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Breaking Bad Habits

2023-04-25 Mama Minimalist

We all have habits we’d like to banish, and often we believe our success or failure comes down to discipline and willpower. But discipline and willpower don’t tell the whole story, and that’s because the brain doesn’t make changes easily.

Breaking a bad habit CAN be done, and today’s show is here to help.

Today’s content is specifically framed around a listener’s question re: buying on impulse, but please know the suggestions offered are rooted in neuroscience and can be applied to any (and every!) habit you’d like to break.

Here’s a preview:

[4:30] How to use the Feedback Loop to ask yourself the right whys

[15:00] The importance of removing and/or inserting visual cues when breaking a bad habit

[27:00] Reign in your expectations! Here’s why it takes lots of time to rewire your brain

[33:00] Everything you need to know about compulsive shopping disorder

Resources mentioned:

Episode #362: Living On Purpose
5 Ways to Break Your Bad Habit Now (via Psychology Today)
Compulsive Shopping: A Guide to Causes and Treatment (via Psychology Today)

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The Sustainable Minimalists Podcast

Latest podcast:

The Cost of Constant Connection

In this era of relentless connectivity, taking an exit ramp from our digital lives has never looked more inviting. In fact, emerging science is now confirming what many of us feel: Smartphones are draining our cognitive reserves, shattering our focus, and keeping us in a state of low-level chronic anxiety.

To see if there’s a better way, reporter Courtney Lindwall shelved her iPhone for a $45 Nokia flip phone. Courtney is on the show today to discuss the "dumb phone" movement, the logistical friction of navigating an app-dependent world, and why research says our brains are so desperate for a break.

Here's a preview:

[7:00] Continuous partial attention, instinctual muscle memory, and other ways in which our smartphones are working against us

[9:00] Gray scale? screen limits? Here's why the tools and tricks don't work for the vast majority of us

[14:00] Thoughts on our emotional attachments to our phones—and the emotional experiences they provide

[22:00] The psychological benefits of embracing a bit more "friction"

[33:00] Our brains are malleable, and we get used to a new normal quite quickly. Lean into that!

Resources mentioned:

How an old-school flip phone changed my life (via Consumer Reports)
This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say (via The Washington Post)
The Brick phone access blocker device

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My Story

Hello there, I’m Stephanie. I live a crazy, beautiful life as a full-time wife, blogger + mother to two spirited daughters. I’m on a mission to simplify eco-friendly living so as to greater enjoy life’s sweeter moments.

Want to know more? Read my story.