Bold Claims:
- What I’m going to talk about this episode is one of the most critical, if not most critical parts of a successful and happy life. Period!
- I’m going to talk about how Willpower is real and can be depleted & boosted
- …but you don’t want to always need or want to use it
- Good or Bad Habits is one of the primary factors deciding your success and happiness
- I’m going to talk about how to eliminate bad habits and build good habits
Some other notes from the episode:
- Earl Nightingale — Strangest Secret 100% habits
- Overcome or AVOID the effects of emotions and feelings…with habits first, then willpower
- When you build and sustain a habit, willpower is not needed (at least much less)
- Example: Yoga/meditation/shoulder exercises in the morning
- You remove a bad habit by replacing it with a good or neutral habit
- …or slightly less bad habit
- Examples:
- bite fingernails instant stop
- watching TV while eating –> watch trainings while eating
- eat ice cream –> eat fruit
- half the sugar in your coffee or tea
- post dinner TV –> post dinner walk
- 21 days…
- True loss of missing 1 day isn’t just that 1 day…it is the whole habit chain…
- Willpower is like a muscle
- You wake up at the beginning of the day with full willpower and you use it throughout the day
- why it is easier to work out at the beginning of the day than it is at the end of the day
- why you eat that frog with your work
- sleep replenishes
- You can build your willpower by giving yourself small willpower challenges AND doing the right thing in response
- M&M jar in your hallway example
- You can reduce or eliminate completely your need for willpower by setting up your environment right
- Example: healthy vs unhealthy food at home
- Example: keep your phone out of arms reach when…
- Meditation is YUGE
- Exercise is YUGE
- Even better than reducing or eliminating is reversing it and making it so you WANT to do the right thing
- Thinking about all the yummy things in salads…and how great I feel after I eat a salad…and how I want to live a long time…etc
- Thinking about how I’ll feel after doing Yoga, Meditation, and regular exercise for 20 years…
- CHANGE YOUR DEFAULT WANTS
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