<aside> <img src="/icons/bullseye_gray.svg" alt="/icons/bullseye_gray.svg" width="40px" /> The Goal

The goal of the template is not to kill bad habits immediately.

Going cold turkey doesn’t work for deeply rooted bad habits.

Your goal for this template is instead to strengthen the connection of your frontal lobe to your cannabinoid circuitry. (More on the science here: The Science)

A relapse done mindfully is a win.

Over time, you’ll watch your behavior change on its own.

You’ll start saying “no” to your bad habits more and more.

Discipline will get easier and easier.

Trust the process.

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I. Setup

• [ ] Go to Setup.
• [ ] Follow along the steps in the page.
  • [ ] Step 1: Add the habit
  • [ ] Step 2: Add the cue
  • [ ] Step 3: Create the Daily Habit template
  • [ ] Step 4: Add the last relapse
  • [ ] Step 5: Setup complete

II. Track your habits

• [ ] Go to The Choice.
  • [ ] Drag the habit to what happened during the day:
    • Choose “🠜 Bad Relapse” if you automatically defaulted to your bad habit.
    • Choose “🠞 Mindful Relapse” if you relapsed but did so mindfully and with full awareness.
      • How do I do this?
    • Choose “🠞 Good” if you remained sober.
• [ ] Go to Reflection.
  • [ ] Reflect on what happened.
  • [ ] Use this to help increase your awareness of your bad habits. Write about the sensations you felt, or what specific feeling you encountered that urged you to relapse.
  • [ ] Add the specific feeling as a new cue in Step 2: Add the cue.
  • [ ] Mark as Favorite the entries you think will be useful to you in the future.

III. Visit your Statistics.

• [ ] Go to Statistics and explore the data created by your own behavior.

<aside> <img src="/icons/dna_gray.svg" alt="/icons/dna_gray.svg" width="40px" /> The Science

Dopamine is not always the problem.

Don’t fall for the dopamine echo chamber of the internet.

Bad habits are not forever sustained by pleasure.

Initially, they feel good because they are regulated by dopamine.

But over time, they become automated behavior.

Deeply rooted bad habits are not regulated by dopamine, but by the neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids in the cannabinoid circuitry of the brain.

This is why even though they don’t feel good anymore, you still do them anyway.

Limited (or zero) pleasure is involved in long-term bad habits.

Dopamine is not always the problem.

Hence, going cold turkey is not always the solution.

The template uses a habit breaking method best explained in this video focused on strengthening one part of your brain (frontal lobe) to automate your regulation of the addicted part of your brain (cannabinoid circuitry).

This template plays the long game, but ensures a better win rate than ordinary habit trackers.

• Disclaimer </aside>