A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit | Judson Brewer | TED · TED
通过好奇改变坏习惯，了解习惯形成机制，学习如何用简单方法战胜不良行为。适合练习注意力与自我调节。
When I was first learning to meditate, the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath, and when my mind wandered,
当我刚开始学习冥想时，指导老师告诉我只需专注于自己的呼吸即可；当我的思绪开始游离时，就重新将注意力引回到呼吸上。
to bring it back.
为了把它恢复过来。
Sounded simple enough.
听起来确实很简单。
Yet I'd sit on these silent retreats, sweating through T-shirts in the middle of winter.
然而，我仍会坐在这些安静的角落里，即使在隆冬时节，也穿着T恤衫满身大汗。
I'd take naps every chance I got because it was really hard work.
只要有机会，我就会小睡一会儿，因为那份工作实在太辛苦了。
Actually, it was exhausting.
其实，这真的让人精疲力竭。
The instruction was simple enough but I was missing something really important.
这个指令本身很简单，但我却忽略了一些非常重要的细节。
So why is it so hard to pay attention?
那么，为什么集中注意力会如此困难呢？
Well, studies show that even when we're really trying to pay attention to something -- like maybe this talk -- at some point,
嗯，研究表明，即使我们真的在努力集中注意力听某件事（比如这次演讲），在某个时刻……
about half of us will drift off into a daydream, or have this urge to check our Twitter feed.
我们中大约有一半的人会陷入白日梦，或者会产生查看 Twitter 动态的冲动。
So what's going on here?
那么，这里到底发生了什么呢？
It turns out that we're fighting one of the most evolutionarily-conserved learning processes currently known in science,
事实证明，我们正在对抗一种在进化过程中被高度保留的学习机制——这种机制是目前科学界所认知的最为古老、最为稳定的学习方式之一。
one that's conserved back to the most basic nervous systems known to man.
这种神经系统已经退化到人类所知的最原始、最基本的形态。
This reward-based learning process is called positive and negative reinforcement, and basically goes like this.
这种基于奖励的学习过程被称为“正强化”和“负强化”，其基本原理如下：
We see some food that looks good, our brain says, "Calories!
我们看到一些看起来很美味的食物，我们的大脑会立刻反应：“这些食物含有大量卡路里啊！
Survival!"
生存下去！
We eat the food, we taste it -- it tastes good.
我们吃了这些食物，尝了尝味道，发现它们非常美味。
And especially with sugar, our bodies send a signal to our brain that says, "Remember what you're eating and where you found it."
尤其是对于糖分来说，我们的身体会向大脑发送一个信号，告诉大脑：“记住你正在吃什么，以及是从哪里获取这些糖分的。
We lay down this context-dependent memory and learn to repeat the process next time.
我们形成了这种依赖于具体情境的记忆机制，并学会了在下次遇到类似情况时再次重复这一过程。
See food, eat food, feel good, repeat.
看到食物，吃下食物，感觉良好，然后重复这个过程。
Trigger, behavior, reward.
触发因素、行为表现、奖励机制。
Simple, right?
很简单，对吧？
Well, after a while, our creative brains say, "You know what?
嗯，过了一段时间后，我们那些充满创造力的大脑就会想：“你知道吗？
You can use this for more than just remembering where food is.
你不仅可以利用这个工具来记住食物的存放位置，还可以用它来做更多的事情。
You know, next time you feel bad, why don't you try eating something good so you'll feel better?"
你知道吗？下次当你感觉不舒服的时候，为什么不试着吃点好东西呢？这样你会感觉好一些的。
We thank our brains for the great idea, try this and quickly learn that if we eat chocolate or ice cream when we're mad or sad,
我们感谢自己的大脑想出了这个好主意。当我们生气或难过的时候，尝试吃巧克力或冰淇淋，很快就会发现这样做确实能让我们感觉好一些。
we feel better.
我们现在感觉好多了。
Same process, just a different trigger.
同样的过程，只是触发因素不同而已。
Instead of this hunger signal coming from our stomach, this emotional signal -- feeling sad -- triggers that urge to eat.
实际上，这种促使我们想要进食的冲动并非源自胃部（即饥饿信号），而是由情绪因素（比如感到悲伤）所引发的。
Maybe in our teenage years, we were a nerd at school, and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and we think,
也许在我们十几岁的时候，我们在学校里是个书呆子；看到外面那些叛逆的孩子们在抽烟，我们就会想……
"Hey, I want to be cool."
嘿，我想变得很酷。
So we start smoking.
于是我们开始吸烟了。
The Marlboro Man wasn't a dork, and that was no accident.
Marlboro Man”（万宝路男子）并不是个古怪、不受欢迎的人，而这绝非偶然。
See cool, smoke to be cool, feel good.
这真的很酷：抽烟可以让人显得更酷，也能让人感觉更好。
Repeat.
重复。
Trigger, behavior, reward.
触发因素、行为表现、奖励机制。
And each time we do this, we learn to repeat the process and it becomes a habit.
每次我们这样做时，都会学会如何重复这个过程，最终这个过程就会成为我们的习惯。
So later, feeling stressed out triggers that urge to smoke a cigarette or to eat something sweet.
后来，当感到压力很大时，就会产生想要抽烟或吃甜食的冲动。
Now, with these same brain processes, we've gone from learning to survive to literally killing ourselves with these habits.
如今，借助同样的大脑运作机制，我们已从“为生存而学习”的状态，堕落到因这些不良习惯而自我伤害的地步。
Obesity and smoking are among the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the world.
肥胖和吸烟是全球范围内可预防的疾病和死亡的主要原因之一。