Category: good habits

atomic habits, bad habits, BDNF, character development, good habits, habit, identity, IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS, The Power of Habit

IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS

Our identity is born of habit. Our beliefs about ourselves emerge from our routines. The behaviors we exhibit repeatedly define our character. The definition and etymology of the words habit and identity provide insights into the relationship between the two. Webster’s definition of a habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition. The word habit is derived from the Latin habitus meaning condition. A habit is, therefore, a conditioned pattern acquired through repetition. The definition of identity is the sameness of character in different instances. Identity derives from the Latin identidem meaning repeatedly, again and again. Later it was abbreviated to idem, meaning sameness. Our identity is our sameness of character in a variety of circumstances.  Continue reading IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS

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atomic habits, bad habits, BDNF, behavior change, good habits, habit loop, how to break a bad habit, The Fat Loss Habit, The Power of Habit

How to Break a Bad Habit

I am as vulnerable to bad habits as anyone. On the weekends, I typically indulge in a drink or two, but a year ago, I developed the habit of drinking every night. It began with me having a drink after an unusually stressful day; then it progressed to an everyday occurrence. What was once a weekend ritual had become a nightly one. At the core … Continue reading How to Break a Bad Habit

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atomic habits, basal ganglia, BDNF, good habits, habit loop, prefrontal cortex, primitive ("reptilian") brain, reptile brain, The Fat Loss Habit, The Power of Habit

Why Habits are so Powerful and Potentially Dangerous

Our brain relies on routines stored in our primitive brain to conserve mental energy, but it needs to decide which Routine to perform and when to perform it. The initial spike in brain activity is the rat determining which Routine to perform. Once the rat decides, it’s decision centers quiet, their basal ganglia take over, navigating the maze quicker than when it was slowed down by conscious thought. At the end of the exercise, when the rat sees the reward, the brain jolts itself awake. It makes sure that the pattern unfolded as anticipated. Habits are a four-step process. First, there is a Cue that stimulates a Craving and triggers a Routine. Then there is a conditioned Routine, stored in our basal ganglia, that we execute to satisfy our Craving. Finally, there is a Reward that reinforces the habit by causing our brain to judge the routine worth remembering and repeating. This explains the pattern of brain activity the researchers observed, and it helps explain why habits are so valuable and potentially dangerous. Ann Graybiel, one of the scientists who oversaw many of the basal ganglia experiments, said, “Habits never really disappear. They’re encoded into the structures of our brain, and that’s a huge advantage for us because it would be awful if we had to relearn how to drive after every vacation. The problem is that your brain can’t tell the difference between bad and good habits, and so if you have a bad one, it’s always lurking there, waiting for the right cues and rewards.[i] “If a learned pattern remains in the brain after the behavior is extinguished, maybe that’s why it’s so difficult to change a habit. It is as though somehow, the brain retains a memory of the habit context, and this pattern can be triggered if the right habit cues come back,” Graybiel said. “This situation is familiar to anyone who is trying to lose weight or to control a well-engrained habit. Just the sight of a piece of chocolate cake can reset all those good intentions.”[ii] Continue reading Why Habits are so Powerful and Potentially Dangerous

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atomic habits, basal ganglia, BDNF, frontal lobe, good habits, habit, prefrontal cortex, primitive ("reptilian") brain, reptile brain, The Fat Loss Habit, The Power of Habit

ONE BRAIN – BUT TWO MINDS

For us to be able to develop good habits, we must first understand the psychology of behavior change. Psychologists say we have one brain but two minds. You will learn about both – their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies so you will be able to win every battle. You will learn how to overcome intense cravings and develop healthy eating habits. We are all capable of … Continue reading ONE BRAIN – BUT TWO MINDS

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atomic habits, bad habits, BDNF, good habits, habit, habit loop, The Fat Loss Habit, The Power of Habit

Half of what we do each day are HABITS, so why not learn more about them

Achieving a healthy body weight and being fit is not a New Year’s resolution or a 12-week program; it is a lifestyle born out of habit. Approximately 45% of our daily activities are habits. The basal ganglia control the performance of repetitive daily activities which frees our conscious mind to focus on higher-level decisions. Our prefrontal cortex pawns off these repetitive tasks to conserve cognitive bandwidth. Habits allow us to avoid mental exhaustion by reducing our cognitive load. When we are learning new behaviors, it can be mentally exhausting because it requires both our cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. Our easily exhausted cerebral cortex (“Conscious Brain”) is forced to do the heavy lifting while the basal ganglia go along for the ride memorizing the new pattern. As the behavior becomes automated through repetition, the more resilient basal ganglia (“primitive brain”) take over, allowing our conscious brain to check out.  Continue reading Half of what we do each day are HABITS, so why not learn more about them

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