0:00

right, welcome to your Atomic Habits cheat

0:02

sheet. This season, we're diving into

0:04

Atomic Habits for beginners. And

0:06

you've tuned in for episode four

0:08

titled, there was something strange

0:10

about his looks, which

0:12

I have to admit is a pretty intriguing title,

0:14

wouldn't you say? It certainly grabs

0:16

your attention, doesn't it? It speaks to

0:18

that feeling we sometimes get when something

0:20

feels off. Like we just know something's

0:23

not quite right, even if we can't

0:25

put our finger on exactly why. Exactly.

0:27

And that's precisely what we're going to

0:29

unpack in this deep dive. We're going

0:31

to explore this amazing ability our brains

0:33

have to learn and make predictions, often

0:35

without us even realizing it. And probably even

0:37

more important for those of you listening who

0:40

are ready to make some positive changes, we're

0:42

going to discuss why understanding our

0:44

existing habits, the ones we already have

0:46

running on autopilot, is absolutely essential

0:48

before we can even start to think

0:50

about shifting them. You know, when

0:53

we were prepping for this episode, you

0:55

shared some seriously fascinating material that really highlights

0:57

how our brains are constantly absorbing information,

0:59

analyzing it, and even using it to make

1:01

predictions about what's going to happen next, all

1:04

without us having to consciously think about it. It's

1:06

like our brains are operating on

1:08

two levels. There's this conscious level where

1:10

we're actively thinking and making decisions,

1:12

and then there's this deeper, non -conscious

1:14

level where all sorts of learning and

1:17

processing is happening in the background.

1:19

It's almost like our brains are constantly

1:21

running simulations based on past experiences

1:23

to help us navigate the world around

1:25

us. It really is. And to kick

1:27

things off, I want to jump right

1:29

into this powerful story that Gary Klein

1:31

shared about the paramedic who was at

1:33

a family gathering. Do you remember this

1:35

one? I think it perfectly

1:37

illustrates how our unconscious mind can

1:39

pick up on subtle cues that

1:42

our conscious mind might miss. Oh,

1:44

absolutely. This story really gets

1:46

to the heart of how powerful this

1:48

non -conscious learning can be, especially when

1:50

it comes to matters of life and

1:52

death. So we have this experienced

1:54

paramedic, right? She's at a family barbecue,

1:56

just relaxing and enjoying the day, and

1:58

she happens to glance over at her

2:00

father -in -law. Now, he seems perfectly fine.

2:02

He's laughing, joking around, having a good

2:05

time. That something about him just strikes

2:07

her as off. Yeah, and she can't

2:09

quite articulate what it is, right? Like,

2:11

there's no single obvious symptom that screams,

2:13

hey, this guy's having a heart attack.

