Habits

Well, the habits I had tried to instill in my son from the beginning of the school year have succeeded in 2 of the 3 cases, so I guess I will take that as a victory.  Habit is kind of an interesting thing.  Some habits are hard to change.  Some habits we have no idea why we have them and some are helpful and keep us on "autopilot".  Apparently the reason why we have habits is so we can take some of our "executive functioning" and turn it into autopilot.  Whether it's the route you always drive to drop your son off school, or that you always brush your teeth before bed, or the habits athletes use to make their sport efficient.  The fewer decisions we have to make in a day, the better, so habit and routine helps our brain prioritize and focus on other things.

It's interesting because professionally I used to have a lot of habits and I've found in my current line of work I have to be much more adaptable.  Working in different places with different people who are used to different doctors with different habits makes me realize what habits are essential to me to function and what I just developed to be efficient in certain situations.

I have been trying to get into the habit of running and eating healthier in preparation for my marathon coming at the end of the month.  I've been blessed to join a social running group and one of the coaches actually mentioned a book her husband had been reading-The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life.  She had been talking about how it talks about the military and how the military makes everything into a habit for efficient behavior and also how it applies to people fighting addiction.  I didn't really think any of this applied to me, but I decided the topic sounded interesting.  I went ahead and put in a request at my library for the book.

It has been a very intriguing read.  It discusses the history of selling habits, whether it was the first marketers at the turn of the 19th century and trying to get people into the habit of brushing their teeth, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turn-around of the team by focusing on the habits people already have, it's been an interesting and understandable discussion.

I actually found myself talking about the book in the exam room the other day.  It was a classic presentation- the person who brought in the dog knew the dog had a weight problem.  That person was responsible and bought the dog low-calorie, high fiber food and limited table scraps being given to the dog.  The rest of the family fell prey to how utterly cute the dog was and how big the eyes got when begging (The dog demonstrated this very effectively when I was looking at it and asking me for a treat).  As we talked about weight and treats, the owner looked defeated.  I mentioned to her there was a way she wouldn't have to work against the habit they had already developed.  I explained that the cue (dog begging with huge eyes) could still occur and the family could still get the same reward (family feeling like they treated the dog).  The only thing that needed to change was the routine.  She looked interested.  So, when the dog begs- you replace the routine of giving meat or bread or treats with carrots or green beans or a cat treat.  Whatever low calorie snack your dog needs to get the reward- Dog looking at you with adoration.  The healthier habit change would be that when the cue happens, you give attention to the pet and then they look at you adoringly.  Studies have shown that a lot of times when pets beg, they are actually just looking for attention and it doesn't necessarily need to be food.

I haven't read the whole book yet, but I am definitely looking forward to it.  What do you think about habits and our ability to change them?



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