Organizational Change

February 1, 2017

Recap: Basil Ganglia, Habit Loop, Starting Habits (Defining Rewards and Cues), Changing Habits (awareness, routine replacement, belief, community), Addiction as a Disease, Breaking Addictions

“Addiction can be defined as persistent, compulsive drug use/behavior in the face of increasingly negative life consequences.” – David Linden

Breaking Addictions

1.   Acceptance

Ephesians 5:8-13.

We cannot force people to acceptance, but we can “raise up the bottom.”

Insane no pain -> Insane with pain -> Sane

This is God’s challenge with human sin – CS Lewis speaks of “the megaphone of pain.”

2.  External Support

Belief and Community

For the supports of addicts – danger of co-dependence.

- Clear guidelines for supporters: I will do whatever is helpful to get you sober, and nothing that might contribute to your disease.  No secrets.  We cannot exacerbate another’s addiction.

- Understanding the addiction pattern/signs

3.  Habit Modification

Routine Replacement (AA)

4.  Relapse Plan

Accountability, grace, process. 

Jesus – how many times should I forgive my brother?

But, am I following #2 above – only helping, not hurting?

Homework Check In

How’s it going with starting and changing existing habits?

Keystone Habits and Organizational Change

Alcoa and the Worker Safety Revolution – What makes for a keystone habit?

-         Clear objective and defined habit loop

-         Cascading effects

Exercise, dinner with your family, making your bed in the morning, reading Scripture, etc.

Jesus’ teaching model – keystone habits and worldview change

Widespread change begins with small wins.

Expanded Community – Strong ties, weak ties, self-propulsion

Creating new cultural habits and expectations – Civil Rights Movement

Jesus’ church model – the 1, 3, 12, 70, and 5,000

How the Church Changes

Keystone Habits and small wins for individuals - New Movement Readings

Keystone Habits and small wins for community - WIGS (Small wins, widespread change)

Expanded Community - Lenten Small Groups, Supper Clubs, Mission Trips, etc.

Creating a self-propelled culture - ?

Conversation: Discussion Questions

1.       What are existing keystone habits in your life?  What might be a keystone habit to affect change for you?  How do you dig until you find such a habit?

2.      Describe your ties to the church.  Do you have strong ties to 6+ people?  Weak ties to many more?  If yes, what helped you make those connections?  If no, what is preventing you from making those connections?

3.      What are the cultural expectations of CCPC?  How are they similar or different to those of the kingdom of heaven?

4.      What habits are you starting or stopping to deepen your relationship with Jesus?  Recall the pattern of habit formation from this course and write out a plan to identify the steps of the habit loop, find community support, and engage God in the process.

Addition: Habits+

January 25th

 Recap: Basil Ganglia, Habit Loop, Starting Habits (Defining Rewards and Cues), Changing Habits (awareness, routine replacement, belief, community)

Defining Addiction and Pleasure

“Addiction can be defined as persistent, compulsive drug use/behavior in the face of increasingly negative life consequences.” – David Linden

Addiction Pattern/Signs

1.  Tolerance – requiring a larger dose for the same effect

2.  Dependence – experience of negative mental and physical symptoms without drug

3.  Craving – overwhelming desire triggered by physical, environmental or emotional cues

4.  Pleasure replaced by desire – liking becomes wanting (new normal)

5.  Relapse – often caused by triggers/cues + stress

6.  Drug sensitization – small does after period of abstinence produces huge rush

Can you be addicted to food, sex, gambling, video games, etc?

Yes – these can produce the above effects and a similar biological experience in the brain.

Addiction is a Disease

Why do some folks become addicts and others don’t?  We don’t know, but there are many likely factors including genetics.  This is partly why we call addiction a disease.

Addiction as disease vs addiction as criminal or immoral behavior; disease more effectively captures the reality of the situation.

Are we letting addicts off the hook for their behaviors by using the language of disease?  No – “a disease model of addiction holds that the development of addiction is not the addict’s responsibility.  However, recovering from addiction is.” – David Linden

Destruction of community and potential isolation developed an addiction-friendly culture.

The Medial Forebrain Pleasure Circuit:  Drugs that do not affect the medial forebrain pleasure circuit (LSD, SSRIs like Prozac, etc) do not produce addictions.  Behaviors that DO affect the circuit (eating, sex, gambling, video games, etc) DO produce addictions.

“The activity of the pleasure circuit in isolation results in a lifeless pleasure lacking color and depth. What makes pleasure so compelling is that, through the interconnection of the pleasure circuit with other brain regions, we adorn it with memory, with associations and emotions and social meaning, with sights, sounds, and smells. A circuit-level model of pleasure shows us what is necessary but not sufficient.” - David Linden

Breaking Addictions

1.   Acceptance

Ephesians 5:8-13.