2:15

He's not clutching his chest or sweating

2:17

profusely. But she has this intense gut

2:19

feeling that something is wrong. Precisely. And

2:21

this is where her years of experience

2:23

working with heart failure patients really kicks

2:25

in. Even though she can't consciously pinpoint

2:28

what it is she's seeing, some

2:30

deep part of her brain is

2:32

recognizing a pattern, a subtle shift in

2:34

his appearance that's setting off alarm

2:36

bells. And thankfully, she listens to that

2:38

intuition. She insists that he

2:40

needs to go to the hospital even though

2:42

he's protesting, saying he feels perfectly fine. They

2:44

get into the hospital and it turns out

2:46

he has a major artery blockage. He's literally

2:48

on the verge of a heart attack. And

2:51

it was her quick thinking based

2:53

on this almost subconscious recognition of a

2:55

pattern that saved his life. It's

2:57

a truly incredible example of how our

2:59

brains are constantly learning and adapting,

3:02

picking up on subtle cues that we

3:04

might not even be consciously aware

3:06

of. And it really highlights how this

3:08

non -conscious knowledge can have profound, even

3:10

life -saving implications. But what

3:12

makes this story even more fascinating

3:14

is the underlying physiological reason for her

3:16

intuition. OK, so let's dive

3:18

into that. What was it about her

3:20

father -in -law's appearance that her trained eye

3:22

was picking up on, even if she

3:24

couldn't consciously explain it? Well, when there's

3:26

a significant blockage in a major artery,

3:29

the body goes into the sort of

3:31

survival mode. It instinctively prioritizes blood

3:33

flow to the vital organs, the heart,

3:35

the brain, the lungs, to keep

3:37

them functioning. And to do this,

3:39

it often redirects blood away from the

3:41

skin, particularly in the extremities in the

3:44

face. So it's like the

3:46

body is sacrificing blood flow to

3:48

less essential areas to ensure the

3:50

most critical systems are getting what

3:52

they need. to survive. Exactly. And

3:54

this redirection of blood flow can cause

3:56

subtle changes in a person's appearance, particularly

3:58

in their face. Their skin

4:01

might become slightly paler or have a

4:03

faint bluish tinge. There might

4:05

be a slight change in the texture

4:07

or the sheen of their skin.

4:09

These are really, really subtle cues, not

4:11

the kind of traumatic signs that

4:13

someone without medical training would easily recognize.

4:15

So she wasn't seeing a textbook

4:17

heart attack symptom. It was more like

4:20

this incredibly subtle shift that only

4:22

someone with her extensive experience in training

4:24

would even notice. Exactly. Her brain

4:26

had, over years of seeing and treating

4:28

heart failure patients, learned to associate

4:30

those subtle changes with a very specific

4:32

and potentially life -threatening condition. It was

4:34

like a pattern -matching process happening below

4:36

the level of her conscious awareness.

4:39

It's almost like her brain was saying,

4:41

hey, I've seen this before

4:43

and it's usually bad news. Better

4:45

sound the alarm. Exactly. And it makes

4:47

you wonder, right, how often

4:49

does this kind of unconscious expertise play

4:51

out in other fields and other aspects of

4:53

our lives, because if our brains are

4:55

this good at picking up on these subtle

4:57

patterns in life or death situations, it

5:00

stands to reason that they're doing it

5:02

all the time in ways we might

5:04

not even fully appreciate. You know, you're

5:06

absolutely right. And the material you shared

5:08

had some truly amazing examples from various

5:10

domains that really highlight how widespread this

5:12

phenomenon really is. Oh, there are so

5:14

many fascinating examples. Take military

5:16

analysts, for instance. During the

5:19

Gulf War, there was this Lieutenant

5:21

Commander, Michael Riley. who was responsible for

5:23

identifying enemy aircraft. And

5:25

in one particularly tense moment, he made

5:27

the critical decision to engage a missile,

5:29

even though, according to the radar

5:31

signature, it looked identical to

5:33

a friendly aircraft. Wow, that's a

5:35

high stakes call. I mean, one

5:37

wrong move could have had disastrous

5:40

consequences. Absolutely. And his superiors

5:42

were baffled. They were looking at the same

5:44

radar data and couldn't understand why he was

5:46

so certain. But Riley insisted he just knew

5:48

it was an enemy missile. And it turned

5:50

out he was right. The missile was

5:52

later confirmed to be Iraqi. Now,

5:54

we can't know for sure what specific

5:56

cues he was picking up on, but

5:58

it's very likely that his years of

6:00

experience of analyzing radar data and studying

6:02

enemy tactics had fine -tuned his perception to

6:04

the point where he could detect a

6:06

minute, almost imperceptible anomalies that

6:09

others miss. It's like he

6:11

had developed this almost sixth sense

6:13

for identifying threats. It's incredible.

6:15

It really is. And it's not

6:17

just limited to high pressure

6:19

situations like combat. Think about

6:21

museum curators, for example. You

6:23

often hear stories about how they can

6:25

sometimes just sense when a piece of

6:27

art is a forgery. They might not

6:29

be able to immediately point to the

6:31

specific brushstroke or detail that's off, but

6:33

they just have this feeling, this intuition

6:35

that something isn't quite right. Yeah,

6:37

and you read about cases where

6:39

they end up being right and it

6:42

turns out the piece is a

6:44

clever fake. Exactly. And it's likely because

6:46

they've spent years, decades even, immersed

6:48

in authentic art. They've studied the masters,

6:50

they've examined countless genuine pieces, and

6:52

over time their brains have become incredibly

6:54

adept at recognizing the subtle hallmarks

6:56

of the real Their non -conscious

6:58

mind has learned to distinguish the

7:00

genuine from the imitation, even if those

7:02

cues remain below the level of

7:04

their conscious awareness. That's so fascinating. And

7:06

you also mentioned experienced radiologists who

7:08

can sometimes predict where a strength might

7:10

develop on a brain scan before

7:12

the obvious signs are even visible to

7:14

someone without that level of expertise.

