A simple way to break a bad habit | Judson Brewer | TED

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

When I was first learning to meditate,

Kada sam počeo da učim da meditiram,

the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath,

uputstvo je jednostavno glasilo: obratiti pažnju na disanje,

and when my mind wandered, to bring it back.

a kada um odluta, ponovo usmeriti pažnju.

Sounded simple enough.

Zvučalo je prilično prosto.

Yet I'd sit on these silent retreats,

Ipak, sedeo bih u tim mirnim odajama

sweating through T-shirts in the middle of winter.

dok mi je znoj probijao majicu usred zime.

I'd take naps every chance I got because it was really hard work.

Dremao bih kad god bih našao priliku, jer je to zaista bilo naporno.

Actually, it was exhausting.

Zapravo, bilo je iscrpljujuće.

The instruction was simple enough

Uputstvo je bilo sasvim jednostavno,

but I was missing something really important.

ali mu je nedostajalo nešto veoma važno.

So why is it so hard to pay attention?

Dakle, zašto je tako teško usmeriti pažnju?

Well, studies show

Pa, istraživanja pokazuju

that even when we're really trying to pay attention to something --

da čak i kada zaista nastojimo da obratimo pažnju na nešto,

like maybe this talk --

kao na primer ovaj govor,

at some point,

u nekom trenutku,

about half of us will drift off into a daydream,

polovina nas će odlutati u sanjarenje,

or have this urge to check our Twitter feed.

ili će dobiti potrebu da proveri šta ima novo na Tviteru.

So what's going on here?

Dakle, o čemu se tu radi?

It turns out that we're fighting one of the most evolutionarily-conserved

Ispostavilo se da se borimo sa jednim od najbolje očuvanih

learning processes currently known in science,

procesa učenja u evoluciji za koje nauka trenutno zna,

one that's conserved

onog koji se održao

back to the most basic nervous systems known to man.

još od najosnovnijih nervnih sistema poznatih čovečanstvu.

This reward-based learning process

Ovaj proces učenja po principu nagrađivanja

is called positive and negative reinforcement,

naziva se pozitivno ili negativno potkrepljenje

and basically goes like this.

i u suštini se odvija na sledeći način.

We see some food that looks good,

Vidimo hranu koja dobro izgleda,

our brain says, "Calories! ... Survival!"

a naš mozak kaže: „Kalorije! Preživljavanje!“

We eat the food, we taste it --

Jedemo hranu, okusimo je -

it tastes good.

dobrog je ukusa.

And especially with sugar,

Naročito kada je sa šećerom,

our bodies send a signal to our brain that says,

naše telo šalje signal mozgu koji poručuje:

"Remember what you're eating and where you found it."

„Zapamti šta jedeš i gde si to pronašao.“

We lay down this context-dependent memory

Uskladištimo to sećanje vezano za kontekst

and learn to repeat the process next time.

i naučimo da sledeći put ponovimo proces.

See food,

Vidiš hranu,

eat food, feel good,

pojedeš hranu, osećaš se dobro,

repeat.

ponovi.

Trigger, behavior, reward.

Okidač, ponašanje, nagrada.

Simple, right?

Jednostavno, zar ne?

Well, after a while, our creative brains say,

Pa, posle izvesnog vremena, naš kreativni mozak kaže:

"You know what?

„Znaš šta?

You can use this for more than just remembering where food is.

Ovo se može koristi i za druge stvari, pored pamćenja gde se nalazi hrana.

You know, next time you feel bad,

Znaš, sledeći put kad se osećaš loše,

why don't you try eating something good so you'll feel better?"

zašto ne probaš da pojedeš nešto dobro da bi se osećao bolje?“

We thank our brains for the great idea,

Zahvalimo se mozgu na sjajnoj ideji,

try this and quickly learn

probamo to i ubrzo naučimo

that if we eat chocolate or ice cream when we're mad or sad,

da ako pojedemo čokoladu ili sladoled kada smo ljuti ili tužni,

we feel better.

osećamo se bolje.

Same process,

Isti proces,

just a different trigger.

samo drugačiji okidač.

Instead of this hunger signal coming from our stomach,

Umesto signala gladi iz našeg stomaka,

this emotional signal -- feeling sad --

emocionalni signal, osećanje tuge,

triggers that urge to eat.

pokreće tu potrebu za jelom.

Maybe in our teenage years,

Možda smo u tinejdžersko doba

we were a nerd at school,

bili štreberi u školi,

and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and we think,

pa vidimo onu buntovnu decu napolju kako puše i pomislimo:

"Hey, I want to be cool."

