{"id":43042,"date":"2022-01-21T00:02:20","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T22:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/?p=43042"},"modified":"2022-01-21T21:42:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T19:42:25","slug":"the-technique-that-will-allow-us-to-change-the-habits-we-do-not-like-part-a-2818a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/the-technique-that-will-allow-us-to-change-the-habits-we-do-not-like-part-a-2818a\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The technique that will allow us to change the habits we do not like (CHARLES DUHIGG) | Part A ‘"},"content":{"rendered":"

The difficult thing about studying the science of habits is that most
\npeople, when they hear about this field of research, want to know the
\nsecret formula for quickly changing any habit. If scientists have
\ndiscovered how these patterns work, then it stands to reason that they
\nmust have also found a recipe for rapid change, right?
\nIf only it were that easy.
\nIt\u2019s not that formulas don\u2019t exist. The problem is that there isn\u2019t one
\nformula for changing habits. There are thousands.
\nIndividuals and habits are all different, and so the specifics of
\ndiagnosing and changing the patterns in our lives differ from person to
\nperson and behavior to behavior. Giving up cigarettes is different from
\ncurbing overeating, which is different from changing how you
\ncommunicate with your spouse, which is different from how you
\nprioritize tasks at work. What\u2019s more, each person\u2019s habits are driven
\nby different cravings.
\nAs a result, this book doesn\u2019t contain one prescription. Rather, I
\nhoped to deliver something else: a framework for understanding how
\nhabits work and a guide to experimenting with how they might
\nchange. Some habits yield easily to analysis and influence. Others are
\nmore complex and obstinate, and require prolonged study. And for
\nothers, change is a process that never fully concludes.
\nBut that doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t occur. Each chapter in this book
\nexplains a different aspect of why habits exist and how they function.<\/p>\n

The framework described in this appendix is an attempt to distill, in a
\nvery basic way, the tactics that researchers have found for diagnosing
\nand shaping habits within our own lives. This isn\u2019t meant to be
\ncomprehensive. This is merely a practical guide, a place to start. And
\npaired with deeper lessons from this book\u2019s chapters, it\u2019s a manual for
\nwhere to go next.
\nChange might not be fast and it isn\u2019t always easy. But with time and
\neffort, almost any habit can be reshaped.
\nTHE FRAMEWORK:
\n\u2022 Identify the routine
\n\u2022 Experiment with rewards
\n\u2022 Isolate the cue
\n\u2022 Have a plan<\/p>\n

The MIT researchers in chapter 1 discovered a simple neurological
\nloop at the core of every habit, a loop that consists of three parts: a
\ncue, a routine, and a reward.
\nTo understand your own habits, you need to identify the
\ncomponents of your loops. Once you have diagnosed the habit loop of
\na particular behavior, you can look for ways to supplant old vices with
\nnew routines.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nAs an example, let\u2019s say you have a bad habit, like I did when I
\nstarted researching this book, of going to the cafeteria and buying a
\nchocolate chip cookie every afternoon. Let\u2019s say this habit has caused
\nyou to gain a few pounds. In fact, let\u2019s say this habit has caused you to
\ngain exactly eight pounds, and that your wife has made a few pointed
\ncomments. You\u2019ve tried to force yourself to stop\u2014you even went so far
\nas to put a Post-it on your computer that reads no more cookies.
\nBut every afternoon you manage to ignore that note, get up, wander
\ntoward the cafeteria, buy a cookie, and, while chatting with colleagues
\naround the cash register, eat it. It feels good, and then it feels bad.
\nTomorrow, you promise yourself, you\u2019ll muster the willpower to resist.
\nTomorrow will be different.
\nBut tomorrow the habit takes hold again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nHow do you start diagnosing and then changing this behavior? By
\nfiguring out the habit loop. And the first step is to identify the routine.
\nIn this cookie scenario\u2014as with most habits\u2014the routine is the most obvious aspect: It\u2019s the behavior you want to change. Your routine is
\nthat you get up from your desk in the afternoon, walk to the cafeteria,
\nbuy a chocolate chip cookie, and eat it while chatting with friends. So
\nthat\u2019s what you put into the loop:
\nNext, some less obvious questions: What\u2019s the cue for this routine?
\nIs it hunger? Boredom? Low blood sugar? That you need a break
\nbefore plunging into another task?
\nAnd what\u2019s the reward? The cookie itself? The change of scenery?
\nThe temporary distraction? Socializing with colleagues? Or the burst
\nof energy that comes from that blast of sugar?
\nTo figure this out, you\u2019ll need to do a little experimentation.<\/p>\n

obvious aspect: It\u2019s the behavior you want to change. Your routine is
\nthat you get up from your desk in the afternoon, walk to the cafeteria,
\nbuy a chocolate chip cookie, and eat it while chatting with friends. So
\nthat\u2019s what you put into the loop:
\nNext, some less obvious questions: What\u2019s the cue for this routine?
\nIs it hunger? Boredom? Low blood sugar? That you need a break
\nbefore plunging into another task?
\nAnd what\u2019s the reward? The cookie itself? The change of scenery?
\nThe temporary distraction? Socializing with colleagues? Or the burst
\nof energy that comes from that blast of sugar?
\nTo figure this out, you\u2019ll need to do a little experimentation.<\/p>\n

