0:00:00.760,0:00:02.616
When I was first learning to meditate,

0:00:02.640,0:00:05.696
the instruction was to simply[br]pay attention to my breath,

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and when my mind wandered,[br]to bring it back.

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Sounded simple enough.

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Yet I'd sit on these silent retreats,

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sweating through T-shirts[br]in the middle of winter.

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I'd take naps every chance I got[br]because it was really hard work.

0:00:20.640,0:00:22.640
Actually, it was exhausting.

0:00:23.400,0:00:25.136
The instruction was simple enough

0:00:25.160,0:00:27.280
but I was missing something[br]really important.

0:00:28.320,0:00:30.560
So why is it so hard to pay attention?

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Well, studies show

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that even when we're really[br]trying to pay attention to something --

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like maybe this talk --

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at some point,

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about half of us[br]will drift off into a daydream,

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or have this urge[br]to check our Twitter feed.

0:00:44.360,0:00:45.880
So what's going on here?

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It turns out that we're fighting one[br]of the most evolutionarily-conserved

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learning processes[br]currently known in science,

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one that's conserved

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back to the most basic[br]nervous systems known to man.

0:00:57.840,0:00:59.496
This reward-based learning process

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is called positive[br]and negative reinforcement,

0:01:01.720,0:01:03.280
and basically goes like this.

0:01:04.200,0:01:05.896
We see some food that looks good,

0:01:05.920,0:01:08.616
our brain says, "Calories! ... Survival!"

0:01:08.640,0:01:10.136
We eat the food, we taste it --

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it tastes good.

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And especially with sugar,

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our bodies send a signal[br]to our brain that says,

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"Remember what you're eating[br]and where you found it."

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We lay down this context-dependent memory

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and learn to repeat the process next time.

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See food,

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eat food, feel good,

0:01:27.480,0:01:28.936
repeat.

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Trigger, behavior, reward.

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Simple, right?

0:01:33.920,0:01:36.056
Well, after a while,[br]our creative brains say,

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"You know what?

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You can use this for more[br]than just remembering where food is.

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You know, next time you feel bad,

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why don't you try eating[br]something good so you'll feel better?"

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We thank our brains for the great idea,

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try this and quickly learn

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that if we eat chocolate or ice cream[br]when we're mad or sad,

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we feel better.

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Same process,

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just a different trigger.

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Instead of this hunger signal[br]coming from our stomach,

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this emotional signal -- feeling sad --

0:02:04.920,0:02:06.200
triggers that urge to eat.

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Maybe in our teenage years,

0:02:09.199,0:02:10.600
we were a nerd at school,

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and we see those rebel kids[br]outside smoking and we think,

0:02:14.320,0:02:15.576
"Hey, I want to be cool."

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So we start smoking.

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The Marlboro Man wasn't a dork,[br]and that was no accident.

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See cool,

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smoke to be cool,

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feel good. Repeat.

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Trigger, behavior, reward.

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And each time we do this,

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we learn to repeat the process

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and it becomes a habit.

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So later,

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feeling stressed out triggers[br]that urge to smoke a cigarette

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or to eat something sweet.

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Now, with these same brain processes,

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we've gone from learning to survive

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to literally killing ourselves[br]with these habits.

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Obesity and smoking

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are among the leading preventable causes[br]of morbidity and mortality in the world.

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So back to my breath.

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What if instead of fighting our brains,

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or trying to force ourselves[br]to pay attention,

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we instead tapped into this natural,[br]reward-based learning process ...

0:03:06.720,0:03:07.920
but added a twist?

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What if instead we just got really curious

0:03:10.600,0:03:13.096
about what was happening[br]in our momentary experience?

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I'll give you an example.

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In my lab,

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we studied whether mindfulness training[br]could help people quit smoking.

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Now, just like trying to force myself[br]to pay attention to my breath,

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they could try to force[br]themselves to quit smoking.

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And the majority of them[br]had tried this before and failed --

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on average, six times.

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Now, with mindfulness training,

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we dropped the bit about forcing[br]and instead focused on being curious.

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In fact, we even told them to smoke.

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What? Yeah, we said, "Go ahead and smoke,

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just be really curious[br]about what it's like when you do."

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And what did they notice?

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Well here's an example[br]from one of our smokers.

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She said, "Mindful smoking:

0:03:52.600,0:03:54.216
smells like stinky cheese

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and tastes like chemicals,

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YUCK!"

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Now, she knew, cognitively[br]that smoking was bad for her,

0:04:01.080,0:04:02.960
that's why she joined our program.

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What she discovered just by being[br]curiously aware when she smoked

0:04:08.240,0:04:11.376
was that smoking tastes like shit.

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(Laughter)

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Now, she moved from knowledge to wisdom.

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She moved from knowing in her head[br]that smoking was bad for her

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to knowing it in her bones,

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and the spell of smoking was broken.

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She started to become[br]disenchanted with her behavior.