„Hej, hoću da budem kul.“

So we start smoking.

I tako počnemo da pušimo.

The Marlboro Man wasn't a dork, and that was no accident.

Tip sa Marlboro reklama nije bio šonjavko i to nije bila slučajnost.

See cool,

Vidite kul,

smoke to be cool,

pušite da biste bili kul,

feel good. Repeat.

osećate se dobro, ponovite.

Trigger, behavior, reward.

Okidač, ponašanje, nagrada.

And each time we do this,

I svaki put kada to uradimo,

we learn to repeat the process

naučimo da ponavljamo proces

and it becomes a habit.

i to postane navika.

So later,

Tako kasnije,

feeling stressed out triggers that urge to smoke a cigarette

osećanje da smo pod stresom pokreće tu potrebu da zapalimo cigaretu

or to eat something sweet.

ili da pojedemo nešto slatko.

Now, with these same brain processes,

Pomoću istih procesa u mozgu,

we've gone from learning to survive

stigli smo od učenja da bismo preživeli

to literally killing ourselves with these habits.

bukvalno do ubijanja nas samih ovim navikama.

Obesity and smoking

Gojaznost i pušenje su među vodećim uzrocima

are among the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the world.

morbiditeta i mortaliteta u svetu koji se mogu sprečiti.

So back to my breath.

Vratimo se na moje disanje.

What if instead of fighting our brains,

Šta ako umesto borbe sa mozgom

or trying to force ourselves to pay attention,

ili nastojanja da se nateramo da usmerimo pažnju,

we instead tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process ...

iskoristimo ovaj prirodni proces učenja na principu nagrađivanja...

but added a twist?

ali uz dodatni preokret?

What if instead we just got really curious

Šta ako umesto toga postanemo veoma radoznali

about what was happening in our momentary experience?

u pogledu toga šta se dešava u našem trenutnom iskustvu?

I'll give you an example.

Daću vam primer.

In my lab,

U mojoj laboratoriji,

we studied whether mindfulness training could help people quit smoking.

izučavali smo da li vežbanje usredsređenosti uma

može pomoći ljudima da se odviknu od pušenja.

Now, just like trying to force myself to pay attention to my breath,

Baš kao što je slučaj i kod mog primoravanja

da obratim pažnju na svoj dah,

they could try to force themselves to quit smoking.

oni bi mogli da probaju da nateraju sebe da prestanu da puše.

And the majority of them had tried this before and failed --

Većina njih je to već probala i nije uspela u tome,

on average, six times.

šest puta u proseku.

Now, with mindfulness training,

Kod vežbanja usredsređenosti uma

we dropped the bit about forcing and instead focused on being curious.

odustali smo od tog dela primoravanja

i umesto toga se fokusirali na radoznalost.

In fact, we even told them to smoke.

Zapravo, čak smo im rekli da puše.

What? Yeah, we said, "Go ahead and smoke,

Šta? Da, rekli smo: „Slobodno pušite,

just be really curious about what it's like when you do."

samo budite zaista znatiželjni kako je to kada pušite.“

And what did they notice?

I šta su primetili?

Well here's an example from one of our smokers.

Evo primera od jednog od naših pušača.

She said, "Mindful smoking:

Rekla je: „Usredsređeno pušenje:

smells like stinky cheese

ima miris smrdljivog sira

and tastes like chemicals,

i ukus hemikalija,

YUCK!"

fuj!“

Now, she knew, cognitively that smoking was bad for her,

Ona je kognitivno znala da je pušenje loše za nju;

that's why she joined our program.

zato se i priključila našem programu.

What she discovered just by being curiously aware when she smoked

Samo radoznalom svesnošću dok je pušila,

was that smoking tastes like shit.

otkrila je da pušenje ima ukus izmeta.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, she moved from knowledge to wisdom.

Prešla je sa znanja na mudrost.

She moved from knowing in her head that smoking was bad for her

Prešla je put od znanja u glavi da je pušenje loše za nju

to knowing it in her bones,

do znanja u svojoj srži,

i time je prestala čarolija pušenja.

and the spell of smoking was broken.

She started to become disenchanted with her behavior.

Postala je oslobođena začaranosti u svom ponašanju.

