became very curious about what was happening in our moment-to-moment experience?

I’ll give you an example. In my lab, we studied whether mindfulness training could help people quit smoking. Now, just like trying to force myself to pay attention to my breath, they could try to force themselves to quit smoking. And the majority of them had tried this before and failed — on average, six times.

I’ll give you an example. In my lab, we studied whether mindfulness training could assist people in quitting smoking. Just like my attempts to force myself to focus on my breath, they could try to force themselves to quit smoking. The majority of them had attempted this before and failed—on average, six times.

Now, with mindfulness training, we dropped the bit about forcing and instead focused on being curious. In fact, we even told them to smoke. What? Yeah, we said, “Go ahead and smoke, just be really curious about what it’s like when you do.”

Now, with mindfulness training, we left behind the forcing aspect and instead emphasized curiosity. In fact, we even encouraged them to smoke. What? Yes, we said, “Go ahead and smoke, but just be really curious about what it feels like when you do it.”

And what did they notice? Well here’s an example from one of our smokers. She said, “Mindful smoking: smells like stinky cheese and tastes like chemicals, YUCK!” Now, she knew, cognitively that smoking was bad for her, that’s why she joined our program. What she discovered just by being curiously aware when she smoked was that smoking tastes like shit.

And what did they observe? Well, here’s an example from one of our smokers. She said, “Mindful smoking: smells like stinky cheese and tastes like chemicals, YUCK!” Now, she knew, cognitively that smoking was bad for her, which is why she joined our program. What she discovered simply by being curiously aware while smoking was that smoking tastes terrible.

Now, she moved from knowledge to wisdom. She moved from knowing in her head that smoking was bad for her to knowing it in her bones, and the spell of smoking was broken. She started to become disenchanted with her behavior.

Now, she transitioned from knowledge to wisdom. She moved from understanding in her head that smoking was harmful to knowing it in her core, and the allure of smoking was broken. She began to feel disenchanted with her smoking behavior.

Now, the prefrontal cortex, that youngest part of our brain from an evolutionary perspective, it understands on an intellectual level that we shouldn’t smoke. And it tries its hardest to help us change our behavior, to help us stop smoking, to help us stop eating that second, that third, that fourth cookie. We call this cognitive control. We’re using cognition to control our behavior. Unfortunately, this is also the first part of our brain that goes offline when we get stressed out, which isn’t that helpful.

Now, the prefrontal cortex, the most recently evolved part of our brain, understands on an intellectual level that we shouldn’t smoke. It works hard to assist us in changing our behavior, to help us quit smoking, to help us resist that second, third, or fourth cookie. We refer to this as cognitive control. We are using cognition to manage our behavior. Unfortunately, this is also the first part of our brain that shuts down when we experience stress, which is not very useful.

Now, we can all relate to this in our own experience. We’re much more likely to do things like yell at our spouse or kids when we’re stressed out or tired, even though we know it’s not going to be helpful. We just can’t help ourselves.

Now, we can all relate to this from our own experiences. We are much more likely to yell at our spouse or children when we are stressed or tired, even though we know it won’t be helpful. We just can’t help ourselves.

When the prefrontal cortex goes offline, we fall back into our old habits, which is why this disenchantment is so important. Seeing what we get from our habits helps us understand them at a deeper level — to know it in our bones so we don’t have to force ourselves to hold back or restrain ourselves from behavior. We’re just less interested in doing it in the first place.

When the prefrontal cortex goes offline, we revert to our old habits, which is why this sense of disenchantment is crucial. Understanding what we gain from our habits allows us to comprehend them on a deeper level—to internalize them so we don’t have to force ourselves to suppress or restrain our behaviors. We simply become less interested in engaging in the first place.

And this is what mindfulness is all about: Seeing really clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors, becoming disenchanted on a visceral level and from this disenchanted stance, naturally letting go.

This is the essence of mindfulness: Seeing clearly what we gain when we become entangled in our behaviors, becoming disenchanted on a visceral level and from this state of disenchantment, naturally letting go.

This isn’t to say that, poof, magically we quit smoking. But over time, as we learn to see more and more clearly the results of our actions, we let go of old habits and form new ones.

This doesn’t mean that we magically quit smoking overnight. But over time, as we learn to see more clearly the outcomes of our actions, we release old habits and cultivate new ones.

The paradox here is that mindfulness is just about being really interested in getting close and personal with what’s actually happening in our bodies and minds from moment to moment. This willingness to turn toward our experience rather than trying to make unpleasant cravings go away as quickly as possible. And this willingness to turn toward our experience is supported by curiosity, which is naturally rewarding.

