Replace failure with curiosity

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Jud Brewer, MD, PhD, teaches us how to break habit loops by replacing the feeling of failure with curiosity.

Transcript

00:00

[MUSIC PLAYING] Often, some of these habits that we're trying to change get triggered from having a really stressful day. Or we've come home and we're exhausted

00:07

and our brain just says, screw it. I'm just going to do my old habits. I eating know eating would be good for me, but I'm just going to order out.

00:22

These can be great opportunities for us to bring curiosity in and ask ourselves, what do I truly need right now versus what do I want?

00:31

And that curiosity can help us open up and take care for ourselves. And say, look, yes, you did have a tough day.

00:39

Is eating a pint of ice cream actually caring-- is that self-care or is that self-indulgence? And so the curiosity can help us notice

00:48

where we might be moving, which is often, say, if we're a stress eater, toward the refrigerator or the freezer, and pause.

00:55

And just say, oh, there's that habit, again. Is this really self-care?

01:01

And be curious. And even if we do it, care for ourselves, it's like, OK. What can I learn from that?

01:08

Can I lean into that? Can that obstacle become the way in terms of the way that I can learn how my mind works

01:15

and then eventually learn how to work with my mind? [AUDIO LOGO]