Tuesday 14 March 2017

"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg,



Thought of the week.
Whatever we practice  get get good at.  We become efficient, quick and proficient.   The things we practice becomes our default setting.  So the habit of the week's postural tips, really work if we really do practice.  It becomes our new normal.
Spread our dots,- that means expanding the triangle at the top of our chest framed by the imaginary dots at the front of our shoulders and the base of our sternum.. if we practice that 10 to 15 + times per day not only do we actually start to change our body, but we activate neural pathways,  those nerve muscle connections. The more we repeat the movement pattern,  the stronger those connections become.

However, take care. "Whatever we practice we get good at... " includes all our habits, "bad" habits, too. . Say, eating while watching TV, or biting your nails, smoking or whatever.   In "The Power of Habit"  Charles Duhigg outlines the simple ABC of a habit
A the stimulus
B the action
C the reward

Ouch, with this model, we need to figure out what ARE  the stimulus and reward are, for the nailbiting, smoking or the mindless eating. When we have cracked that little nut, then we can substitute another action in response to to the stimulus.

For example, 
A the stimulus  ... I feel lonely
B the action.     ..... I want to watch tv and eat
C the reward.   ...... a feeling of comfort.

This is a tough undertaking, and requires honesty,  when your strongly craving that reward, whatever that is, you are at the closest point to understanding the stimuls and therefore the action.

Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit" is well worth a read.

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