Dec 29, 2014 Personal Growth 3 min read

Habits! Building, Breaking, and Sustaining Positive Habits (ep 04)

In episode 4 of the Maker/Mistaker Podcast, Jeff and George get into a great discussion on habits. We cover a lot of the psychology of habits and why we do the things we do. We get into how and why we get into bad habits in the first place and what we can do to break them.

We talked about what you can do to start new, positive habits and build your life around this idea. Becoming a habit-former. Becoming a person who has control over their life and is aware of outside influences.

We talk about being mindful of our triggers and tendencies and how we can identify where we have small little habits or addictions. Some of which are controlling our lives and we don't even know it.

If anyone can find a way to talk for two hours about habits, we did it. And it never gets boring! Read on for the show notes.

Music for this episode: Evil Lives by Jeff Finley

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Show Notes

00:00:45 Introductions 00:02:45 Perfectionism, procrastination, holiday breaks 00:03:56 The basics of building habits, triggers, rewards, addictions 00:06:30 What’s more addicting Facebook or smoking? 00:09:15 Emotional triggers for bad habits 00:11:00 Easing anxiety in social situations, avoidance behaviors 00:14:00 Looking at your phone 00:16:00 You don’t actually WANT to do the bad habit 00:17:30 Being present: An altered state of consciousness 00:21:20 Talking to strangers instead of being preoccupied 00:24:30 Dopamine and the reward system in our brain 00:27:00 The manipulation of our reward system 00:28:30 Discipline: What you want now vs what you want most 00:31:00 The future you is a stranger to your present self 00:34:00 Synthetic motivation and our hijacked reward system 00:35:00 Fitting in: Picking up habits of people around us 00:38:10 How to breaking bad habits - change environment 00:42:40 Triggers in your environment, office, etc. 00:44:00 Mental bad habits and limiting beliefs 00:46:06 More psychological habits, approval seeking 00:48:00 Mindfulness of your emotions, triggers, staying alert 00:50:00 Get rid of distractions and hurdles 00:51:30 Making the habit “default” like brushing your teeth 00:52:00 Chaining to other habits, awesome technique 00:54:10 Replacing bad habits with something else 00:55:20 Small habits are the key 00:56:50 Keystone habits, morning routines 00:59:00 Feeling “weird” to not do your new habits 01:00:30 Making your bed, a surprisingly powerful habit 01:03:30 Tiny victories lead to self-esteem boosts 01:05:40 Using novelty to keep the flame lit 01:09:00 Getting past the need to be rewarded 01:10:30 Reducing your addiction to novelty 01:12:00 Taking a break from habits to obtain perspective 01:14:30 Reflecting on your success 01:18:00 Addiction to doing, achieving, and productivity 01:21:20 A longing for a deeper purpose 01:23:00 When playing makes you feel guilty 01:24:30 Pleasing the authority makes me feel productive 01:27:00 Anxiety around not making money with our actions 01:28:20 Addicted to self-improvement and learning 01:31:45 Productive consumption vs productive creation 01:34:00 Porn and exploitation of our primal urges, our lower brain 01:37:00 The Internet never ends, infinite novelty, overload 01:40:20 Unplugging from dopamine intake to reset your brain 01:42:00 Binging on information or inspiration 01:43:00 Addiction to not being addicted 01:44:18 Concrete steps to start building better habits today 01:50:30 Becoming a person who changes and creates their life 01:58:30 Bookend habits - make your bed, do the dishes

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