7:16

It's amazing, isn't it? They look at

7:18

a scan and they can see

7:20

subtle patterns, slight variations in density or

7:22

blood flow that suggest an area

7:24

of the brain is at increased risk.

7:26

It's not something a novice would

7:29

pick up on, but their years of

7:31

experience have trained their brains to

7:33

recognize those subtle warning signs. You

7:35

know, I even remember reading about

7:37

hairdressers who sometimes sense that a client

7:39

is pregnant just from the subtle

7:41

changes in their hair texture. It

7:44

sounds almost like an old wives

7:46

tale, but it really speaks to how

7:48

sensitive our brains can become to

7:50

even the most minute predictive cues in

7:52

our environment. It really does. And

7:54

the common thread running through all these

7:56

examples is that our brains are

7:58

constantly operating as these incredible prediction machines.

8:00

Think of it like a supercomputer

8:03

that's constantly running simulations based on past

8:05

experiences. It's constantly taking in information,

8:07

analyzing it, and cataloging patterns for future

8:09

use, often without our conscious involvement.

8:11

Which brings us to this really crucial

8:13

concept of the non -conscious nature of

8:15

habit formation, doesn't it? I mean,

8:17

if our brains are this good at

8:19

picking up on these subtle cues

8:22

and patterns in all sorts of situations,

8:24

makes perfect sense that our habits can form in

8:26

a similar way, almost without us realizing it.

8:29

Absolutely. With enough repetition,

8:31

our brains begin to associate

8:33

specific cues with certain outcomes,

8:35

and this happens automatically, non

8:37

-consciously. When we talk about the

8:39

non -conscious mind, we're referring to the part of

8:41

our brain that operates outside of our direct awareness.

8:44

It's the part that handles all those

8:46

automatic functions that we don't have to

8:48

consciously think about. So things like breathing. or

8:51

heartbeat, digestion, all

8:53

those essential processes that keep us alive

8:55

and functioning without us having to micromanage

8:58

them. Exactly. And we tend to really

9:00

underestimate the sheer power of this non

9:02

-conscious mind. It's doing so much behind

9:04

the scenes, shaping our thoughts or feelings

9:06

and our behaviors in ways we might

9:08

not fully appreciate. You know,

9:10

a really great example of this

9:12

is hunger. We don't consciously decide,

9:14

okay, time to feel hungry now.

9:16

It's more like this sudden wave of

9:18

craving washes over you and you're

9:20

like... did that come from? Exactly.

9:22

And it's driven by all sorts of

9:25

complex feedback loops involving hormones, chemicals,

9:27

and signals from our digestive system. You

9:30

might find yourself craving a specific food, and

9:32

you're not even entirely sure what triggered

9:34

that desire. It could be

9:36

a subtle cue in your environment like

9:38

walking past a bakery and smelling fresh bread.

9:41

It could be a slight dip in your blood sugar

9:43

levels. Or it could be a combination

9:45

of factors that you're not even consciously aware

9:47

of. And here's the crucial insight when it

9:49

comes to habits. You necessarily

9:52

need to be consciously aware of a cue

9:54

for a habit to kick in. You

9:56

might see attempting treats sitting on the counter

9:58

and reach for it almost automatically without really

10:00

thinking about it. Yeah, it's like your brain

10:03

is saying, oh. I recognize this situation. This

10:05

is what we usually do in this context.

10:07

And before you know it, you're halfway through

10:09

a bag of chips. Exactly. And

10:11

that's both the utility and the

10:13

danger of habits. They can be incredibly

10:15

efficient, freeing up our mental energy

10:17

for other tasks. But they can

10:19

also lead us down paths we'd rather avoid,

10:21

especially if those habits are no longer serving us.

10:24

So it's like this double -edged sword. Habits

10:26

can make our lives easier and more efficient,

10:28

but they can also keep us stuck in

10:30

patterns that might not be beneficial in the

10:32

long run. And I think

10:34

that's where this idea of

10:36

the autopilot mode comes in, right?

