The brain gets used to everything and that is poison for our productivity. Neuroscientist’s advice to avoid this

Habit is a major psychological mechanism in our daily life. But sometimes it works against us

“There are two fish swimming side by side, when they notice an old fish swimming in the opposite direction, who welcomes them and says, ‘Good morning, friends, how is the water?’ Both fish continue swimming until one turns to the other and asks, ‘What is water?'” This is how David Foster Wallace began his speech at the 2005 Keaton University graduation.

The point of Fish’s story, as he quickly makes clear, is simply that “the most obvious and important realities are often the hardest to see and the hardest to talk about.” We get used to our environment and, after less time than we think, it becomes completely invisible.

Psychologists call it a “habit,” and learning to combat it when it interests us is a revolutionary weapon for productivity.

Why do we get used to it? “There’s an evolutionary adaptive reason for this and that is that we need Conserve our resources,” Tali Sharot, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, told the BBC. “It makes sense to react to something new that we see, smell or feel for the first time, but when After a while you notice that you are still alive and everything is fine, you don’t need to react to it as much as before.”

And, again, it is better to “save resources”.

And thank God we do. As Sharot himself pointed out, habituation plays an important role in matters such as learning or motivation. It is what makes us addicted to the reality we are in and aspire for more; But it also helps us recover from situations like a layoff or the loss of a loved one.

As I said in the beginning, if the habitual mechanism is activated intelligently there is really no problem. But, of course, this is not always the case.

When habits turn against us. Often, we become accustomed to situations that are not good for us and because of that event’s connection with the motivation, it is difficult for us to do anything to get out of it. So, Shallot gives us some tips to “trick your brain into overcoming this natural tendency to habituate” when we need to.

How to get rid of the habit in three easy steps. The first trick is to distance yourself. Stop, do other things and look at your situation with as fresh a mind as possible. That is why it is highly recommended to reflect on your working life after the holidays or in the first days after returning to work.

Another tip is to try visiting many different places and environments. Often, the environment of relationships, friends and family that are dedicated to many things help us to see that the situations to which we are accustomed are not at all normal.

The third tip is to plan our activities (whether work or leisure) keeping in mind that we will get used to them. Shallot herself pointed out that, according to several studies, the “happiest” moment of the holiday is 43 hours. When one is already immersed in a new environment, but before becoming accustomed to it.

Image | steve jurvetson

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