The paradox here is that mindfulness is about being genuinely interested in engaging with what is occurring in our bodies and minds moment by moment. This willingness to confront our experiences rather than attempting to eliminate unpleasant cravings as quickly as possible. This willingness to face our experiences is underpinned by curiosity, which is inherently rewarding.

What does curiosity feel like? It feels good. And what happens when we get curious? We start to notice that cravings are simply made up of body sensations — oh, there’s tightness, there’s tension, there’s restlessness — and that these body sensations come and go. These are bite-size pieces of experiences that we can manage from moment to moment rather than getting clobbered by this huge, scary craving that we choke on.

What does curiosity feel like? It feels pleasant. And what occurs when we become curious? We begin to realize that cravings are merely composed of bodily sensations—oh, there’s tightness, there’s tension, there’s restlessness—and that these bodily sensations arise and fade away. These are manageable, bite-sized experiences rather than being overwhelmed by a massive, frightening craving that we struggle to overcome.

In other words, when we get curious, we step out of our old, fear-based, reactive habit patterns, and we step into being. We become this inner scientist where we’re eagerly awaiting that next data point.

In other words, when we become curious, we exit our old, fear-based, reactive habit patterns and enter a state of being. We transform into inner scientists eagerly anticipating the next data point.

Now, this might sound too simplistic to affect behavior. But in one study, we found that mindfulness training was twice as good as gold standard therapy at helping people quit smoking. So it actually works.

Now, this may sound too simplistic to impact behavior. However, in one study, we discovered that mindfulness training was twice as effective as the gold standard therapy in assisting individuals to quit smoking. So it genuinely works.

And when we studied the brains of experienced meditators, we found that parts of a neural network of self-referential processing called the default mode network were at play. Now, one current hypothesis is that a region of this network, called the posterior cingulate cortex, is activated not necessarily by craving itself but when we get caught up in it, when we get sucked in, and it takes us for a ride.

When we examined the brains of seasoned meditators, we discovered that parts of a neural network involved in self-referential processing, known as the default mode network, were active. Currently, one hypothesis suggests that a region of this network, known as the posterior cingulate cortex, is activated not necessarily by craving itself, but when we become entangled in it, when we are drawn in, and it takes us for a ride.

In contrast, when we let go — step out of the process just by being curiously aware of what’s happening — this same brain region quiets down.

Conversely, when we release — stepping out of the process simply by being curiously aware of what is unfolding — this same brain region calms down.

Now we’re testing app and online-based mindfulness training programs that target these coremechanisms and, ironically, use the same technology that’s driving us to distraction to help us step out of our unhealthy habit patterns of smoking, of stress eating and other addictive behaviors.

Currently, we are evaluating app and online-based mindfulness training programs that target these core mechanisms and, ironically, utilize the same technology that distracts us to assist us in stepping out of unhealthy habits like smoking, stress eating, and other addictive behaviors.

Now, remember that bit about context-dependent memory? We can deliver these tools to peoples’ fingertips in the contexts that matter most. So we can help them tap into their inherent capacity to be curiously aware right when that urge to smoke or stress eat or whatever arises.

Now, remember that part about context-dependent memory? We can provide these tools to people’s fingertips in the most relevant contexts. This way, we can assist them in accessing their innate ability to be curiously aware at the exact moment when the urge to smoke, stress eat, or whatever arises.

So if you don’t smoke or stress eat, maybe the next time you feel this urge to check your email when you’re bored, or you’re trying to distract yourself from work, or maybe to compulsively respond to that text message when you’re driving, see if you can tap into this natural capacity, just be curiously aware of what’s happening in your body and mind in that moment. It will just be another chance to perpetuate one of our endless and exhaustive habit loops … or step out of it.

So if you don’t smoke or engage in stress eating, perhaps the next time you feel the urge to check your email when bored, or if you’re trying to distract yourself from work, or perhaps feel compelled to respond to that text message while driving, see if you can tap into this natural ability—just be curiously aware of what’s occurring in your body and mind at that moment. It will either be another opportunity to perpetuate one of our endless and exhaustive habit loops… or a chance to step out of it.

Instead of see text message, compulsively text back, feel a little bit better — notice the urge, get curious, feel the joy of letting go and repeat.

Instead of seeing a text message, compulsively responding and feeling slightly better—notice the urge, become curious, experience the joy of letting go, and repeat.

Remark: The transcript is sourced from the TED website, all rights reserved by TED. For more information about TED, please visit www.ted.com!

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/judson_brewer_a_simple_way_to_break_a_bad_habit/transcript?subtitle=en

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