A simple way to break a bad habit
-
0:01 - 0:03When I was first learning to meditate,
-
0:03 - 0:06the instruction was to simply
pay attention to my breath, -
0:06 - 0:08and when my mind wandered,
to bring it back. -
0:09 - 0:10Sounded simple enough.
-
0:11 - 0:14Yet I'd sit on these silent retreats,
-
0:14 - 0:17sweating through T-shirts
in the middle of winter. -
0:17 - 0:21I'd take naps every chance I got
because it was really hard work. -
0:21 - 0:23Actually, it was exhausting.
-
0:23 - 0:25The instruction was simple enough
-
0:25 - 0:27but I was missing something
really important. -
0:28 - 0:31So why is it so hard to pay attention?
-
0:31 - 0:33Well, studies show
-
0:33 - 0:36that even when we're really
trying to pay attention to something -- -
0:36 - 0:37like maybe this talk --
-
0:37 - 0:39at some point,
-
0:39 - 0:41about half of us
will drift off into a daydream, -
0:41 - 0:43or have this urge
to check our Twitter feed. -
0:44 - 0:46So what's going on here?
-
0:47 - 0:50It turns out that we're fighting one
of the most evolutionarily-conserved -
0:50 - 0:53learning processes
currently known in science, -
0:53 - 0:55one that's conserved
-
0:55 - 0:57back to the most basic
nervous systems known to man. -
0:58 - 0:59This reward-based learning process
-
1:00 - 1:02is called positive
and negative reinforcement, -
1:02 - 1:03and basically goes like this.
-
1:04 - 1:06We see some food that looks good,
-
1:06 - 1:09our brain says, "Calories! ... Survival!"
-
1:09 - 1:10We eat the food, we taste it --
-
1:10 - 1:11it tastes good.
-
1:11 - 1:13And especially with sugar,
-
1:13 - 1:15our bodies send a signal
to our brain that says, -
1:15 - 1:18"Remember what you're eating
and where you found it." -
1:19 - 1:22We lay down this context-dependent memory
-
1:22 - 1:24and learn to repeat the process next time.
-
1:25 - 1:26See food,
-
1:26 - 1:27eat food, feel good,
-
1:27 - 1:29repeat.
-
1:29 - 1:32Trigger, behavior, reward.
-
1:32 - 1:33Simple, right?
-
1:34 - 1:36Well, after a while,
our creative brains say, -
1:36 - 1:37"You know what?
-
1:37 - 1:41You can use this for more
than just remembering where food is. -
1:41 - 1:43You know, next time you feel bad,
-
1:43 - 1:47why don't you try eating
something good so you'll feel better?" -
1:48 - 1:50We thank our brains for the great idea,
-
1:50 - 1:51try this and quickly learn
-
1:51 - 1:55that if we eat chocolate or ice cream
when we're mad or sad, -
1:55 - 1:56we feel better.
-
1:57 - 1:58Same process,
-
1:58 - 2:00just a different trigger.
-
2:00 - 2:03Instead of this hunger signal
coming from our stomach, -
2:03 - 2:05this emotional signal -- feeling sad --
-
2:05 - 2:06triggers that urge to eat.
-
2:07 - 2:09Maybe in our teenage years,
-
2:09 - 2:11we were a nerd at school,
-
2:12 - 2:14and we see those rebel kids
outside smoking and we think, -
2:14 - 2:16"Hey, I want to be cool."
-
2:16 - 2:17So we start smoking.
-
2:18 - 2:22The Marlboro Man wasn't a dork,
and that was no accident. -
2:22 - 2:23See cool,
-
2:23 - 2:24smoke to be cool,
-
2:24 - 2:26feel good. Repeat.
-
2:26 - 2:28Trigger, behavior, reward.
-
2:29 - 2:30And each time we do this,
-
2:30 - 2:32we learn to repeat the process
-
2:32 - 2:33and it becomes a habit.
-
2:34 - 2:35So later,
-
2:35 - 2:39feeling stressed out triggers
that urge to smoke a cigarette -
2:39 - 2:40or to eat something sweet.
-
2:41 - 2:44Now, with these same brain processes,
-
2:44 - 2:46we've gone from learning to survive
-
2:46 - 2:49to literally killing ourselves
with these habits. -
2:49 - 2:50Obesity and smoking
-
2:50 - 2:55are among the leading preventable causes
of morbidity and mortality in the world. -
2:55 - 2:57So back to my breath.
