Motivation and Goals   Thinkerer Melville
Cues, Practice, Payoff

How to get into Second Life without really trying

Selby Evans is Thinkerer Melville in Second Life

Some habits are hard to change.  They give the whole habit business a bad rap.   Actually, habits are mostly good for us.  They handle all the routine things automatically.  They let us focus attention on the new things that really take brainpower.

And habits give another convenient demonstration of the modular brain story.    Habits are obviously the work of brain modules that usually operate without attention.  No murky subconscious mind lurking around in this story.  More like automatic actions that handle boring jobs. 

RoboBrain

Occasionally you want to change a habit or get rid of it.   Then you notice the disadvantage of having a part of your brain you can’t talk to.  But you can send messages to it.  You just have to know its language. 

Like working with small children.

The language your mouth speaks is nouns and verbs.  The language your habit understands is cues, practice, and payoff. No wonder your mouth has a problem working with habits.  If you expect to get cooperation from your habit, you will have to be smart enough to speak to it in its language.   

If you need to find out what cues, practice, and payoff mean to one of your habits, go to the Habit Clipit.  If you want a little background see the sandwich model.

Manage your habits or your habits will manage you.

Brain modules

Will-Power
We don't even know the meaning of the term.

 

Example:
Nail-bite:  Changing a habit

Habit Clipit
Managing a habit starts with the cue.

 

The sandwich model of habits

 

Habits that you might want to encourage in yourself Cuepons

Imagery

Problem-Solving

Self-awareness Clipit

Head Teams

Habits that you might want to encourage in people you don't like. Complaining

Pessimism

Canterizing.  "I can't do it.  I can't do anything about it." 

Faulting.  Instead of fixing.

Kryptonite Shields  Unshielded kryptonite

The Thinkerer 09/07/2009
Copyright (c) D. F. Dansereau & S. H. Evans

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