STEP TWO: EXPERIMENT WITH REWARDS
\nRewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings. But we\u2019re often
\nnot conscious of the cravings that drive our behaviors. When the
\nFebreze marketing team discovered that consumers desired a fresh
\nscent at the end of a cleaning ritual, for example, they had found a
\ncraving that no one even knew existed. It was hiding in plain sight.
\nMost cravings are like this: obvious in retrospect, but incredibly hard
\nto see when we are under their sway.
\nTo figure out which cravings are driving particular habits, it\u2019s useful
\nto experiment with different rewards. This might take a few days, or a
\nweek, or longer. During that period, you shouldn\u2019t feel any pressure to
\nmake a real change\u2014think of yourself as a scientist in the data
\ncollection stage.<\/p>\n

On the first day of your experiment, when you feel the urge to go to
\nthe cafeteria and buy a cookie, adjust your routine so it delivers a
\ndifferent reward. For instance, instead of walking to the cafeteria, go
\noutside, walk around the block, and then go back to your desk without
\neating anything. The next day, go to the cafeteria and buy a donut, or a
\ncandy bar, and eat it at your desk. The next day, go to the cafeteria,
\nbuy an apple, and eat it while chatting with your friends. Then, try a
\ncup of coffee. Then, instead of going to the cafeteria, walk over to your
\nfriend\u2019s office and gossip for a few minutes and go back to your desk.
\nYou get the idea. What you choose to do instead of buying a cookie
\nisn\u2019t important. The point is to test different hypotheses to determine
\nwhich craving is driving your routine. Are you craving the cookie itself,
\nor a break from work? If it\u2019s the cookie, is it because you\u2019re hungry?
\n(In which case the apple should work just as well.) Or is it because you
\nwant the burst of energy the cookie provides? (And so the coffee
\nshould suffice.) Or are you wandering up to the cafeteria as an excuse
\nto socialize, and the cookie is just a convenient excuse? (If so, walking
\nto someone\u2019s desk and gossiping for a few minutes should satisfy the
\nurge.)<\/p>\n

As you test four or five different rewards, you can use an old trick to
\nlook for patterns: After each activity, jot down on a piece of paper the
\nfirst three things that come to mind when you get back to your desk.
\nThey can be emotions, random thoughts, reflections on how you\u2019re
\nfeeling, or just the first three words that pop into your head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then, set an alarm on your watch or computer for fifteen minutes.
\nWhen it goes off, ask yourself: Do you still feel the urge for that
\ncookie?
\nThe reason why it\u2019s important to write down three things\u2014even if
\nthey are meaningless words\u2014is twofold. First, it forces a momentary
\nawareness of what you are thinking or feeling. Just as Mandy, the nail
\nbiter in chapter 3, carried around a note card filled with hash marks to
\nforce her into awareness of her habitual urges, so writing three words
\nforces a moment of attention. What\u2019s more, studies show that writing
\ndown a few words helps in later recalling what you were thinking at
\nthat moment. At the end of the experiment, when you review your
\nnotes, it will be much easier to remember what you were thinking and
\nfeeling at that precise instant, because your scribbled words will
\ntrigger a wave of recollection.
\nAnd why the fifteen-minute alarm? Because the point of these tests
\nis to determine the reward you\u2019re craving. If, fifteen minutes after
\neating a donut, you still feel an urge to get up and go to the cafeteria,
\nthen your habit isn\u2019t motivated by a sugar craving. If, after gossiping at
\na colleague\u2019s desk, you still want a cookie, then the need for human
\ncontact isn\u2019t what\u2019s driving your behavior.
\nOn the other hand, if fifteen minutes after chatting with a friend,
\nyou find it easy to get back to work, then you\u2019ve identified the reward\u2014
\ntemporary distraction and socialization\u2014that your habit sought to satisfy.
\nBy experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what you
\nare actually craving, which is essential in redesigning the habit.
\nOnce you\u2019ve figured out the routine and the reward, what remains is
\nidentifying the cue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The power of habit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

CHARLES DUHIGG<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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