-
2:58 - 3:00What if instead of fighting our brains,
-
3:00 - 3:03or trying to force ourselves
to pay attention, -
3:03 - 3:07we instead tapped into this natural,
reward-based learning process ... -
3:07 - 3:08but added a twist?
-
3:09 - 3:11What if instead we just got really curious
-
3:11 - 3:13about what was happening
in our momentary experience? -
3:13 - 3:15I'll give you an example.
-
3:15 - 3:16In my lab,
-
3:16 - 3:19we studied whether mindfulness training
could help people quit smoking. -
3:19 - 3:23Now, just like trying to force myself
to pay attention to my breath, -
3:23 - 3:26they could try to force
themselves to quit smoking. -
3:26 - 3:29And the majority of them
had tried this before and failed -- -
3:29 - 3:31on average, six times.
-
3:32 - 3:33Now, with mindfulness training,
-
3:33 - 3:37we dropped the bit about forcing
and instead focused on being curious. -
3:38 - 3:41In fact, we even told them to smoke.
-
3:41 - 3:43What? Yeah, we said, "Go ahead and smoke,
-
3:43 - 3:46just be really curious
about what it's like when you do." -
3:46 - 3:48And what did they notice?
-
3:48 - 3:51Well here's an example
from one of our smokers. -
3:51 - 3:53She said, "Mindful smoking:
-
3:53 - 3:54smells like stinky cheese
-
3:54 - 3:56and tastes like chemicals,
-
3:56 - 3:57YUCK!"
-
3:58 - 4:01Now, she knew, cognitively
that smoking was bad for her, -
4:01 - 4:03that's why she joined our program.
-
4:04 - 4:08What she discovered just by being
curiously aware when she smoked -
4:08 - 4:11was that smoking tastes like shit.
-
4:11 - 4:13(Laughter)
-
4:14 - 4:18Now, she moved from knowledge to wisdom.
-
4:18 - 4:21She moved from knowing in her head
that smoking was bad for her -
4:22 - 4:24to knowing it in her bones,
-
4:24 - 4:26and the spell of smoking was broken.
-
4:26 - 4:30She started to become
disenchanted with her behavior. -
4:31 - 4:33Now, the prefrontal cortex,
-
4:33 - 4:37that youngest part of our brain
from an evolutionary perspective, -
4:37 - 4:41it understands on an intellectual level
that we shouldn't smoke. -
4:41 - 4:45And it tries its hardest
to help us change our behavior, -
4:45 - 4:46to help us stop smoking,
-
4:46 - 4:50to help us stop eating that second,
that third, that fourth cookie. -
4:51 - 4:52We call this cognitive control.
-
4:52 - 4:55We're using cognition
to control our behavior. -
4:56 - 4:57Unfortunately,
-
4:57 - 4:59this is also the first part of our brain
-
4:59 - 5:01that goes offline
when we get stressed out, -
5:01 - 5:02which isn't that helpful.
-
5:02 - 5:05Now, we can all relate to this
in our own experience. -
5:05 - 5:08We're much more likely to do things
like yell at our spouse or kids -
5:08 - 5:10when we're stressed out or tired,
-
5:10 - 5:12even though we know
it's not going to be helpful. -
5:12 - 5:14We just can't help ourselves.
-
5:15 - 5:17When the prefrontal cortex goes offline,
-
5:17 - 5:20we fall back into our old habits,
-
5:20 - 5:22which is why this disenchantment
is so important. -
5:22 - 5:24Seeing what we get from our habits
-
5:24 - 5:26helps us understand them
at a deeper level -- -
5:26 - 5:28to know it in our bones
-
5:28 - 5:30so we don't have to force
ourselves to hold back -
5:30 - 5:32or restrain ourselves from behavior.
-
5:32 - 5:34We're just less interested
in doing it in the first place. -
5:34 - 5:37And this is what mindfulness is all about:
-
5:37 - 5:41Seeing really clearly what we get
when we get caught up in our behaviors, -
5:42 - 5:45becoming disenchanted on a visceral level
-
5:45 - 5:48and from this disenchanted stance,
naturally letting go. -
5:49 - 5:52This isn't to say that, poof,
magically we quit smoking. -
5:52 - 5:55But over time, as we learn
to see more and more clearly -
5:55 - 5:56the results of our actions,
-
5:56 - 5:59we let go of old habits and form new ones.
-
6:00 - 6:01The paradox here
-
6:01 - 6:04is that mindfulness is just
about being really interested -
6:04 - 6:06in getting close and personal
-
6:06 - 6:08with what's actually happening
in our bodies and minds -
6:08 - 6:10from moment to moment.
