Habits can control you or you can control your habits

Your basal ganglia is the place where your habits live.

From driving your car autonomously, to brushing your teeth, all of the routines are stores in the basal ganglia.

They make it so that you don’t have to constantly remember all the steps. Your brain does the work.

You can install mental apps into your basal ganglia too.

Want a new habit? Install it manually by setting reminders, using will power, etc for a while.

Then it gets moved into basal ganglia and you’re good.

You can uninstall habits, too.

It’s trickier. You have to be aware of your habit in the first place. And then know the cue that triggers it (see: Cue, Routine, Reward). You can either change the cue, or the routine that follows.

If you want to cut out fast food, take a different route home so you don’t get triggered. Or, pull into the parking lot and take a phone call instead of going into the drive thru. That’s your new routine.

It’s easier said than done, but worth it. Since Quality of thought is a matter of input vs. output, you can start to create habits that feed your brain healthier input.

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