Charles Duhigg. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We do and How to Change (London: Random House, 2013).
"When a rat encounters the maze for the first time, its brain is working hard the entire time. After a week, once the route is familiar and the scurrying has become a habit, the rat's brain settles down as it runs through the maze......Nowadays, you do all of that every time you pull onto the street with hardly any thought. The routine occurs by habits. (pp.16-17)
......This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there
is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and
which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or
mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain
figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.
(p.19)
......Habits aren't destiny. They can be ignored, changed, or replaced. But the reason the discovery of the habit loop is so important is that it reveals a basic truth: When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit -- unless you find new routines -- the pattern will unfold automatically. (p.20)
......If you want to stop smoking, ask yourself, do you do it because you love nicotine, or because it provides a burst of stimulation, a structure to your day, a way to socialize? If you smoke because you need stimulation, studies indicate that some caffeine in the afternoon can increase odds you'll quit. More than three dozen studies of former smokers have found that identifying the cues and rewards they associate with cigarettes, and then choosing new routines that provide similar payoffs -- a piece of Nicorette, a quick series of push-ups, or simply taking a few minutes to stretch and relax --makes it more likely they will quit. " (p.78)
......Habits aren't destiny. They can be ignored, changed, or replaced. But the reason the discovery of the habit loop is so important is that it reveals a basic truth: When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit -- unless you find new routines -- the pattern will unfold automatically. (p.20)
......If you want to stop smoking, ask yourself, do you do it because you love nicotine, or because it provides a burst of stimulation, a structure to your day, a way to socialize? If you smoke because you need stimulation, studies indicate that some caffeine in the afternoon can increase odds you'll quit. More than three dozen studies of former smokers have found that identifying the cues and rewards they associate with cigarettes, and then choosing new routines that provide similar payoffs -- a piece of Nicorette, a quick series of push-ups, or simply taking a few minutes to stretch and relax --makes it more likely they will quit. " (p.78)
