Rewire

Rewire explains why we keep engaging in addictive and self-destructive behavior, how our brains justify it and where you can get started on breaking your bad habits by becoming more mindful and disciplined.

Which one is it going to be after work – gym or TV?

The moment I ask you that question you know which answer is the right one.

Yet, we’ve all faced this or similar decision countless times, but still ended up on the couch with a bag of chips.

Why?

Dr. O’Connor says it’s because we have two selves, a conscious one and an automatic one.

The conscious self relies a lot on rational arguments, it’s when you reason yourself into doing things, for example going to the library early to get a good spot, because it’ll be crowded later on.

The automatic self is in charge when you eat your entire popcorn before the movie starts. Your conscious self isn’t there to think about the consequences and only when it reactivates again later do you regret your actions.

Whenever you perform a bad habit, your automatic self is running the show, after all you’d never choose to do a bad habit consciously.

There are two ways then, to break bad habits:

Strengthening your conscious self, so it becomes the dominant force. Training your automatic self to just stop slipping up.

Both work, but in the long run, training your automatic self is a lot less effort, because once the neural pathways have been established, they work on autopilot.

Have you ever wished to yell at someone at the top of your lungs, because they really pissed you off? Chances are more often than not, when you wanted to, you didn’t. Dr. O’Connor says you should have. Emotions are chemical reactions in your body. They build up over time and eventually break, which is when we have to let them out. Like water in an overflowing bathtub, they’ll find a way. You not yelling when someone harasses you in the morning might lead you to eat a whole pie by yourself in the afternoon, just because you bottled up those feelings. Emotions are never right or wrong, it’s not for you to judge, they’re feelings and therefore not even meant to be based on reason and common sense. When you’re trying to rationally pick your feelings, you’ll create a communication gap between your conscious and your automatic self. Your automatic self really tells you to yell at your co-worker for deleting all that data, but your rational you steps in and says you shouldn’t cause a scene in the office. Eventually, this conflicting advice might lead you to engage in self-destructive behavior, like drinking way too…