Unbelievable facts
Bad habits ruin our lives, but no matter how much we want to change, everything remains the same as it was. So why does this happen?
The thing is that our brain has many mechanisms that prevent us from getting rid of unnecessary habits.
Harmful human habits
1. Your brain thinks your future self is a different person
Imagine taking an exam early in the morning, but continuing to watch your favorite TV show late at night.
You consciously understand that you are doing harm to yourself. However, subconsciously, you always think of yourself in the future as someone else. And this man can handle all the consequences.
Brain research has shown that when we think about ourselves and others, we activate different parts of the brain. However, when people are asked to imagine themselves in the future, the part of the brain that is meant for “others” is activated.
In other words, if someone asks you to imagine yourself 20 years from now, your brain will try to imagine a stranger.
For this reason, it can sometimes be so difficult to correct any flaws in your life. Why would you give up another piece of cake to help some unknown version of yourself?
Good and bad habits
2. It takes 10 weeks to develop a good habit
Imagine that you have a few habits that you want to give up, and you decide to acquire some good habits because you think that addiction can be replaced by another addiction. You sign up for the gym and plan to go to the gym three times a week to control your cravings for sweets.
So how much effort will it take to make sports your way of life?
According to the study, a habit is formed over 66 days, or about 10 weeks, until the behavior becomes automatic.
And that's more than two months during which any change in your routine could disrupt this process. And if, let's say, you haven't been to the gym for a week due to illness or if you've pulled a muscle, you're breaking the new habit. And at such times, we often return to old habits that were formed through long repetitions.
Read also: Bad habits — it's time to change for the better
The thing is that the brain is set up for efficiency, and thoughtless habits are effective. Recurring episodes help us with our daily lives using less energy. Thanks to this, you can drive half asleep and repeat everyday trifles over and over again.
However, to quit the habit, we need a lot more energy. If you want to change your routine, your old automatic, effortless decisions must be made consciously. And it's going to be pretty tedious!
Combating bad habits
3. Your willpower is a limited resource
It is not only uncontrollable circumstances that prevent you from acquiring new habits, but also your own lack of motivation.
Scientists have found that training our willpower in one case can make it difficult to use it in another. This is called willpower depletion.
For example, in one study, researchers asked one group of students to memorize a two-digit number and another group to memorize a seven-digit number. They then asked both groups to choose between cake and fruit salad. Interestingly, the group that memorized the seven-digit number was twice as likely to choose a cake. The simple task of memorizing a long number was enough to reduce their willpower.
Read also: The worst eating habits and how to fix them
A similar study was conducted in the opposite direction as well. Volunteers were shown a plate of freshly baked cookies and a plate of radishes. Half were offered cookies and the other half were offered radishes. They were then asked to complete a complex geometrical task. Those who were told to pick a radish gave up the task after 8 minutes, while those who were offered cookies solved the problem in 19 minutes.
Despite the fact that participants did not use physical effort, the need to resist the urge to eat cookies exhausted the participants' willpower.
The effect of bad habits on humans
4. Your brain thinks success is an excuse for indulging your desires
In one study, researchers brought together a group of dieters and began to work on their self-control. They split the participants into two groups and started praising volunteers from the first group for their progress in achieving their ideal weight. The second group of participants was not praised.
All volunteers were then offered a choice of an apple or a chocolate bar for participating in the study. As a result, 85 percent of those who were reminded of their success chose chocolate, as opposed to 58 percent of people in the other group. In other words, admitting your success led to failure.
It wouldn't be a big deal if it only happened once. However, as a rule, one mistake leads to a whole series of defeats.
So, if you have been successfully dieting for a long time, you will probably indulge yourself one day, and this will give rise to harmful behavior.
Quitting bad habits
5. We prefer bad habits to real failure
You might know the type of person who seems to fail on purpose. This personality disorder is called masochism, and according to theory, it occurs because we accept one type of failure for fear of suffering more failure.
So a lonely shy guy would prefer never to approach an unfamiliar girl instead of taking the risk of talking to her and hearing a refusal.
Now imagine that you can't hold on to any job because you're always late.
You actually have a strong motivation to keep coming late, as this will prevent others from finding out you're incompetent. Yes, you're unemployed, but you have a bad habit to blame to create the illusion that you would succeed if you weren't late.
Thus, bad habits protect your self-esteem, making you fail. And although your conscious mind accuses you of not quitting a bad habit, your subconscious mind does everything to prevent this, because it is indulging its desires rather than trying to make you a better person.