Author Topic: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article  (Read 12382 times)

Somnambulist

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Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« on: February 20, 2012, 07:47:09 AM »
So I read an interesting NY Times article this morning:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

We are inundated with marketing everywhere we go, it's a fact of life. It's crazy, but also to be expected, there are people that spend their entire lives thinking of new ways to make us buy shit we don't need.

Let's start a challenge to identify our habits/cues that put us on autopilot in a bad way and track them and change them. I have been trying to get in shape and lose weight for 3 years and I can't lick it. I am going to try to start tracking my bad cues and write new and better ones.

Does anyone else have achievements that they think taking this approach would help them meet?

arebelspy

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2012, 10:27:55 AM »
adam linked to that the other day in the must reads thread: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/reader-recommendations/your-must-read-recommendations/

It was an interesting read.

Your take on it is more broad than mine, focusing on habits.  However I was just thinking earlier today about writing a guest post for MMM, or suggesting the idea to him, of writing about kicking addiction.

Centered around consumerism and shopping "addiction," of course.
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boy_bye

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2012, 10:49:15 AM »
that article was great! i've been talking about it for days!

it's really interesting to think about the mechanical triggers that we have, that cause us to do things. like i've been starting my day by getting a cup of tea, sitting on the couch, and surfing the web. first thing in the morning!??! ergh, that's like drinking a coke first thing. gross.

but although i had told myself several times i wasn't going to do this anymore, i didn't really identify what was happening and how i could modify my triggers to shift my behavior.

anyhow i did some thinking about this yesterday, and set up a new routine and some cues to get me rolling into this new, more positive pattern. last night i put the space heater in my work room (so i wouldn't resist going in there because of the cold) and unfurled my yoga mat so that i could get my tea and go directly into doing a bit of yoga. this way i can bypass the couch and computer completely until later in the morning. much more useful start to the day!

it worked great this morning ... i'll keep you posted on how i do this week ...

Somnambulist

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2012, 11:19:38 AM »
adam linked to that the other day in the must reads thread: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/reader-recommendations/your-must-read-recommendations/

It was an interesting read.

Your take on it is more broad than mine, focusing on habits.  However I was just thinking earlier today about writing a guest post for MMM, or suggesting the idea to him, of writing about kicking addiction.

Centered around consumerism and shopping "addiction," of course.

Doh, thanks for linking that. I guess I missed it in the flurry of the forum big bang posting. Sorry for double / cross posting.

anyhow i did some thinking about this yesterday, and set up a new routine and some cues to get me rolling into this new, more positive pattern. last night i put the space heater in my work room (so i wouldn't resist going in there because of the cold) and unfurled my yoga mat so that i could get my tea and go directly into doing a bit of yoga. this way i can bypass the couch and computer completely until later in the morning. much more useful start to the day!

it worked great this morning ... i'll keep you posted on how i do this week ...

This is great. We have our Yoga mats downstairs with the TV and I am thinking my aversion to doing Yoga in the evenings is that it is easier just to become a couch potato and watch Netflix even though I KNOW I will feel awesome once I finish our Yoga routine. I need to figure out how to break the reward associated with vegging out and watching one too many episodes of something in my head although the reward is only getting fatter so I think my brain is stupid...

Challenge still stands! Who wants to try to deprogram/reprogram your habits/cues?

« Last Edit: February 20, 2012, 11:24:04 AM by Somnambulist »

Ben

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2012, 11:35:52 AM »
If you want to learn more about this 'reprogramming,' check out Peter Gollwitzer and his research on implementation intentions.

Ben

P.S. WARNING: Just because we have psychological research indicating some optimal strategies for changing behavior, doesn't mean that it gets much easier. Behavior change is still, long, slow, hard work, but implementation intentions (reprogramming those 'waffling' moments where we decide what to do next) can be helpful for many people.

Somnambulist

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2012, 12:14:25 PM »
If you want to learn more about this 'reprogramming,' check out Peter Gollwitzer and his research on implementation intentions.

Ben

P.S. WARNING: Just because we have psychological research indicating some optimal strategies for changing behavior, doesn't mean that it gets much easier. Behavior change is still, long, slow, hard work, but implementation intentions (reprogramming those 'waffling' moments where we decide what to do next) can be helpful for many people.

I have Switch in my reading pile, but what do you suggest by Peter Gollwitzer. A quick Amazon'ing shows a few behavioral psychology books, but is there a, "holy grail," of his work you'd point newbies to?

arebelspy

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2012, 01:34:18 PM »

Doh, thanks for linking that. I guess I missed it in the flurry of the forum big bang posting. Sorry for double / cross posting.


No worries, better to have a separate thread like this for discussion anyways!

The one that immediately pops into my head is the exercise soundtrack - use it a few times when exercising and soon, when you get it started, your brain will immediately kick into "exercise mode," even if you didn't feel like exercising when you clicked play.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Ben

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2012, 08:43:01 AM »
Somnambulist,

Good question. Short version is that you are crafting one or more If/Then or When/Then statements so that when you experience a cue, it 'triggers' the 'then' and makes it more likely for you to do it. It's especially effective if you wire it with a statement that indicates when you should do it ('at once,' 'immediately,'

1. (if you always procrastinate on chores and want a cleaner house) IF I get up from the dinner table, THEN I will immediately go to the sink and wash all of the dishes.

