Mind Hacks 3 - Forming Habits and the Lazy Brain
In the previous article in this series, we discussed an example of forming the powerful strategic habit of better listening, and we used it to illustrate methods for developing good habits more generally. In future articles, we will be expanding our mind hacks for forming good habits and breaking bad ones, but in this article, we will build a foundation for those ideas by exploring a bit of brain science and how bad habits or addictions get a hold on us.
Our brains are lazy and want to minimize their workloads. We repeat our habits because we have created the mental pathways that make repeating them easy. Using habits is pleasurable because it reduces making decisions, but exploring new and different activities requires mental effort. We may make “resolutions,” but our brains resist the work. So our minds tempt us to go back to a more comfortable zone. That's why our resolutions fail: our brains are working against our conscious desires.
We focus on the incremental steps needed to achieve a goal because the work is easier for our brains. Small, short steps are more powerful, a common element of good strategy, even when the “opponent” is our own brains. The smaller and easier the steps, the more likely we are to create the habits that we need to achieve a goal, even if the goal is part of a long-term campaign, like losing fifty pounds. Diets don’t work over the long run because they are too complex to form a habit. Better eating is achieved long-term by forming better habits one small step at a time.
Brain Effort
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