The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

by Alex Korb

Those feelings of frustration or self-judgment are all sources of stress, making it more likely that you’ll keep doing your old habits. The key to change comes in the moment after you realize you didn’t enact your intended habit. That special moment is an opportunity for the prefrontal cortex to reassert itself, to remind yourself of your goal and try again. Yes, you will probably have many slipups, but if you give up after a slipup, you’ve only trained your striatum to give up. You’ll probably hear a little voice inside your head telling you to give up, but the more you listen to that voice, the more it becomes habit and the harder it is to resist. Every time you stick to your goals, the voice gets softer.

never give up seems to apply to brain also