00:00:12
When I was first learning to meditate,
00:00:14
the instruction was to simply
pay attention to my breath,
00:00:17
and when my mind wandered,
to bring it back.
00:00:20
Sounded simple enough.
00:00:22
Yet I'd sit on these silent retreats,
00:00:25
sweating through T-shirts
in the middle of winter.
00:00:29
I'd take naps every chance I got
because it was really hard work.
00:00:32
Actually, it was exhausting.
00:00:35
The instruction was simple enough
00:00:36
but I was missing something
really important.
00:00:40
So why is it so hard to pay attention?
00:00:42
Well, studies show
00:00:44
that even when we're really
trying to pay attention to something --
00:00:47
like maybe this talk --
00:00:50
about half of us
will drift off into a daydream,
00:00:52
or have this urge
to check our Twitter feed.
00:00:56
So what's going on here?
00:00:58
It turns out that we're fighting one
of the most evolutionarily-conserved
00:01:02
learning processes
currently known in science,
00:01:05
one that's conserved
00:01:06
back to the most basic
nervous systems known to man.
00:01:09
This reward-based learning process
00:01:11
is called positive
and negative reinforcement,
00:01:13
and basically goes like this.
00:01:16
We see some food that looks good,
00:01:17
our brain says, "Calories! ... Survival!"
00:01:20
We eat the food, we taste it --
00:01:23
And especially with sugar,
00:01:24
our bodies send a signal
to our brain that says,
00:01:27
"Remember what you're eating
and where you found it."
00:01:31
We lay down this context-dependent memory
00:01:33
and learn to repeat the process next time.
00:01:37
eat food, feel good,
00:01:40
Trigger, behavior, reward.
00:01:45
Well, after a while,
our creative brains say,
00:01:49
You can use this for more
than just remembering where food is.
00:01:52
You know, next time you feel bad,
00:01:54
why don't you try eating
something good so you'll feel better?"
00:01:59
We thank our brains for the great idea,
00:02:01
try this and quickly learn
00:02:03
that if we eat chocolate or ice cream
when we're mad or sad,
00:02:09
just a different trigger.
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