10:38

This idea that as habits

10:40

become more deeply ingrained, our actions

10:42

become increasingly automatic and non -conscious.

10:45

And sometimes this autopilot mode can lead

10:47

us to make decisions or take actions

10:49

that we wouldn't necessarily choose if we

10:51

were fully present and aware in the

10:53

moment. Precisely. We can find ourselves falling

10:55

back into old patterns almost without realizing

10:57

it's happening. Think about those little, almost

10:59

reflexive things we do every day, like

11:01

covering your mouth when you laugh or

11:04

automatically saying sorry before you even ask

11:06

a question. Oh, I totally do that.

11:08

I catch myself saying sorry all the

11:10

time. I'm like, why am I apologizing?

11:12

I didn't do anything wrong. That's a

11:14

great example. Or finishing other people's sentences. These

11:17

are often deeply ingrained patterns. And the

11:19

more we repeat them, the less likely we

11:21

are to pause and question why we're

11:23

doing them. You know, some

11:25

might argue that there's an advantage to

11:27

this autopilot mode, that by automating certain

11:29

behaviors, we free up mental energy for

11:31

other more complex tasks. And they'd be

11:33

right. But the potential downside is that

11:35

it can also make us blind to

11:37

the fact that we're even engaging in

11:39

certain behaviors, especially if those behaviors are

11:42

no longer serving us or actively working

11:44

against our goals. And the examples you

11:46

shared really brought this to life. I

11:48

mean the retail clerk who had a

11:50

pure habit cut up the customer's actual

11:52

credit card instead of the expired gift

11:54

card. That's a perfect illustration of how

11:56

ingrained habits can take over and lead

11:58

to some pretty unfortunate outcomes. It's almost

12:00

like his brain was on autopilot and

12:02

he just went through the motions without

12:04

really registering what he was doing. Or

12:06

the former preschool teacher who instinctively asked

12:08

her adult colleagues if they'd washed their

12:10

hands after using the restroom. I

12:12

mean, her well -established habits from a completely

12:14

different context just kicked in without conscious

12:16

thought. And then there was the lifeguard

12:18

who yelled, walk. at a group of

12:20

kids running by even though he was

12:22

off duty and at the grocery store.

12:25

These examples highlight how these ingrained patterns

12:27

can surface even when they're no

12:29

longer appropriate or relevant to the situation.

12:32

And it's really interesting how over

12:34

time these habit cues can become

12:36

almost invisible to us. It's like

12:38

they blend into the background of

12:40

our lives. The snacks that are

12:42

always on the counter, the remote control

12:45

that lives next to the couch, our phones

12:47

that are practically glued to our hands,

12:49

we react to them so automatically that the

12:51

urge to act can genuinely feel like

12:53

it's coming out of nowhere. Absolutely. It's like

12:55

we're on this well -worn path and we

12:57

just keep following it without really thinking

12:59

about where it's leading. And that's

13:01

precisely why, as we discussed earlier,

13:03

the very first step in making any

13:05

kind of intentional behavior change has

13:07

to be awareness. If these

13:09

habits are operating completely below our conscious

13:11

radar, how can we possibly hope to change

13:14

them. It's like trying to fix a

13:16

leaky faucet when you don't even know where

13:18

the leak is coming from. Exactly. And

13:20

I think that's where that powerful quote from

13:22

Carl Jung comes in. Until you make

13:24

the unconscious conscious, it will direct

13:26

your life and you will call it fate. If

13:29

we're not aware of the underlying

13:31

forces that are shaping our behaviors, we're

13:33

essentially at their mercy. We become

13:35

slaves to our habits rather than masters

13:37

of our own destiny. So

13:40

how do we actually start to bring these

13:42

unconscious habits into the light? to make

13:44

them visible so we can start to make

13:46

conscious choices about which ones to keep

13:48

and which ones to change. Well, one really

13:50

effective tool for this is the Habit

13:52

Scorecard. But before we dive

13:54

into the specifics of that, I think

13:56

it's helpful to look at a

13:59

real -world example of how deliberately increasing

14:01

awareness can dramatically improve performance and safety.