Now, the prefrontal cortex,

Prefrontalni korteks,

that youngest part of our brain from an evolutionary perspective,

najmlađi deo našeg mozga iz evolutivne perspektive,

it understands on an intellectual level that we shouldn't smoke.

razume na intelektualnom nivou da ne treba da pušimo

And it tries its hardest to help us change our behavior,

i daje sve od sebe da bi nam pomogao da promenimo svoje ponašanje,

da bi nam pomogao da prestanemo da pušimo,

to help us stop smoking,

to help us stop eating that second, that third, that fourth cookie.

da bi pomogao da prestanemo da jedemo taj drugi, treći, četvrti kolačić.

We call this cognitive control.

To nazivamo kognitivnom kontrolom.

We're using cognition to control our behavior.

Koristimo kogniciju da bismo kontrolisali svoje ponašanje.

Unfortunately,

Nažalost,

to je takođe prvi deo našeg mozga

this is also the first part of our brain

koji se gasi kada smo pod stresom,

that goes offline when we get stressed out,

što baš i nije od pomoći.

which isn't that helpful.

Now, we can all relate to this in our own experience.

Svi možemo ovo povezati sa sopstvenim iskustvom.

We're much more likely to do things like yell at our spouse or kids

Mnogo su veći izgledi da ćemo vikati na supružnika ili decu

when we're stressed out or tired,

kada smo pod stresom ili umorni,

even though we know it's not going to be helpful.

iako znamo da to neće biti od pomoći.

Prosto ne možemo da se uzdržimo.

We just can't help ourselves.

When the prefrontal cortex goes offline,

Kada se prefrontalni korteks ugasi,

we fall back into our old habits,

vraćamo se našim starim navikama,

which is why this disenchantment is so important.

a zbog toga je tako važno to oslobađanje od čarolija.

Seeing what we get from our habits

Sagledavanje onoga što dobijamo navikama

helps us understand them at a deeper level --

pomaže nam da ih razumemo na dubljem nivou -

to know it in our bones

da ih upoznamo do srži

so we don't have to force ourselves to hold back

tako da ne moramo da se obuzdavamo

or restrain ourselves from behavior.

ili uzdržavamo od nekog ponašanja.

We're just less interested in doing it in the first place.

Samo nas manje zanima da ga upražnjavamo.

And this is what mindfulness is all about:

A u tome je suština usredsređenosti uma:

Seeing really clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors,

jasno sagledavanje onoga što dobijamo kada se zaokupimo našim ponašanjima,

becoming disenchanted on a visceral level

oslobađanje od začaranosti na visceralnom nivou

and from this disenchanted stance, naturally letting go.

i sa te tačke kada nestaje začaranost, prirodno oslobađanje.

This isn't to say that, poof, magically we quit smoking.

To ne znači da, puf, magično prestajemo da pušimo,

But over time, as we learn to see more and more clearly

već vremenom učimo da sve jasnije sagledavamo

posledice naših postupaka,

the results of our actions,

we let go of old habits and form new ones.

oslobađamo se starih navika i stvaramo nove.

The paradox here

Ovde je paradoks

is that mindfulness is just about being really interested

u tome što se usredsređenost uma samo odnosi na stvarno interesovanje

in getting close and personal

za postajanje bliskim i intimnim

with what's actually happening in our bodies and minds

sa onim što se zaista dešava u našem telu i umu

from moment to moment.

u svakom pojedinačnom trenutku.

This willingness to turn toward our experience

Spremnost da se okrenemo ka našem iskustvu

rather than trying to make unpleasant cravings go away as quickly as possible.

umesto da nastojimo da neprijatne želje oteramo što je brže moguće.

And this willingness to turn toward our experience

A ta spremnost da se okrenemo prema svom iskustvu

is supported by curiosity,

podupire radoznalost,

which is naturally rewarding.

koja po svojoj prirodi nagrađuje.

What does curiosity feel like?

Kakav osećaj pruža radoznalost?

It feels good.

Dobar osećaj.

And what happens when we get curious?

A šta se dogodi kada postanemo radoznali?

We start to notice that cravings are simply made up of body sensations --

Počinjemo da primećujemo da su želje prosto sačinjene od telesnih senzacija -

oh, there's tightness, there's tension,

o, ovde je stegnuto, tu je napeto,

there's restlessness --

tamo je nemirno -

and that these body sensations come and go.

a te telesne senzacije dođu i prođu.

These are bite-size pieces of experiences

To su delići iskustva

that we can manage from moment to moment

sa kojima možemo izaći na kraj iz trenutka u trenutak

rather than getting clobbered by this huge, scary craving

umesto da se davimo u tim ogromnim, zastrašujućim željama

that we choke on.

koje nas guše.

