Lesson 1: Bad habits

You know it’s never easy to break your bad habits since the bad always come with great
pleasure. For example, instead of sweating at the gym every afternoon, we can just stay home
and watch Netflix. However, the present biases may distract you from the long-term
consequences of these unhealthy habits. So, the big question here is, how can you get rid of
your bad habits?

First, I want you to watch this video. You will get your solution, based on science! You can turn
on English/Vietnamese subtitle for your better understanding.

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

Finished? Good job!

Alright, now answer some follow-up questions:

1. What are the technical terms used by the author for this process?
“Calories! ... Survival!" We eat the food, we taste it -- it tastes good”
Hint: T – B – R

Trigger, behavior, reward.

2. According to the author, what do obesity and smoking cause?

Obesity and smoking causes many diseases and mortality.

3. How can you understand mindfulness training from the author’s experiment?

Mindfulness training focuses on being curious rather than forcing

The questions are easy, right?

Now that you have some ideas of the author’s method. Let’s try on yourself:

Step 1: List out one (or two if you are very very bad haha) bad habits that you would like to drop.
Remember to make it specific because it means you are taking the very first step towards mindfulness.

Bad habit 1:

Bad habit 2:

Step 2: Do it. Yes, just do it (quoted Nike). But of course, as we are on our training, you should do it
consciously (If you don’t understand this word, I suppose I can accuse you of not revising what we have
learned in Lesson 1! Shame!!).
Step 3: As you are now consciously doing your bad habit(s), pay attention to your feeling, your thoughts
or your body reactions to it. Like the example of smoking cigarettes in the video.

Step 4: Simply list out everything you have noticed from your experience down here. The good, the bad.
E v e r y t h i n g ! You can write more after each time you do it. Like a journal.

How do you feel?

Is there any negative reactions from your body?
Is there any task delayed while you are doing your habit?

Step 5: Alright. Now that you have your ideas. How about writing an essay for this IELTS writing task 2
question?

Scientists tell us that some activities are good for health and others are bad. Despite
knowing that, millions of people still continue doing unhealthy activities. What are the
causes and what are the solutions for this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Type your essay here.
Dictionary is acceptable, but not ideas from others. Use your own ideas.
No pressure :)
(optional) Step 6: Finally, make your own list of diamond vocabulary from the video.

Word Meaning Example in a sentence

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Thank you for staying ‘til the end. I know a simple practice cannot immediately change your habit but it
helps you have a clearer understanding of a scientifically proven method. Whether you have learned
some new words or some more ideas on this topic (or nothing!), I believe you did learn something after
going through every step with me 😊

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to let me know your opinion.

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