Sometimes, chance leads us to the best discoveries. Today, I started reading a book that was originally a gift for my boyfriend. Since he hadn’t read it yet, I decided to pick it up myself: “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg.
The first four or five pages alone completely captivated me.
It is fascinating to realize that our lives are a complex system, with so many processes happening that we often aren’t even consciously aware of. One fact, in particular, really amazed me: A full 40% of our daily actions are driven not by conscious decisions, but simply by our habits.**It is fascinating to realize that our lives are a complex system, with so many processes happening that we often aren’t even consciously aware of. One fact, in particular, really amazed me: A full 40% of our daily actions are driven not by conscious decisions, but simply by our habits.
Of course, we all have a sense that we often do the same things over and over again. We repeat our daily routines: taking the same route to work, brushing our teeth before bed every night, or having that morning cup of coffee without which the day simply can’t begin.
But I had never realized to what extent these deeply ingrained habits quietly influence and shape our actual decisions. We think we are making conscious choices, when in reality our brains are often just running a familiar program.
And what does that mean for me?
This realization naturally makes me reflect on myself. If almost half of my day is guided by habits:
- Which of them are actually good for me — and which ones might be doing me more harm than good?
- How often do I make decisions out of free will, and how often because “that’s just how I’ve always done it”?
If I am honest with myself, I do quite a few things unconsciously that actually only hold me back or take away valuable time. The autopilot mode kicks in much more often than I realized — whether it’s automatically reaching for my phone when I have a break or washing my hands the moment I get home.
But the interesting thing is: Once I become aware of one of my bad habits, I can change it … right? I firmly believe that. A habit may often control us unconsciously, but as soon as we bring it into awareness, we regain the power to change it.
That is exactly what I experienced a week ago with my evening TV snacks. For a long time, I thought I simply “needed” something to snack on while watching my series. The day was over, it was time to relax and, of course, to reward myself. Snacks seemed like the perfect way to do that. I ignored the fact that my belly was getting bigger because this “reward” felt important to me.
Simply stopping seemed incredibly difficult to me. So I looked for an alternative. Since we are having such a hot summer right now, I came up with an idea that might sound a little crazy at first: frozen mango pieces!
For a few evenings, I enjoyed them like chips. During that time, I realized something: In that moment, my subconscious wasn’t primarily seeking the taste, but rather the activity itself — the chewing and swallowing while relaxing.
After a few days of eating mango, I forgot about it one evening. The next day, too. And now? I haven’t eaten anything in front of the TV for four days. I feel like I have successfully freed myself from this little “dependency.” I am incredibly happy about this step!
I am definitely extremely curious to see what else the book will reveal to me on the following pages and which unconscious patterns I will discover within myself.
(*) Professionelle Hilfe: Meine Inhalte dienen Inspiration und allgemeinen Information. Wenn du jedoch das Gefühl hast, unter einer Depression oder einer anderen psychischen Belastung zu leiden, ist es sehr wichtig, dass du dir professionelle Hilfe suchst.
