When there’s an open patch of grass at a corner, kids will take shortcuts, and soon that grass becomes hard ground. Long ago, people created paths as they walked from one place to another; horses and oxen enlarged these paths, which eventually turned into paved roads. Nowadays, we effortlessly follow these well-used routes when we want to reach a destination.
This concept applies similarly to our brains and the muscles and organs that react to what they tell them to do. As neurons consistently activate in a certain pattern, a pathway forms, making it easier to choose that route. Neurons that “fire together, wire together.” This is how we learn to communicate, play instruments, create art, and even develop habits like smoking and overeating.
In The Craving Mind, Judson Brewer emphasizes that forming memories (which create pathways to revisit) is as primal and ingrained as life itself. Eric Kandel received the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2000 for showing that even a simple sea slug—far less complex than humans—uses a basic “two-option strategy” to improve its survival: “move toward food, move away from danger.” Similarly, we’ve evolved to remember what is food and where to find it, which allows us to return to these sources. Importantly, food also provides a reward, triggering brain chemicals that signal hunger is satisfied. Delicious!
Brewer points out that this reward-based learning can be easily manipulated to form other habits: Observe popular kids smoking. Smoke to fit in. Get recognized as cool. Experience pleasure. Create a positive memory. Desire to repeat the action.
Once a pathway is established, it creates a continuous loop; we keep going back. Seeing others smoke strongly signals us, leading our brains to think “that will improve my mood or reduce discomfort.” A feeling of longing or craving arises in our body. We then act to satisfy this craving and light up. We enjoy the good feeling (our reward), but we also begin to see the world differently. Psychologists describe this as increased “salience,” meaning we start to perceive our surroundings through a lens that makes smoking opportunities appear everywhere. The habit strengthens, and this heightened salience brings more cues and triggers, keeping the cycle going. On and on we spiral.
Practicing mindfulness can disrupt this repetitive cycle, as illustrated in the diagram designed by Brewer below.