By Drew Long... Self improvement
Willpower is weak. Environmental influences are much more important than willpower. (1,2)
Information does not lead to action.
Emotions lead to action. (Tweet this) This one is harder to back up with scientific studies, but it has long been my personal experience….over 8 years of studying both my own behavior, and the behavior of others who I’m trying to help. Information allows us to know in which direction we can go, but ultimately, emotions motivate us to take action. See also (2)
The Internet destroys your ability to focus. Unless you’re reading long-form articles or serious journalism. But if you’re using the Internet like most people, it’s eroding your attentional abilities.
Facebook makes you unhappy. Delete your account (unless you’re using it for business.) (3)
Today’s processed foods are engineered to flood the reward centers of your brain, and potentially trigger food addictions that will wreck your health and wellbeing. Eat vegetables instead. (4,5)
Exercise makes your brain bigger. It also gives you more self-control, lifts depression, and stamps out anxiety. (6)
Meditation makes your brain bigger. It also gives you more self-control, lifts depression, and stamps out anxiety. Because of how important this is, we built a 30-day program that trains you daily to build a meditation habit daily. It’s the easiest way to build a 20-minute a day habit. (7)
Give up alcohol. The breakdown of alcohol in your body creates toxins that cause cancer. It is also extra calories that will contribute to extra fat storage. The additional toxic load can make you sick. And drinking and driving (or just being out around other drunk drivers) can kill you. Give up alcohol. Our buddy James Swanwick has a great program for doing just this which you can check out here (affiliate link). (10)
Take time off work. Overwork drains your willpower and makes you stressed and sick. (We speak from personal experience.) Take targeted time off work for active recovery, rest and relaxation. Here is a list of 14 healthy habits that will help you recover.
Maximize neurotransmitters oxytocin, GABA and serotonin. Minimize activities that have you chasing the dopamine dragon. Activities that stimulate dopamine: shopping, gambling, pornography, binge eating. Activities that stimulate serotonin, oxytocin & GABA: getting a massage, swing in a hammock, spending time with loved ones, meditating, praying, listening to music, reading. (See The Willpower Instinct.)
- The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- Review this brief presentation on Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
- Paper The Physiology of Willpower: Linking Blood Glucose to Self Control; see also studies by Baba Shiv at Stanford
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
- The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
- Facebook Use Predicts Decline in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
- Evidence for sugar addiction
- Daily bingeing on sugar releases dopamine
- Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey
- A whole host of studies on how meditation increases cortical thickness
- Ahluwalia & Burnkrant, 2004; Burnkrat & Howards, 1984; Hotgraves & Yang, 1990; Sheldon et all 2003.
- Literature review of effects of sleep deprivation on decision making
- http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
Reminder to self...
- Create a measurable plan
- Write plan out
- Envison the plan as reality
- Find a tribe for support
- Take action and commit every day even if for 1 min
- Limit time on social media - internet
- Meditate and exercise religiously
- Stick to sleep pattern
- Fail , reflect, accept, understand, find another way and try again.