Charlotte Center For Mindfulness // Podcasts
Sep 18, 2026 · 23 min · 7 segments
In this reflection on Judson Brewer’s “gear 3”, we explore how useful an analogy of riding a wild horse is for understanding our own reactivity.
more than bravery ever can curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery ever can so habit loop trigger behavior reward uh gear one is noticing oh I'm in a habit loop.
I had a morning yesterday, we have two 50 plus pound dogs and two very noticeable, I don't know what the word, present cats.
And I was out on the porch yesterday morning wanting to just settle down into my sit and all the animals were like doing this stuff and needing this and that.
And I was like, ah, I had this moment of like, how many animals? Um, and then I just like, right on me saying that I was like, oh, this is a habit loop, um, aversion, uh, trigger.
Like they all four want something from me right now.
That's the trigger.
If I'm not paying attention.
That's not the trigger.
That's the problem.
The problem is all four animals wanting something right now.
I'm not even seeing what's really going on.
It's just like too many animals and that's it.
Year one is, oh, all of this like animal energy triggered a behavior for me.
which is, I don't want this.
That was my behavior in response to the trigger.
The reward If I don't catch that that's what's going on, I'm still in reverse, is that I'm frustrated and irritated and I get them fed and then I finally sit and I'm like, oh, I've got to sit.
But now, you know, like that's what I carry into my sit.
And I think about like what I lost.
That's my reward for staying stuck in that habit loop.
Gear one, I catch, oh, I'm in a habit loop.
Trigger is them acting this way.
Behavior is me acting this way.
I can see this irritation at my beloved four animals.
We do not have too many animals.
more than bravery ever can curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery ever can so habit loop trigger behavior reward uh gear one is noticing oh I'm in a habit loop.
I had a morning yesterday, we have two 50 plus pound dogs and two very noticeable, I don't know what the word, present cats.
And I was out on the porch yesterday morning wanting to just settle down into my sit and all the animals were like doing this stuff and needing this and that.
And I was like, ah, I had this moment of like, how many animals? Um, and then I just like, right on me saying that I was like, oh, this is a habit loop, um, aversion, uh, trigger.
Like they all four want something from me right now.
That's the trigger.
If I'm not paying attention.
That's not the trigger.
That's the problem.
The problem is all four animals wanting something right now.
I'm not even seeing what's really going on.
It's just like too many animals and that's it.
Year one is, oh, all of this like animal energy triggered a behavior for me.
which is, I don't want this.
That was my behavior in response to the trigger.
The reward If I don't catch that that's what's going on, I'm still in reverse, is that I'm frustrated and irritated and I get them fed and then I finally sit and I'm like, oh, I've got to sit.
But now, you know, like that's what I carry into my sit.
And I think about like what I lost.
That's my reward for staying stuck in that habit loop.
Gear one, I catch, oh, I'm in a habit loop.
Trigger is them acting this way.
Behavior is me acting this way.
I can see this irritation at my beloved four animals.
We do not have too many animals.
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