14:04

And for this, I want to turn to the

14:06

fascinating pointing and calling system

14:08

used by the Japanese Railway. Oh,

14:10

this is such a cool example. I

14:12

mean, you see these train conductors

14:14

going through this very deliberate ritual. They

14:17

physically point at the signals, they

14:19

clearly call out their color, they point

14:21

at the speedometer and announce the

14:23

current speed, they even point at the

14:25

timetable. and steep the scheduled time.

14:27

It might seem a little odd or

14:29

even excessive to someone who's not

14:31

familiar with the practice, but the seemingly

14:33

simple process of physically pointing at

14:35

crucial objects and verbally calling out their

14:37

status is an incredibly effective safety

14:40

mechanism. It's specifically designed to drastically reduce

14:42

the likelihood of human error, which,

14:44

as we know, can have catastrophic consequences

14:46

in a system as complex as

14:48

a railway. And the results are pretty

14:50

remarkable, aren't they? I mean, you

14:52

mentioned that it can reduce errors by

14:54

up to 85 % and cut down

14:56

on accidents by as much as

14:58

30%. That's huge. It really is. And

15:00

it's all because of this simple

15:03

act of bringing non -conscious actions into

15:05

conscious awareness by actively engaging multiple senses

15:07

site through the act of pointing

15:09

the physical sensation of the movement and

15:11

hearing through the verbal call out.

15:13

It forces the operators to be fully

15:15

present and engaged in each critical

15:17

moment. It jolts them out of that

15:19

autopilot mode and ensures that they're

15:21

making conscious deliberate decisions rather than just

15:23

going through the motions. It creates

15:25

this extra layer of a accountability and

15:28

focus. Exactly. And it's

15:30

so effective that even the MTA

15:32

subway system here in New York

15:34

City adopted a modified point only

15:36

version. And they saw a really

15:38

significant decrease in. incorrectly birthed subways,

15:40

a 57 % reduction within just

15:43

two years of implementing the system. It

15:45

really underscores the power of this seemingly simple

15:47

act of bringing our attention to what we're

15:49

doing even when it feels routine or automatic.

15:52

You know, it even made me think of

15:54

my wife. Before we leave

15:56

for a trip, she has this very

15:58

specific habit of verbally listing the

16:00

essential items. keys, wallet, phone. It's like

16:02

her own personal pointing and calling

16:04

system to make sure she doesn't forget

16:06

anything important. I love that. It's

16:08

the same principle at play. The more

16:10

automatic a behavior becomes, like gathering

16:12

your things before leaving the house, the

16:14

more likely we are to overlook

16:16

something or make a careless mistake. We

16:18

start to assume that the next time

16:21

will be exactly like the last, and

16:23

we stop actively paying attention to the

16:25

individual steps involved. like our brains are

16:27

trying to be efficient, but sometimes that

16:29

efficiency comes at the cost of accuracy

16:31

and awareness. Precisely. And as

16:33

you pointed out, many performance failures in

16:35

various areas of life stem from this

16:37

fundamental lack of self -awareness in the moment.

16:40

We're so caught up in our routines

16:42

and our habits that we stop truly

16:44

paying attention to what we're doing, and

16:46

that's when mistakes happen. So how do

16:48

we take this powerful idea of pointing

16:51

and calling and apply it to our

16:53

own lives, to our own unique set

16:55

of habits. I mean we can't

16:57

exactly go around pointing and calling out every

16:59

single action we take throughout the day. Well

17:01

that's where the habit scorecard comes in as

17:03

a tool for increasing self -awareness around our

17:05

daily behaviors. It's a really straightforward

17:07

exercise and it starts with simply making a

17:09

comprehensive list of your daily habits and

17:12

I mean everything from the moment you wake

17:14

up to the time you go to

17:16

bed. You know, in the

17:18

material you shared, you included a helpful sample

17:20

list to get people started. It was

17:22

just a series of those very typical everyday

17:24

actions that most of us do without

17:26

even thinking about it. Exactly. Things like, wake

17:28

up, turn off the alarm, check my

17:30

phone, brush my teeth, make coffee, and so

17:32

on. Once you have that

17:34

initial list down on paper or in

17:36

a digital document, whichever you prefer, you

17:38

then go through each individual behavior and

17:41

ask yourself this really crucial question. Is

17:43

this a good habit, a bad habit,

17:45

or a neutral habit for me? So

17:47

it's like we're taking inventory of our

17:49

actions and starting to categorize them based

17:51

on their potential impact on our lives.

