Those gaps or breaks in our habits don't happen very frequently. We get an electric shock if we touch the wrong buttons, so we spend our time avoiding the shocks and looking for pleasure. But with that approach we are not fully living, we are limited to seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. But instead of operating out of habit we could opt for sanity. We could have a richer life.
Meditation creates the opportunity for a gap in habitual patterns.
The technique provides the possibility of practicing being present. The practice of meditation is a mindfulness technique that promotes inquisitiveness and discourages the habitual tendency to ignore our basic state of mind. We all experience habitual patterns. Upon examination, I think you will discover that they occur much more frequently than you are aware. This is the starting point of Buddhism.