How to Stop Watching TV
the Easy Way … use RAIN
Here is a serious but easy way to stop watching network TV using the acronym RAIN.
- R – Recognize: The next time you find yourself starting to watch TV notice what’s happening.
- A – Allow: Don’t fight it. Accept what’s happening.
- I – Investigate: Instead, right (1) before you start and (2) after you stop and think about how you feel at the moment, what preceded it, and what will follow. E.g., After you are through you might note that you felt it was a waste of time since the shows found were lousy and 40% of what you saw were ads.
- N – Note: Make a point of taking and remembering a few key mental notes (e.g., couldn’t find a decent show, 40% ads) so that you can recall them later as you study similar instances in the future.
What you will find is that your inner self will eventually figure out what is beneficial to you and what is not. If you study the patterns carefully you will automatically develop over time a distaste for things which your inner self begins to realize, deep inside, do not benefit you.
This tip definitely works for network TV; I’ve tried it. RAIN is scientifically based and works for many other cravings as well. For more details see RAIN.
Related Sources & Links top
- Tips Overview – More of our best tips
- How To Conquer Unhealthy Cravings
- The Craving Mind by Judson Brewer, M.D., Ph.D. & Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness – Discusses RAIN and other modern research about breaking bad habits. Chapter 1 is the source of most of the material in this article and the page numbers shown are from this book.
- Ted Talk – Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Notice the urge, get curious, feel the joy of satisfying your curiosity, then repeat. I.e., Become a detective.
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