-
6:10 - 6:12This willingness
to turn toward our experience -
6:12 - 6:16rather than trying to make unpleasant
cravings go away as quickly as possible. -
6:17 - 6:19And this willingness
to turn toward our experience -
6:19 - 6:21is supported by curiosity,
-
6:21 - 6:23which is naturally rewarding.
-
6:23 - 6:25What does curiosity feel like?
-
6:25 - 6:26It feels good.
-
6:27 - 6:29And what happens when we get curious?
-
6:29 - 6:33We start to notice that cravings
are simply made up of body sensations -- -
6:33 - 6:35oh, there's tightness, there's tension,
-
6:35 - 6:37there's restlessness --
-
6:37 - 6:39and that these body
sensations come and go. -
6:40 - 6:43These are bite-size pieces of experiences
-
6:43 - 6:45that we can manage from moment to moment
-
6:45 - 6:49rather than getting clobbered
by this huge, scary craving -
6:49 - 6:50that we choke on.
-
6:50 - 6:53In other words, when we get curious,
-
6:53 - 6:58we step out of our old,
fear-based, reactive habit patterns, -
6:58 - 7:00and we step into being.
-
7:00 - 7:03We become this inner scientist
-
7:03 - 7:06where we're eagerly awaiting
that next data point. -
7:06 - 7:11Now, this might sound
too simplistic to affect behavior. -
7:11 - 7:13But in one study,
we found that mindfulness training -
7:13 - 7:17was twice as good as gold standard therapy
at helping people quit smoking. -
7:17 - 7:19So it actually works.
-
7:20 - 7:23And when we studied
the brains of experienced meditators, -
7:23 - 7:26we found that parts of a neural network
of self-referential processing -
7:26 - 7:28called the default mode network
-
7:28 - 7:29were at play.
-
7:29 - 7:32Now, one current hypothesis
is that a region of this network, -
7:32 - 7:34called the posterior cingulate cortex,
-
7:35 - 7:37is activated not necessarily
by craving itself -
7:37 - 7:40but when we get caught up in it,
when we get sucked in, -
7:40 - 7:42and it takes us for a ride.
-
7:42 - 7:44In contrast, when we let go --
-
7:44 - 7:45step out of the process
-
7:45 - 7:48just by being curiously aware
of what's happening -- -
7:48 - 7:50this same brain region quiets down.
-
7:51 - 7:55Now we're testing app and online-based
mindfulness training programs -
7:55 - 7:59that target these core mechanisms
-
7:59 - 8:03and, ironically, use the same technology
that's driving us to distraction -
8:03 - 8:06to help us step out
of our unhealthy habit patterns -
8:06 - 8:10of smoking, of stress eating
and other addictive behaviors. -
8:10 - 8:12Now, remember that bit
about context-dependent memory? -
8:12 - 8:15We can deliver these tools
to peoples' fingertips -
8:15 - 8:17in the contexts that matter most.
-
8:18 - 8:19So we can help them
-
8:19 - 8:22tap into their inherent capacity
to be curiously aware -
8:22 - 8:26right when that urge to smoke
or stress eat or whatever arises. -
8:27 - 8:28So if you don't smoke or stress eat,
-
8:28 - 8:32maybe the next time you feel this urge
to check your email when you're bored, -
8:32 - 8:34or you're trying to distract
yourself from work, -
8:34 - 8:38or maybe to compulsively respond
to that text message when you're driving, -
8:39 - 8:43see if you can tap into
this natural capacity, -
8:43 - 8:44just be curiously aware
-
8:44 - 8:47of what's happening in your body
and mind in that moment. -
8:47 - 8:49It will just be another chance
-
8:49 - 8:52to perpetuate one of our endless
and exhaustive habit loops ... -
8:52 - 8:54or step out of it.
-
8:54 - 8:57Instead of see text message,
compulsively text back, -
8:57 - 8:59feel a little bit better --
-
8:59 - 9:00notice the urge,
-
9:00 - 9:02get curious,
-
9:02 - 9:04feel the joy of letting go
-
9:04 - 9:05and repeat.
-
9:05 - 9:07Thank you.
-
9:07 - 9:09(Applause)
- Title:
- A simple way to break a bad habit
- Speaker:
- Judson Brewer
- Description:
-
Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Psychiatrist Judson Brewer studies the relationship between mindfulness and addiction -- from smoking to overeating to all those other things we do even though we know they're bad for us. Learn more about the mechanism of habit development and discover a simple but profound tactic that might just help you beat your next urge to smoke, snack or check a text while driving.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 09:24
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit | |
![]() |
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for A simple way to break a bad habit |