17:53

Precisely. And then you mark each habit

17:55

accordingly with a plus sign for good,

17:58

a minus sign for bad, or an

18:00

equal sign for neutral. Now

18:02

here's a really important point

18:04

that often trips people up. What

18:06

constitutes a good or a

18:08

bad habit is ultimately very personal

18:10

and depends entirely on your

18:12

individual goals and aspirations. So

18:14

it's not like there's a universal list

18:16

of good habits and bad habits that applies

18:19

to everyone. Definitely not. I mean, take

18:21

that bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. For

18:23

someone who's actively trying to build muscle

18:25

and gain weight, that might be a great

18:27

choice. It's packed with protein and calories

18:29

to fuel their workouts. But for

18:31

someone who's trying to lose weight, that

18:33

same bagel could be counterproductive. their goals.

18:35

That's such a good point. It's really

18:37

about aligning your habits with the outcomes

18:39

you're trying to achieve. Exactly, and it

18:41

gets even a bit more nuanced than

18:43

a simple good or bad binary. I

18:46

often find it more helpful to

18:48

think of them as effective habits,

18:50

habits that are effective at solving

18:52

a particular problem or serving a

18:54

specific purpose, even if that purpose

18:56

isn't ultimately beneficial for us in

18:58

the long run. For example, that

19:00

cigarette might effectively reduce feelings of

19:02

stress and anxiety in the moment.

19:04

But we all know the long

19:07

-term health consequences are incredibly negative.

19:09

So it's like, okay, this habit.

19:11

is effective at achieving this particular

19:13

outcome, but is that outcome

19:15

truly aligned with my overall goals

19:17

and values? Exactly. And when

19:19

you're looking at your habit scorecard and trying to

19:21

decide whether to put a plus or a

19:23

minus next to a particular behavior, a

19:25

really helpful question to ask yourself is this. Does

19:28

this habit help me become the type

19:30

of person I ultimately want to be?

19:32

Does it cast a vote for or

19:34

against my desired identity? I love that

19:36

framing. It's like we're constantly making these

19:38

little choices throughout the day that either

19:41

reinforce or undermine the person we want

19:43

to become. Exactly. And habits that consistently

19:45

align with the kind of person you

19:47

aspire to be are generally good in

19:49

this context. And those that actively conflict

19:51

with that vision are bad. So we've

19:53

created our habits scorecard. We've gone through

19:55

and labeled our habits what's next. Do

19:58

we immediately jump into trying to change

20:00

all the bad ones we've identified? Not

20:02

so fast. The primary goal

20:04

of the Habit Scorecard at this

20:06

initial stage isn't to immediately change

20:08

anything. It's to simply cultivate awareness.

20:11

You're essentially just observing your own

20:13

thoughts and actions as if you

20:15

were a neutral third -party observer watching

20:17

someone else. No judgment, no self

20:19

-criticism, just observation. If you

20:21

notice that you automatically reach for

20:23

a chocolate bar every afternoon, just acknowledge

20:25

that fact. If you find yourself

20:27

habitually wasting time scrolling online without any

20:30

real intention, simply notice that you're

20:32

spending your time in a way that

20:34

doesn't truly align with your priorities.

20:36

It's about shining a light on those

20:38

often unconscious automatic behaviors that we

20:40

usually just do without thinking. Precisely. And

20:42

as you become more attuned to

20:44

those less desirable habits through the Habit

20:46

Scorecard, you can start to incorporate

20:48

a personal version of that pointing and

20:50

calling technique that we discussed earlier.

20:52

So how would that work in practice?

20:55

Well... you find yourself about to

20:57

engage in a behavior that

20:59

you genuinely want to change, try

21:01

consciously saying out loud exactly

21:03

what you're about to do, and

21:05

importantly, what the potential negative

21:07

consequence of that action will be.