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Now, the prefrontal cortex,

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that youngest part of our brain[br]from an evolutionary perspective,

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it understands on an intellectual level[br]that we shouldn't smoke.

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And it tries its hardest[br]to help us change our behavior,

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to help us stop smoking,

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to help us stop eating that second,[br]that third, that fourth cookie.

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We call this cognitive control.

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We're using cognition[br]to control our behavior.

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Unfortunately,

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this is also the first part of our brain

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that goes offline[br]when we get stressed out,

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which isn't that helpful.

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Now, we can all relate to this[br]in our own experience.

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We're much more likely to do things[br]like yell at our spouse or kids

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when we're stressed out or tired,

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even though we know[br]it's not going to be helpful.

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We just can't help ourselves.

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When the prefrontal cortex goes offline,

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we fall back into our old habits,

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which is why this disenchantment[br]is so important.

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Seeing what we get from our habits

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helps us understand them[br]at a deeper level --

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to know it in our bones

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so we don't have to force[br]ourselves to hold back

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or restrain ourselves from behavior.

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We're just less interested[br]in doing it in the first place.

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And this is what mindfulness is all about:

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Seeing really clearly what we get[br]when we get caught up in our behaviors,

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becoming disenchanted on a visceral level

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and from this disenchanted stance,[br]naturally letting go.

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This isn't to say that, poof,[br]magically we quit smoking.

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But over time, as we learn[br]to see more and more clearly

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the results of our actions,

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we let go of old habits and form new ones.

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The paradox here

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is that mindfulness is just[br]about being really interested

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in getting close and personal

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with what's actually happening[br]in our bodies and minds

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from moment to moment.

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This willingness[br]to turn toward our experience

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rather than trying to make unpleasant[br]cravings go away as quickly as possible.

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And this willingness[br]to turn toward our experience

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is supported by curiosity,

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which is naturally rewarding.

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What does curiosity feel like?

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It feels good.

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And what happens when we get curious?

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We start to notice that cravings[br]are simply made up of body sensations --

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oh, there's tightness, there's tension,

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there's restlessness --

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and that these body[br]sensations come and go.

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These are bite-size pieces of experiences

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that we can manage from moment to moment

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rather than getting clobbered[br]by this huge, scary craving

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that we choke on.

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In other words, when we get curious,

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we step out of our old,[br]fear-based, reactive habit patterns,

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and we step into being.

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We become this inner scientist

0:07:02.920,0:07:06.136
where we're eagerly awaiting[br]that next data point.

0:07:06.160,0:07:10.696
Now, this might sound[br]too simplistic to affect behavior.

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But in one study,[br]we found that mindfulness training

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was twice as good as gold standard therapy[br]at helping people quit smoking.

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So it actually works.

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And when we studied[br]the brains of experienced meditators,

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we found that parts of a neural network[br]of self-referential processing

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called the default mode network

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were at play.

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Now, one current hypothesis[br]is that a region of this network,

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called the posterior cingulate cortex,

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is activated not necessarily[br]by craving itself

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but when we get caught up in it,[br]when we get sucked in,

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and it takes us for a ride.

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In contrast, when we let go --

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step out of the process

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just by being curiously aware[br]of what's happening --

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this same brain region quiets down.

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Now we're testing app and online-based[br]mindfulness training programs

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that target these core mechanisms

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and, ironically, use the same technology[br]that's driving us to distraction

0:08:03.120,0:08:05.656
to help us step out[br]of our unhealthy habit patterns

0:08:05.680,0:08:09.696
of smoking, of stress eating[br]and other addictive behaviors.

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Now, remember that bit[br]about context-dependent memory?

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We can deliver these tools[br]to peoples' fingertips

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in the contexts that matter most.

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So we can help them

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tap into their inherent capacity[br]to be curiously aware

0:08:21.760,0:08:25.680
right when that urge to smoke[br]or stress eat or whatever arises.

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So if you don't smoke or stress eat,

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maybe the next time you feel this urge[br]to check your email when you're bored,

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or you're trying to distract[br]yourself from work,

0:08:34.423,0:08:38.222
or maybe to compulsively respond[br]to that text message when you're driving,

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see if you can tap into[br]this natural capacity,

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just be curiously aware

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of what's happening in your body[br]and mind in that moment.

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It will just be another chance

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to perpetuate one of our endless[br]and exhaustive habit loops ...

0:08:52.360,0:08:53.600
or step out of it.

0:08:54.080,0:08:56.976
Instead of see text message,[br]compulsively text back,

0:08:57.000,0:08:58.736
feel a little bit better --

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notice the urge,

0:09:00.240,0:09:01.696
get curious,

0:09:01.720,0:09:03.656
feel the joy of letting go

0:09:03.680,0:09:04.880
and repeat.

0:09:05.440,0:09:06.656
Thank you.

0:09:06.680,0:09:09.040
(Applause)