We cannot force people to acceptance, but we can “raise up the bottom.”

Insane no pain -> Insane with pain -> Sane

This is God’s challenge with human sin – CS Lewis speaks of “the megaphone of pain.”

2.  External Support

Belief and Community

For the supports of addicts – danger of co-dependence.

- Clear guidelines for supporters: I will do whatever is helpful to get you sober, and nothing that might contribute to your disease.  No secrets.  We cannot exacerbate another’s addiction.

- Understanding the addiction pattern/signs

3.  Habit Modification

Routine Replacement (AA)

4.  Relapse Plan

Accountability, grace, process. 

Jesus – how many times should I forgive my brother?

But, am I following #2 above – only helping, not hurting?

Conversation: Discussion Questions

1.    Have you or a loved one dealt with some kind of addiction?  What was the most painful aspect of that process?

2.    Have you struggled to accept the idea of addiction as a disease, or behavior addiction vs substance addiction?  Why or why not?  Did this class change those ideas for you?

3.    What challenges have you had in helping people with their addictions?  What can you do to help someone you care about who is dealing with their addiction?

4.    If you’re an addict or recovering addict, what stages/signs of the addiction pattern can you identify in your own life?  What have you done to get support?

5.    Where is God in the midst of your addiction, or of the addictions of those you love?

Changing Existing Habits

Recap: Basil Ganglia, Habit Loop, Renewing our Minds, Defining Rewards and Cues

3 Obstacles to Change

1.       Lack of Awareness

Myth - Change happens through will power.  Instead, we see this model:

White knuckle change à abstinence/cold turkey à relapse

This is also known as Sin, Repent, RepeatOur first problem is a lack of awareness; we don’t know why we engage in the habit.

2.       Lack of Process

Myth - Long term goals will motivate me to change.  Remember, we are short-sighted creatures.  Our second problem is lack of process; we don’t know how to change.

3.      Lack of Support

Myth – hitting rock bottom will change me/others.  While this can be helpful, but without skills, people and belief, I still won’t change.  Our third problem is a lack of support; we cannot make change stick without God and people.

4 Solutions to the 3 Obstacles

1.       Awareness Training

Ephesians 5:8-13.  We must engage in awareness training.  Don’t begin with the goal of stopping the habit; begin by making a list of your cues (triggers) and rewards.  Dig below the surface level answers for more significant and transferable cues/rewards.  This may be a painful process.  Do you know what your habit exists to solve?

2.      Process - Habit Replacement

Luke 11:24-26.  We cannot simply stop doing a behavior; this leads to relapse.  Change routine, keep the same cue and reward.  Craving will work with you rather than against you.

3.       Belief (Support)

Mark 11:22-26.  Secular habit replacement therapy tends to be less effective; in times of extreme stress, we revert to prior habits and behaviors unless we belief that God can change us. 

4.       Community (Support)

Acts 2:37-47.  When people join groups where change seems possible, the potential for that change to occur seems more real.  Profound change rarely happens alone. 

Conversation: Discussion Questions

1.       What is the habit you want to change?  Have you ever tried to change this habit before?  If so, why didn’t it work (in light of this material)?

2.      Which of the three obstacles have you most struggled with and why?

3.      Do you think you already understand your cue and reward for your habit?  If not, how will you go about making your observations and reflecting on your rewards?

4.      How does your faith in God and belief that he can change you affect your habit?

5.      Do you have a community (even just one other person) who is engaged in helping you change your habit?  Where can you find community for your specific habit?  NOTE – Talk to Jim Gates if you need help with this! 

Starting New Habits

Recap: Basil Ganglia, Habit Loop, Renewing our Minds

Romans 12:1-2

1.        Reward planning: Short vs Long Term

What drugs are most habit forming?  Heroin, Cocaine, Tobacco, Alcohol, Marajuna?  Why?

In habit formation, frequent small rewards are more effective than infrequent large ones.  Note that frequent is not the same as constant; constant rewards can be less effective in many situations.

Our brains naturally focus on short term gains over and against long term gains.  How does this play out in our response to sin, suffering, death, wealth, etc?

Hebrews 11:1.  Faith is so hard because it is unnatural; it is supernatural. 

Key concept: new habits may be motivated by a long term good but require a short term gain in the habit loop.

You can have multiple rewards for one habit loop – this is important.

2.       Reward planning; Internal vs External

Tolerance.  Options to increase volume, increase frequency, or change reward.