2. (if you always snooze your alarm) IF my alarm goes off, THEN I will get up the first time and get in the shower at once.

3. (if you want to dance but are too uncomfortable asking people) WHEN the first song comes on, THEN I will immediately stand up and ask the first person I make eye contact with to dance.

4. (if you want to exercise but don't) IF I take out clothes to change into, THEN I will do 20 pushups before I change into them. or IF I walk past my pullup bar, THEN I will do 2 pullups.

You can still ignore/resist the implementation intention, but the effort of initiating the thought/action is reduced since you already have a script that you are supposed to follow whenever you are in that situation. As we all know, starting is usually much harder than persisting in any effortful task.

I don't have a particular book/layman article to read as I've read his research articles and attended a conference presentation ~2 years ago. If you have a research/scientific background, his work should be easy to pick up. If not, hopefully my summary will get you off on the right foot.

Fairly straightforward Implementation Intentions research article: http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/99Goll_ImpInt.pdf

Gollwitzer's C.V.: http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/#publications

boy_bye

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2012, 09:47:59 AM »
day 2 of morning reprogramming still going strong!

kolorado

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2012, 11:32:00 AM »
Good tips Ben! Thanks!

Ben

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2012, 12:41:12 PM »
You're welcome!

velocistar237

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2012, 12:58:22 PM »
http://www.takebackyourbrain.com/about/

I saw this site a while back but didn't look at it much. The idea is to use the same powerful techniques that marketers use to market ideas to yourself. As long as advertising is so powerful, we might as well use it for our own good.

LiquidSapphire

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2012, 08:59:30 AM »
Hi all -

Interesting thread.  I recently read an article on a "weight maintenance" site about this very thing, I think it's quite applicable.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetoregain/2012/02/habit-and-reward-good-for-target-good-for-maintainers.html

Key Quotes:
" It turns out that habits have three components:  a trigger, a behavior, and a reward.  The brain is actively engaged only during parts one and three.  What makes the habit a habit is that the behavior component, no matter how complex, is run automatically.  In other words, once the habit is triggered, it’s on autopilot."

“We’ve done experiments where we trained rats to run down a maze until it was a habit, and then we extinguished the habit by changing the placement of the reward,” Graybiel told me. “Then one day, we’ll put the reward in the old place and put in the rat and, by golly, the old habit will re-emerge right away. Habits never really disappear.”

"Since habits are created all the time and since we know their components, why not create our own?  ....I’ve learned to get pleasure out of the feeling of being hungry on days when I have to bring my weight down. How have I done that?  I associate that feeling with a pleasant day I’ve set up. I follow a pre-set reversal plan that I enjoy---usually to have a non-fat, skim mocha for both breakfast and lunch, a nutrition bar at 3 and to try to do some shopping if I can, which is fun and which distracts me. Then I have a huge salad and some protein for dinner.  I look forward to these days rather than dreading them.  The scale on the next morning’s weigh-in is a further reward."

I guess if you are trying to take on a habit or behavior that you initially view as unpleasant, try to make a habit/trigger and make it as pleasant as possible, so you look forward to these times.  Suggestions already posted here like hot tea, using a space heater, finding a good music mix, etc, help, it seems. 

velocistar237

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2012, 09:13:09 AM »
"It turns out that habits have three components:  a trigger, a behavior, and a reward.

How does someone handle social pressure in this framework? We recently set up a new pre-paid/VOIP phone for my wife, and we're still working out some of the bugs. We got some comments along the lines of "Just get a phone that works already!" Same with house size, same with being car-free, or owning old stuff. It's a negative trigger that pressures us to spend and then gets us social approval or at least lack of disapproval when we do spend.

I guess my big question is, how do we avoid the negative social triggers that come with growing stashes?

There's passing, I suppose, but that's hard to do for things like having kids and no car.

LiquidSapphire

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2012, 09:40:38 AM »
"Sure, if you're willing to pay my phone bill/mortgage/car payment, I will go out and get/buy that tomorrow!"

Here's a really good thread from the ERE forum on social approval:

"How to stop caring what other people think, when that's how you're wired"
http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com/topic.php?id=2061

Brett

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Re: Reprogram Yourself? / Interesting NYT Article
« Reply #15 on: April 15, 2012, 05:34:09 PM »
I like this challenge, I'm in. I read about implementation intentions on the Art of Manliness, but haven't really used them. I read an awesome way to program yourself to just get out of bed when your alarm goes off. Basically it's wait until you're pretty tired and on the verge of sleeping, set your alarm for a few minutes time and when it goes off just jump out of bed, make it or smooth it down or whatever you do, then turn the alarm off. Repeat this a few times before you go to sleep, I think for a few nights in a row and it's meant to help. I tried it out of interest one night and it worked for me, I jumped right out of bed the next day.

I think I will try to reprogram myself with regards to getting in the mood to exercise. Plans to follow.