"The Habit Loop"
Notes to Self are longer journal entries from Seven Yrs Ago. For more on making good habits, read “Willpower isn’t just a skill. It’s a muscle” (Pt. 2) and “My first act of free will is to believe in free will.” (Pt. 3). I was 21 in early 2014.
THE POWER OF HABIT by Charles Duhigg
* basal ganglia
central to recalling patterns and acting on them
stored habits even while rest of brain goes to sleep
* chunking—process in which brain converts a sequence of actions into automatic routine
“Once that habit starts unfolding [routine occurs by habit], our gray matter is free to quiet itself or chase other thoughts, which is why we have enough mental capacity to realize that Jimmy forgot his lunchbox inside.” — driving tactics become routine
“Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often.”
Effort saving advantages → smaller head → easier childbirth
Also basic behaviors (eating, walking) are less constant so you can devote mental energy to inventing things (WAIT I think about walking and eating regularly too, no wonder I’m anxious + my brain doesn’t SHUT UP)
The Habit Loop: Cue to Routine to Reward.
Cue—trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode + which habit to use
Routine—physical, mental, emotional
Reward—Helps brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future
Over time, the loop becomes more + more automatic.
Habits aren’t destiny—they can be ignored, changed or replaced. When habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making
Unless you deliberately fight a habit—unless you find new routines—the pattern will unfold automatically.
Habits never really disappear. The problem is that your brain can’t tell the diff. betw. bad and good habits, and so if you have a bit one, it’s always lurking there, waiting for the right cues and rewards.
For commentary seven years later, go here.