Why Can't I Break Bad Habits? (Episode #118 - Habits)

Why are habits so strong and so hard to break? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Habits'. We start off as usual with a definition and a quick dive into whether it is useful to talk about habits in the subconscious or conscious domain. Us Mere Mortals have many habits (good and bad) so we go over some of our favourites and ones that we would like to start implementing in the future.

If you are interested in this topic then a great book to read is 'The Power of Habit' by Charles Duhigg. He outlines the fundamental 3 step loop of habits; the cue, routine and reward. These form the basis of the tremendous amount of unconscious actions that we take daily. To finish off the discussion we chat about Kaizen (the Japanese art of small continuous improvement), whether it is useful to think about habits on the fundamental level, the keystone habits that we don't compromise on and why you shouldn't be actively influencing others to create better habits. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!

Timeline:

0:00 - Intro & Mere Mortal Moments

3:26 - Definition

4:17 - Is a habit conscious or subconscious?

7:42 - Two habits that are embedded in our lives

12:12 - Skullcrusher shaver

15:08 - Bad current habit: touching the face

16:30 - Bad current habit: caffeine overload

20:07 - Creating a new habit: learning German and no complaining

25:12 - The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

29:05 - The 3 Step Loop: cue, routine and reward

41:52 - Kaizen and Toyota

47:25 - The mental process and Mere Mortal method

51:42 - Keystone habits that can't be broken

59:18 - Influencing others to create better habits

1:02:20 - The habit you should be building: listening to the Mere Mortals

About Mere Mortals:

Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.

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