What will I learn about: how your conscious and automatic selves dictate your actions, and learn to overcome bad behavior by actively training your automatic self?

Discover how your conscious and automatic selves dictate your actions, and learn to overcome bad behavior by actively training your automatic self.

What will I learn about: how your brain physically changes through repeated actions, allowing you to replace bad habits by forging new, positive neural connections?

Understand how your brain physically changes through repeated actions, allowing you to replace bad habits by forging new, positive neural connections.

What will I learn about: Uncover how unconscious self-serving biases deceive you into justifying self-destructive actions by blindly blaming your faults on the outside world?

Uncover how unconscious self-serving biases deceive you into justifying self-destructive actions by blindly blaming your faults on the outside world.

What will I learn about: Realize why repressing natural emotions like anger and guilt causes your two minds to miscommunicate, ultimately triggering explosive and self-destructive outbursts?

Realize why repressing natural emotions like anger and guilt causes your two minds to miscommunicate, ultimately triggering explosive and self-destructive outbursts.

What will I learn about: Learn to recognize certain self-destructive tendencies as unconscious cries for help or symptoms of emotional defeat, rather than simple character flaws?

Learn to recognize certain self-destructive tendencies as unconscious cries for help or symptoms of emotional defeat, rather than simple character flaws.

Rewire

Change Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer Self-Destructive Behavior

Richard O'Connor

★ 4.1 / 5(318 ratings)

Start ListeningDownload QR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App Store

Try free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds

Categories:

Mindfulness & Happiness Psychology

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why we sabotage our own happiness by repeating the same self-destructive habits over and over again?
💡Did you know that your brain has a "hidden" operating system that drives your bad habits—and there’s a specific way to override it?
💡What if you could bridge the gap between knowing what’s good for you and actually doing it by physically changing your brain’s wiring?

Listen to Rewire — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Rewire

✓Discover how your conscious and automatic selves dictate your actions, and learn to overcome bad behavior by actively training your automatic self.
✓Understand how your brain physically changes through repeated actions, allowing you to replace bad habits by forging new, positive neural connections.
✓Uncover how unconscious self-serving biases deceive you into justifying self-destructive actions by blindly blaming your faults on the outside world.
✓Realize why repressing natural emotions like anger and guilt causes your two minds to miscommunicate, ultimately triggering explosive and self-destructive outbursts.
✓Learn to recognize certain self-destructive tendencies as unconscious cries for help or symptoms of emotional defeat, rather than simple character flaws.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Rewire

Mind Map

Rewire

The Two Brain Systems+

Roots of Destructive Behavior+

Addiction and Relapse+

Strategies for Rewiring+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7

According to the book, what is the most effective way to overcome bad behavior and prevent doing things you regret?

A. Strengthening the conscious self to constantly monitor all actions.
B. Training the automatic self to stop slipping into negative patterns.
C. Eliminating the automatic self entirely through deep meditation.
D. Relying solely on the conscious self's rational reasoning.

Question 2 of 7

How does the brain physically respond when you repeatedly perform a new positive action, such as going to the gym?

A. It depletes dopamine reserves to make the action feel less strenuous over time.
B. It shuts down the conscious self temporarily to conserve energy.
C. It prunes old memories to make room for new habit formations.
D. Its nerve cells grow more connections with each other, bonding related actions.

Question 3 of 7

How does the 'self-serving bias' typically manifest in our behavior?

A. We claim responsibility for our good characteristics but blame our faults on the outside world.
B. We constantly serve others to avoid dealing with our own emotional trauma.
C. We assume that our negative traits are inherited and therefore impossible to change.
D. We take the blame for others' mistakes to maintain harmony in our relationships.

Question 4 of 7

What does the author suggest about the nature of emotions like fear and anger?

A. They are inherently wrong and must be suppressed by the conscious self.
B. They are purely rational responses that guide us to make better decisions.
C. They are simple reactions that cannot be 'wrong' since they are not based on reason.
D. They are the primary cause of undertow and must be eliminated to achieve mindfulness.

Question 5 of 7

For 'defeated' people who have tried and failed to fix themselves too many times, what is the recommended strategy?

A. Admit complete powerlessness over their entire lives.
B. Wait for the unconscious self to seek attention from others.
C. Completely isolate themselves from negative influences.
D. Set more realistic and manageable expectations to avoid disappointment.

Question 6 of 7

In the context of addiction and recovery, what is the phenomenon known as 'undertow'?

A. The physical withdrawal symptoms experienced during the first two weeks of quitting.
B. The tendency to slip back into old, etched-in brain patterns after a minor mistake.
C. The emotional breakdown that occurs when repressed anger is finally released.
D. The gradual loss of motivation that happens when goals are set too high.

Question 7 of 7

How does the concept of 'Fake it till you make it' apply to rewiring the brain?

A. Pretending to have no bad habits will eventually trick the conscious self into forgetting them.
B. Faking your emotions helps suppress negative feelings like guilt and anger.
C. Practicing self-control, even when difficult at first, eventually makes it an automatic habit.
D. Pretending to be someone else allows you to escape the self-serving bias.

Rewire — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2We have two selves guiding our actions — and we can learn to control them better, too.
3Some habits can push you toward self-destructive behavior.
4Suppressed emotions can make us become self-destructive.
5Self-destructive behavior may also stem from seeking attention, pervasive unhappiness, or losing the motivation to address and solve problems effectively.
6Addictions and undertow are two additional forms of self-destructive behavior.
7We can undo bad habits through mindfulness and self-control practice.

Rewire Summary & Overview

Rewire is about why we sometimes fall into self-destructive behavior, and how to move past it.

It delves into the brain activity behind addictions, and outlines strategies for rewiring yourself for improved self-control over your bad habits.

Who Should Listen to Rewire?

Anyone struggling to overcome a bad habit or addictions
Anyone looking to help a loved one with an addiction
Anyone who wants to gain more peace of mind and self-control

About the Author: Richard O'Connor

Richard O'Connor is a psychotherapist. He's also the former executive director of the Northwest Center for Family Service and Mental Health in Connecticut, USA.

Rewire

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Rewire — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Rewire

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Rewire — Full Chapter Overview

Rewire Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Rewire?

About the Author: Richard O'Connor

Books Similar to Rewire