Hacking Your Brain’s “Reward System” to Change Habits 

Wouldn't it be better to eat it everyday for breakfast lunch and dinner so the persons brain revaluates cake as very low until the person gets sick and doesn't eat cake for a long time after that,,,, ?

@@lightbeingpontifex The difficulty with that might be, that the habit of eating cake to maintain your dopamine levels gets so ingrained, that quitting it becomes more difficult and cravings become worse. If you get through this beginning period I do agree, it definitely demystifies the greatness of cake and makes the awareness part a bit easier

@@lightbeingpontifex Its called a "binge" and it makes it worse as it reinforces "addictive" behavior which is worse than "habitual" behavior. It means binges followed by a long rest period which you're basically waiting for the next urge to binge just creates and reinforces addiction. Best method I've tried is dopamine fasting 2.0, there is a cool video (with drawings) from After Skool.

Or how about not eat cake at all ,,, like ever, so you won't have cravings,,, and just switch to something else like cigarettes,,

@@lightbeingpontifex Full abstinence is the obvious outcome to overcome dopamine addiction but takes time and self-awaresness to rest urges. Switching to something else should be redirected to something better, self-improving.

ok

F ∆ C T

Everyone is an addict now to something. That's most of us are staying mindless npc consoomers instead of producers.

100%

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@@princess-may debate news is You are seventy six yr

Well said !!!

I want to try that

The brain supposedly seeks novelty. I guess this is how ppl quit bad habits cause the brain simply got tired of the actual bad habit itself n seek novelty...

Can you tell me more about it

ok

Also isn’t awareness still a part of willpower?

The satisfaction of craftsmanship

Step 1: Buy modafinil 200mg pills (it's mostly legal, but it's expensive) Step 2: Take one pill everyday at 6am Step 3: Study And that's basically it, i should mention that it's non addictive and even safer than caffeine. Worked for me.

Give yourself a piece of cake after studying,,,?

It's all about your perception. Yes, you can perceive something to be good and beneficial, and continue to do it. But the whole point of awareness is to break your ideal image of what you think 'feels good,' and shows you the raw, unfiltered, and unbiased truth. So yes, you can convince yourself that whatever the behavior is does, in fact, have a higher reward value, but having awareness of the truth of the matter---as bad habits are bad for a reason---is what ultimately allows you to break free. . . . . p.s. I just spent an hour analyzing my own bad habits to come up with that answer so if you want some examples, let me know I'd be glad 2 share ahahah. nice question btw! really made me think

@@damarisibrahim7791 Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for clarifying. I would love some examples on what you came up with.

@@johanm2304 No problem! I was able to find the documents with my original thoughts (it's a bit of a read...) A bad habit is bad for a reason. Take the smoking example. The man knew that smoking was bad for him, and yet he would do it anyway out of habit. The knowledge of "smoking being bad" was not enough for him to just simply put an end to it because he had become so comfortable and used to the reward system. I think that another big part of it is the fact that we as people are constantly growing and changing. The awareness talked about in the video is meant to give you a new perspective on your everyday life; a life that becomes so dominated by routine----whether intentionally implemented or not-----that it can be hard to tell the difference between the days. "Mindfulness creates an awareness outside of our emotions and allows us to see the truth about the loop we are in and creates an escape hatch for us. " I think I get what you're saying and I would say both yes and no. If you think of awareness as weighing the pros and cons of an action/habit(which I believe you would do based on your emotion) you'll obviously come to the conclusion that it was good and continue to do it. Last week I started a new show in the middle of the week. the show was fantastic, but I have a habit of having to binge every. new. show. that. I. watch. Looking back even right now, my brain recalls that being a good experience that added to my enjoyment of life and learning. I think "okay so i wasted a lot of time and didnt get anything done, but that was most certainly time well spent." and that is exactly the problem. for the rest of the week, any time that I had to do something that included working or was difficult, I created an excuse to go online, and since I have of habit of becoming very easily distracted, I get sucked in for hours. I literally did not get anything done at all this week. I have nothing to show for 3 days worth of time. I have a theory that your bad habits tend to build off one another.... having awareness is meant to give you a realization moment, its meant to stir up and bring to light conflict between your values and your actions. To question yourself. I think that for me, the truth of the matter is that sometimes you have to put in a little bit more to break through the hardness to find the reward. Maybe if I would have taken the time to clear my mind of any unrelated stress (via mindfulness/pray/etc) and break down my tasks step by step before starting a seemingly impossible task, i wouldn't have been derailed so easily. If I even would have reached out to a family member or even a friend for help w/ accountability or difficult problems, I could have remained encouraged. or even planned a break! I think I'm starting to realize that it simply isn't a bad habit, but is going to truly bring me down from the inside if I'm not careful. in other words, it ain't worth it. You just got to take it step by step, identify it, dont let it escape you, and then take the steps to change from there. ------ From this point in my life I've learned that it isn't very easy to change. Small things ARE hard, and that's okay. Key to acknowledge this and use it as a reason to rest and persevere rather than an excuse to quit. to continue to get back up when you try and fail and try and fail, and to be your own friend. Just a whole lot of different thoughts from over the course of a very long year Hope you and anyone reading are safe and in health, and always know that you are loved and valued. God bless!

Yup

thats all you homie

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Because most people feel better eating cake than broccoli. Also cake tends to be tastier and more filling than broccoli. I’m one of the few who’d reach for broccoli though.. unless there’s cheesecake

If it's really working for you then it's not a problem.

Good point. I think this video focuses on the case where you _no longer_ enjoy something but stick to it by force of habit. It's less applicable when the behavior is genuinely still rewarding. But perhaps you could alter your perception of rewards by intentionally directing your thoughts to pleasant or unpleasant things; e.g. for smoking, think of horrible cancers whenever you pick up a cigarette, or imagine the healthy life you could have when you put one down.