Get Rid of Bad Habits by Deceiving Your “inner Caveman”
Bad habits are hard to break, and – as modern as we may seem – we all have an “inner caveman” who controls many of our impulses and behaviors. To break your worst habits, you will need to make tiny adjustments that you can elude your primitive self.
Jenny S. Evans , author of The Evolution of Resilience , suggests that our DNA hasn’t changed much in the last 10,000 years. Our bad habits persist because our inner caveman, whom she calls “Sneaky Pete,” loves to save as much energy as possible. This is why you are looking for quick and convenient remedies like caffeine and sugar and avoid exercising to burn those calories. Basically, our inner caveman loves our modern life, in which we do very little and we have a lot of food.
The problem is that our inner caveman doesn’t really know what is good for us in the long run. We need exercise, healthy eating, and we need to stay away from certain things. Even worse, when we try to change something, we usually try to drastically change our habits, believing that the best way is to immediately dive into them. Evans explains why this doesn’t work with your inner Sneaky Pete caveman. around:
Going from zero exercise to seven days a week activates Sneaky Pete and he freaks out. Simplify any change you make to fit your stress response . To the point where you think, “This is so simple, this is stupid!” Then you can make successful long-term changes.
Take small steps when trying to change something. Ease your path to change so you can trick your inner caveman into thinking everything is downright cool. Remember that real change takes time and a lot of time. Don’t get discouraged and just continue to slowly work your way into your new self.
Evolution of Resilience: Your Stress Solution for Life | Amazon through Inc.