Shift from external to internal.

Febreeze – creating a new habit with no obvious cue and when those who need it most don’t appreciate the reward.  Prayer, mediation, fasting, tithing, worship – so many spiritual disciplines fall into this category.

Engineer a loop, create a craving.

Craving can become obsession in addiction; but it can also help us move from external to internal rewards.

Key concept: train yourself to anticipate the reward before it comes.

3.       Cue planning; the easy part

West Virginia Miners – you can create a cue for anything.

Essential qualities of a cue:

-         must occur on its own

-         must happen as frequently as the desired habit

-         must be fairly stable and consistent (remember, habits are delicate)

Conversation: Discussion Questions
 

1.       What is the habit you want to begin?  Have you ever tried to begin this habit before?  If so, why didn’t it work (in light of this material)?

2.      Does the long term/short term concept ring true to you?  How have you seen this in your own life? 

3.      Why are external rewards, over time, less effective than internal ones?  Can you think of any exceptions?

4.      What cravings can you identify in your own life?   

5.      What are some simple cues for the habit you want to start? 

Understanding Habits - January 4, 2017

Scripture References:

Romans 12:1-2

Ephesians 4:17-31

What does it mean to “renew our minds”?

Two concepts:

1. To be equipped with new stories and worldviews (you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free).
2. To be retrained with new habits - routines that shape our lives and about which we rarely have to think.

What habits would you like to see changed in your life?  What habits would you like to add to your life?

Brain Anatomy – Frontal Lobe vs Basil Ganglia.

The frontal lobe manages conscious thought, decision making, memory, etc.

The basil ganglia manages automatic behaviors like breathing, eating, walking, etc. 

Key concept - Habits exist in a separate portion of the brain from logic, reason and memory.

Habits emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort.  We call this “chunking.”  Chunking - from brushing your toothpaste to getting dress or making lunch.  Or backing your car out of a driveway.

Key concept - Brain has to know when to cede control to a habit and when to maintain active processing.  So it looks for something we call a “Cue” that lets it know what pattern to use.  For the rat, this is the click.  If the rat heard a MEOW, it would use a different pattern.

Then, at the end of the habit, the brain wakes up when it gets the reward to confirm everything happened as expected.

Habit only works in the presence of the stimulus – hence reward-based stimuli are more effective than punishment based stimuli.

This is the Habit Loop - cue - routine – reward.

When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making, so it can divert to other tasks.  So unless you deliberately fight a habit, finding new routines, the pattern will happen automatically.  

But, understanding the process is critical to changing it.  It takes conscious work to change unconscious behavior

Habits are both durable and delicate.  Most importantly, your brain can’t distinguish between good and bad habits.

Reflection – what good and bad habits do you have or want?

Conversation: Discussion Questions
 

1.       Have you ever had the experience of being on autopilot while driving?  Or another situation where you were performing a complex task without conscious thought?

2.      Explain the Habit Loop to someone else.  Does this make sense to you?

3.      What spiritual habits would you like to include in your life?  What habits do you want to see changed?

4.      Have you ever relied on will power to change a habit?  How did that go?

5.      Why do you think God wired us to have these habits? 

6.      Re-read Romans 12:1-1.  How is this process of habit formation part of your worship?

Time for a Change: Making and Breaking Habits

Course Objectives:

1.      Equip participants with an understanding of the Scriptural and scientific tools for habit formation and habit change

2.      Equip participants with an understanding of addiction and how addiction and habits interrelate

3.      Aid in the creation or alteration of a specific habit for each person

Course Outline:

Habit formation is a critical component of the Christian life and often overlooked in our discipleship practices for both children and adults.  Our brief 5 week class will divide the conversation about habits into the following sections:

January 4 – Understanding Habits

January 11 – Starting and Changing Habits

January 18 – Starting and Changing Habits Continued/Societal Habits

January 25 – Addiction: Habits +

February 1 – Helping Others: Passing It On

Individual Application

Each participant is asked to select one specific habit they would like to start or change.  It may be advantageous for this to be a habit you are comfortable discussing.  Bring your specific habit idea to our January 11th class.

Recommended Resources:

This class will draw heavily upon Charles Duhigg’s marvelous book, The Power of Habit.  You are strongly encouraged to pick up a copy and read it at your own pace to reinforce the concepts discussed in class.

For a technical understanding of addiction in the brain, consider David J. Linden’s The Compass of Pleasure.

Those looking to add spiritual habits into their lives might consider Richard Foster’s The Celebration of Discipline.

Class recordings will be posted each week on the podcast barring any technical difficulties.  Notes will be emailed out via the blog each week.