21:10

So for example, if you're reaching for

21:12

that extra cookie after dinner, you might

21:14

say something like, I'm about to eat

21:16

this cookie even though I'm not actually

21:18

hungry, and eating it will probably make

21:20

it harder for me to reach my

21:23

weight loss goals. By actually verbalizing the

21:25

action and the consequence, you're making it

21:27

much more real and harder to ignore.

21:29

Exactly. It's like you're creating this brief

21:31

pause, this moment of conscious reflection, before

21:33

you mindlessly slip into the old, unwanted

21:35

routine. It adds a layer of weight

21:38

and consideration to the action. And

21:40

remember that study we talked about earlier

21:42

where they found that simply saying something out

21:44

loud significantly increases the likelihood that you'll

21:46

actually follow through with it. It's like our

21:48

brains are more likely to take something

21:50

seriously if we actually say it out loud.

21:52

Exactly. And it's a simple yet powerful

21:54

way to disrupt those automatic patterns and start

21:56

to make more cautious choices. So

21:59

to really drive home the key message

22:01

here. This entire process of

22:03

meaningful behavior change, of breaking free

22:05

from those unwanted habits and building

22:07

new positive ones, starts with the

22:09

foundational step of awareness. I couldn't

22:12

have said it better myself. Tools

22:15

like the pointing and calling

22:17

technique and the habit scorecard

22:19

are incredibly valuable because they

22:21

give us concrete, actionable ways to

22:23

recognize our existing habits. And

22:26

those often subtle cues that trigger them

22:28

in the first place. And once we

22:30

have that awareness, we can start to make

22:32

more conscious deliberate choices about how we

22:34

want to live our lives. It's like

22:36

we're taking back control of the ship. so

22:38

to speak, becoming captains of our own

22:40

destiny rather than passive passengers. Exactly. To

22:43

recap some of the key takeaways for you

22:45

from the material we've covered today. First,

22:47

with consistent practice and repetition,

22:50

our brains can become incredibly adept at

22:52

picking up on subtle cues and

22:54

patterns in our environment, often without us

22:56

even realizing it. Second, as

22:58

habits become more deeply ingrained and

23:00

automatic, we often stop paying conscious attention

23:02

to the specific actions we're taking, which

23:05

can lead to mistakes or unwanted behaviors.

23:08

Third, cultivating awareness is the

23:10

essential first step in any process

23:12

of intentional behavior change. We can't

23:14

change what we're not aware of.

23:17

Fourth, the pointing and calling technique is a

23:19

powerful tool for increasing our conscious awareness

23:21

by verbalizing our actions in the moment. And

23:23

finally, the habit scorecard is a practical,

23:25

accessible way to become more aware of our

23:27

patterns of daily behavior over time, which

23:29

allows us to start making more conscious and

23:31

aligned choices. So as we wrap up

23:33

this deep dive, I want to leave you

23:35

with this thought. What's one

23:38

seemingly small habit that you have

23:40

that you'd like to change? It

23:42

could be anything hitting this news

23:44

button too many times, mindlessly scrolling

23:46

through social media, snacking late at

23:48

night. Now, after our

23:50

conversation today, do you see any

23:52

underlying cues or triggers that you

23:54

weren't consciously aware of before? And

23:57

maybe even more importantly, what kind of

23:59

vote is that particular habit casting for

24:01

the type of person you ultimately want

24:04

to become. It's a powerful question to

24:06

reflect on, isn't it? It really is,

24:08

because ultimately our habits shape our lives.

24:10

They determine who we are, what we

24:12

achieve, and how we experience the world.

24:15

And the good news is we have the

24:17

power to choose which habits we keep and

24:19

which ones we change. And that journey of

24:21

transformation begins with awareness. This has

24:23

been a fascinating exploration of the initial

24:25

stages of habit formation and it

24:27

really underscores the incredible power of our

24:29

unconscious minds. But remember, this is

24:31

just the beginning. To delve

24:33

even deeper into the mechanics of atomic

24:35

habits and to support our work, including

24:37

getting a full list of all the

24:39

amazing books we've covered in this season,

24:41

visit us at TheMessyPodcast.com. There's always more

24:43

to unpack, and we encourage you to

24:46

keep exploring these ideas and experimenting with

24:48

them in your own life. Thanks

24:50

for joining us on this deep dive.

24:52

Until next time, keep those habits in check.