Yesterday, I talked about how to structure
your environment to overcome temptation. Taking control of your environment is
helpful because it reduces the amount of decisions that you have to make.
Research by Roy Baumeister out of Florida State suggest that the difference
between people who have strong self-control or willpower and people who don’t
is really an illusion. (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011) The people with a
strong willpower simply structure their world in such a way that they save
their willpower for those really tough times. (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011)
Apparently, the human willpower is not infinite and it is one of the primary
reasons humans create mental shortcuts (heuristics) to reduce the amount of
conscious decisions one has to make. (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011)
(Kahneman, 2011) According to Baumeister the reason you tend to binge at the
end of the day is because you have been using your willpower to resist
temptations all day long. (Baumeister & Tierney,
2011) (McGonigal, 2012) The best strategies for dealing with
this dilemma is to structure your environment in such a manner that there
is nothing to resist or revamp your judgement about what is good and bad.
(Baumeister & Tierney, 2011) (McGonigal, 2012) (Jowett, 2008)
The first part of the strategy is rather simple and straightforward, but the second part has some special challenges. The success of our species has been the direct result of numerous genetic propensities that have evolved over time. (Wilson, 2012) (Saplosky, 2004) The reason incest is repulsive to 99% of us is because it was detrimental to the perpetuation of a strong species. (Wilson, 2012) For the majority of our species history our next meal was never guaranteed, so Mother Nature developed a hormonal system that thrived in an environment where the next meal was tenuous at best. (Wilson, 2012) (Saplosky, 2004) (De Vany, 2011) That’s why the dopamine hose in our head goes crazy when we encounter sugar. First, to set off the insulin system to quickly as possible turn this sugar into fat while the getting’ is good. And, some have theorized that we derived a sensitivity to sweetness because in nature sweet things tend to be non-poisonous. Kind of ironic how that has changed with the advent of processed sugar. Yes I’m claiming that sugar is poisonous and if you don’t believe me ask the people who are suffering from Diabetes II/III (III is a reference to the latest findings regarding insulin sensitivity and dementia, see http://www.olsonnd.com/the-alzheimers-and-sugar-connection/). Luckily for us Mother Nature has given us a mechanism for countering the pull of sugar and you have complete control over it. It’s called perception, opinion, but I prefer Judgement. (Gazzangia, 2011)
So how can you shape your Judgement in such a manner that you start making choices that overcome the natural love affair we have with such things as sugar. Since at least the time of Socrates man has recognized that humans will choose what they believe or judge to be good for them. (Jowett, 2008) The premise being that it is irrational for a man/woman to do something that they judge to be bad for them. (Jowett, 2008) (Johnson, 2014) (Stephenson, 2007) So at the end of the day you’re actions reveal your true beliefs. As Grandma Willie (just about the greatest woman in history) used to say ‘your actions speak louder than your words.’ Epictetus said that if you want to know a man’s philosophy examine how he behaves. (Johnson, 2014) (Wilson, 2012) (Arrian, 2008) Most of us would be considered orthodox hedonist driven by the avoidance of pain and the never ending quest for pleasure. (Irvine, 2006) To overcome our orthodox hedonism is simple, stop acting like a hedonist and start acting like someone who has an ounce of willpower. Aristotle articulated it this way ‘You become brave by performing acts of bravery’ and this line of thought has matriculated through the ages from Epictetus “if you wish to acquire a habit for anything, do the thing; if you do not wish to acquire the habit, abstain from doing it” (Arrian, 2008, p. 121) to William James idea of ‘act as if’ (James, 1897) to Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre’s ‘existence precedes essence’ (Barrett, 1990, p. 248) and finally to modern willpower expert Kelly McGonigal ‘fake it till you make it’ (McGonigal, 2012). It’s a rather straightforward idea, simply repeatedly perform the behavior or in this case judgement over and over and over.