In other words, when we get curious,

Drugim rečima, kada postanemo znatiželjni,

we step out of our old, fear-based, reactive habit patterns,

istupamo iz naših starih, reaktivnih šablona zasnovanih na strahu

and we step into being.

i uskačemo u postojanje.

We become this inner scientist

Postajemo unutrašnji naučnici

where we're eagerly awaiting that next data point.

koji željno iščekuju sledeći podatak.

Now, this might sound too simplistic to affect behavior.

Ovo može zvučati previše pojednostavljeno da bi uticalo na ponašanje,

But in one study, we found that mindfulness training

ali u jednoj studiji smo otkrili da je obuka usredsređivanja uma

was twice as good as gold standard therapy at helping people quit smoking.

bila dva puta uspešnija od dobre stare terapije

u pomaganju ljudima da se odviknu od pušenja.

So it actually works.

Dakle, zaista deluje.

And when we studied the brains of experienced meditators,

A kada smo izučavali mozgove ljudi iskusnih u meditaciji,

we found that parts of a neural network of self-referential processing

otkrili smo da su delovi neuralne mreže samoreferentnog procesa

called the default mode network

zvanog podrazumevani režim mreže

were at play.

bili u stanju igre.

Now, one current hypothesis is that a region of this network,

Jedna od sadašnjih hipoteza je da se područje ove mreže,

called the posterior cingulate cortex,

zvano posteriorni cingulatni korteks,

is activated not necessarily by craving itself

ne aktivira nužno samom željom za nečim,

but when we get caught up in it, when we get sucked in,

već kada nas ona obuhvati, kada nas proguta

and it takes us for a ride.

i počne da upravlja nama.

In contrast, when we let go --

Nasuprot tome, kada pustimo,

step out of the process

kada izađemo iz tog procesa

just by being curiously aware of what's happening --

samo time što postanemo radoznalo svesni dešavanja,

this same brain region quiets down.

ista ta oblast mozga se umiri.

Now we're testing app and online-based mindfulness training programs

Testiramo aplikacije i programe obuke usredsređenosti uma na internetu

that target these core mechanisms

koje su usmerene na te suštinske mehanizme

and, ironically, use the same technology that's driving us to distraction

i, ironično, koriste istu tehnologiju koja nas vodi ka odvraćanju pažnje

da nam pomognu da izađemo iz naših obrazaca nezdravih navika

to help us step out of our unhealthy habit patterns

of smoking, of stress eating and other addictive behaviors.

pušenja, prejedanja usled stresa i drugih zavisničkih ponašanja.

Now, remember that bit about context-dependent memory?

Sećate se onog dela o sećanju koje je vezano za kontekst?

We can deliver these tools to peoples' fingertips

Možemo da obezbedimo da ova sredstva budu ljudima na raspolaganju

in the contexts that matter most.

u kontekstima koji su najvažniji.

So we can help them

Tako im možemo pomoći

tap into their inherent capacity to be curiously aware

da urone u svoju prirodnu sposobnost radoznale svesnosti

right when that urge to smoke or stress eat or whatever arises.

baš kada ta potreba za pušenjem

ili jelom usled stresa i tome slično naiđe.

So if you don't smoke or stress eat,

Ako ne pušite i ne jedete zbog stresa,

maybe the next time you feel this urge to check your email when you're bored,

možda sledeći put kada osetite potrebu da proverite imejl kada vam je dosadno,

or you're trying to distract yourself from work,

ili pokušavate da sebi skrenete pažnju sa posla,

or maybe to compulsively respond to that text message when you're driving,

ili možda kompulzivno odgovorite na SMS dok vozite,

see if you can tap into this natural capacity,

vidite da li možete uroniti u ovu prirodnu sposobnost,

just be curiously aware

samo budite radoznalo svesni

of what's happening in your body and mind in that moment.

onoga što se dešava u vašem telu i umu u tom trenutku.

It will just be another chance

Biće to još jedna prilika da vrtimo u krug

to perpetuate one of our endless and exhaustive habit loops ...

jednu od naših beskonačnih i iscrpljujućih navika...

or step out of it.

ili da izađemo iz nje.

Instead of see text message, compulsively text back,

Umesto da vidimo poruku, kompulzivno odgovorimo,

feel a little bit better --

osećamo se malo bolje,

notice the urge,

primetite taj poriv,

get curious,

postanite znatiželjni,

feel the joy of letting go

osetite radost puštanja

and repeat.

i ponovite.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)