Page 45 - Prevention (February 2020)
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about refilling their bottles. Inspired, urge to snack, text while driving, shop
I created a little game for myself: Any online, or smoke.” Rooted in the field
time someone refilled their bottle, I’d of mindfulness, it involves stopping
take a sip from my own. It worked! the moment the urge hits and asking
I now take multiple sips per hour. yourself why you’re doing it.
Karmarkar says I’ve tapped into the Let’s say you’re anxiously ransacking
benefits of gamification, or turning a your desk for candy. “Step back for a
task into something fun in order to moment and observe what’s happen-
encourage yourself—think of sticker ing,” Dr. Brewer suggests. “Get curious
charts parents use to get their kids to about your craving. Maybe you’ll
brush their teeth. For an adult, rewards think, Wow, I’m like a zombie on
like avatars, badges, and points “serve autopilot.” Or perhaps you’ll realize
as concrete markers to help move you don’t even feel like eating candy
yourself forward, because accomplish- right now—it’s just what you have
ing a goal feels good,” she says. “You’re conditioned yourself to do when work
rewarding yourself for making the stress hits. Being present interrupts
effort as opposed to punishing yourself the habit loop and lets you take back
for having failed.” Indeed, millions some of its power by slowing you
of FitBit users have switched from down and “helping you start to
“I should have exercised more” to see how unrewarding the original
“I hit 5,000 steps!” behavior was,” Dr. Brewer says.
TRY THIS: Lots of apps use TRY THIS: An app created by
gamification to help people break Dr. Brewer called Eat Right Now
bad habits and create healthy ones: ($24.99 a month on iOS and Android)
Habitica (free for iOS) turns annoy- employs mindfulness to help users
ing habits into monsters for you to break the cycle of craving-induced
slay; Zombies, Run (free for iOS) eating. Another option: Ate (free on
tricks you into interval training by iOS and Android).
challenging you to outrun zombies.
With SuperBetter (free for Android), I was dubious that curiosity could
you unlock “superpowers,” or feel rewarding enough to satisfy my
personal strengths, as you level up.
urge to scroll mindlessly. But after
trying it a few times, I found that by
reflecting on the why, I was, in fact,
4. Look your habit able to close the tab before I got sucked
squarely in the eye into reading. Only time will tell if it
Dr. Brewer calls this strategy “a simple sticks. But now I know that even if
but profound way to beat your next there’s no will(power), there’s a way.
F E B RUARY 2020 • PREVENTION.COM 41