I have a little brother who has mastered this better than anybody I know. His nickname growing up was ‘Bubba’ and you don’t earn a nickname like Bubba with a hatred of donuts and ice cream. No Bubba was an accomplished chow hound and before he was a teenager he had become quite the little pork chop. But he eventually left his Bubbaness behind, by changing his judgement about what was good and bad and he did this through his actions. It’s been a 30 year process and I can assure you that you don’t want to be around my brother and put some garbage in your mouth. He is infamous for his candor, but more importantly his actions over time developed his judgement into making choices that benefit rather than harm his health. It is no coincidence that of the 5 kids in our family only 2 of them are not struggling with obesity and diabetes. In future post I’ll discuss how to put this into action, but in the meantime you might want to start figuring out just who the hell you are. Most of us have no clue, I was certified Hedonist for a long time and I didn't figure that out until I took an honest look at my actions.
The first part of the strategy is rather simple and straightforward, but the second part has some special challenges. The success of our species has been the direct result of numerous genetic propensities that have evolved over time. (Wilson, 2012) (Saplosky, 2004) The reason incest is repulsive to 99% of us is because it was detrimental to the perpetuation of a strong species. (Wilson, 2012) For the majority of our species history our next meal was never guaranteed, so Mother Nature developed a hormonal system that thrived in an environment where the next meal was tenuous at best. (Wilson, 2012) (Saplosky, 2004) (De Vany, 2011) That’s why the dopamine hose in our head goes crazy when we encounter sugar. First, to set off the insulin system to quickly as possible turn this sugar into fat while the getting’ is good. And, some have theorized that we derived a sensitivity to sweetness because in nature sweet things tend to be non-poisonous. Kind of ironic how that has changed with the advent of processed sugar. Yes I’m claiming that sugar is poisonous and if you don’t believe me ask the people who are suffering from Diabetes II/III (III is a reference to the latest findings regarding insulin sensitivity and dementia, see http://www.olsonnd.com/the-alzheimers-and-sugar-connection/). Luckily for us Mother Nature has given us a mechanism for countering the pull of sugar and you have complete control over it. It’s called perception, opinion, but I prefer Judgement. (Gazzangia, 2011)
So how can you shape your Judgement in such a manner that you start making choices that overcome the natural love affair we have with such things as sugar. Since at least the time of Socrates man has recognized that humans will choose what they believe or judge to be good for them. (Jowett, 2008) The premise being that it is irrational for a man/woman to do something that they judge to be bad for them. (Jowett, 2008) (Johnson, 2014) (Stephenson, 2007) So at the end of the day you’re actions reveal your true beliefs. As Grandma Willie (just about the greatest woman in history) used to say ‘your actions speak louder than your words.’ Epictetus said that if you want to know a man’s philosophy examine how he behaves. (Johnson, 2014) (Wilson, 2012) (Arrian, 2008) Most of us would be considered orthodox hedonist driven by the avoidance of pain and the never ending quest for pleasure. (Irvine, 2006) To overcome our orthodox hedonism is simple, stop acting like a hedonist and start acting like someone who has an ounce of willpower. Aristotle articulated it this way ‘You become brave by performing acts of bravery’ and this line of thought has matriculated through the ages from Epictetus “if you wish to acquire a habit for anything, do the thing; if you do not wish to acquire the habit, abstain from doing it” (Arrian, 2008, p. 121) to William James idea of ‘act as if’ (James, 1897) to Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre’s ‘existence precedes essence’ (Barrett, 1990, p. 248) and finally to modern willpower expert Kelly McGonigal ‘fake it till you make it’ (McGonigal, 2012). It’s a rather straightforward idea, simply repeatedly perform the behavior or in this case judgement over and over and over.
I have a little brother who has mastered this better than anybody I know. His nickname growing up was ‘Bubba’ and you don’t earn a nickname like Bubba with a hatred of donuts and ice cream. No Bubba was an accomplished chow hound and before he was a teenager he had become quite the little pork chop. But he eventually left his Bubbaness behind, by changing his judgement about what was good and bad and he did this through his actions. It’s been a 30 year process and I can assure you that you don’t want to be around my brother and put some garbage in your mouth. He is infamous for his candor, but more importantly his actions over time developed his judgement into making choices that benefit rather than harm his health. It is no coincidence that of the 5 kids in our family only 2 of them are not struggling with obesity and diabetes. In future post I’ll discuss how to put this into action, but in the meantime you might want to start figuring out just who the hell you are. Most of us have no clue, I was certified Hedonist for a long time and I didn't figure that out until I took an honest look at my actions.
References
Stephenson, W. O. (2007). Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom.
[Kindle]. Retrieved from
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