5 ms·

Good habits should feel good. Strange that we've evolved the opposite physiological response.

austinsharp 10y ago
Good habits tend to feel good afterward. Bad habits feel good now. I find that thinking of my future self as a separate person that I can do nice things for helps me feel the long term benefits more.
- nhylated 10y ago
  >> I find that thinking of my future self as a separate person that I can do nice things for helps me feel the long term benefits more. Related: check this comment on reddit: https://reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_dont_care_about_myself/cdah4af https://reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_d... That comment inspired a new subreddit which is quite popular now: https://reddit.com/r/nonzeroday/about https://reddit.com/r/nonzeroday/about
- redwyvern 10y ago
  Long term thinking is often the best way to improve our lives
Swizec 10y ago
We didn't. Good habits still feel good. I feel much better when working out than when lounging on a couch watching TV. The first feels lively and fun, the second makes me fidgety and annoyed. Eating well gives me energy and lifts my spirits, eating crap makes me lethargic and bleurch. The problem is that initial activation energy. It's easier to sit down than to put on workout clothes. Easier to grab a piece of chocolate than to cook a meal. There are little tricks you can use to make the good habits easier and the bad habits hard. For instance, you'd have to go to a grocery store to get crap food if you craved it in my apartment. And TV watching happens only on a 13" laptop with bad speakers. Little things go a long way. Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet.
- nitrogen 10y ago
  Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet. Keep a list of books you want to read. Buy a couple at a time. Keep your current book by your computer and/or bed. When you finish one, buy another so you always have books.
- justinclift 10y ago
  > Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet. Get an outdated tablet that's WAAAAY too insecure for connecting to the internet (eg original Wifi iPad, set to airplane mode), and fill it with PDFs/epubs/etc of your choice. Then, instead of jumping on the computer all the time, pull out the iPad somewhere away from the computer and read. eg in bed, outside on a balcony, etc Doing exactly this works well for me, original iPad and everything. Theres No Way I'm going browse the web with that and get distracted, and I have all of the books I want with no buildup of useless physical book material. :D
ceejayoz 10y ago
"Stuff yourself with as much food as possible when it's available" used to be a good habit.
hliyan 10y ago
Because we're no longer living in the type of environment for which we evolved.

Good habits tend to feel good afterward. Bad habits feel good now. I find that thinking of my future self as a separate person that I can do nice things for helps me feel the long term benefits more.

nhylated 10y ago
>> I find that thinking of my future self as a separate person that I can do nice things for helps me feel the long term benefits more. Related: check this comment on reddit: https://reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_dont_care_about_myself/cdah4af https://reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_d... That comment inspired a new subreddit which is quite popular now: https://reddit.com/r/nonzeroday/about https://reddit.com/r/nonzeroday/about
redwyvern 10y ago
Long term thinking is often the best way to improve our lives

Swizec 10y ago

We didn't. Good habits still feel good. I feel much better when working out than when lounging on a couch watching TV. The first feels lively and fun, the second makes me fidgety and annoyed. Eating well gives me energy and lifts my spirits, eating crap makes me lethargic and bleurch. The problem is that initial activation energy. It's easier to sit down than to put on workout clothes. Easier to grab a piece of chocolate than to cook a meal. There are little tricks you can use to make the good habits easier and the bad habits hard. For instance, you'd have to go to a grocery store to get crap food if you craved it in my apartment. And TV watching happens only on a 13" laptop with bad speakers. Little things go a long way. Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet.

nitrogen 10y ago
Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet. Keep a list of books you want to read. Buy a couple at a time. Keep your current book by your computer and/or bed. When you finish one, buy another so you always have books.
justinclift 10y ago
> Now I just gotta figure out how to make books easier than internet. Get an outdated tablet that's WAAAAY too insecure for connecting to the internet (eg original Wifi iPad, set to airplane mode), and fill it with PDFs/epubs/etc of your choice. Then, instead of jumping on the computer all the time, pull out the iPad somewhere away from the computer and read. eg in bed, outside on a balcony, etc Doing exactly this works well for me, original iPad and everything. Theres No Way I'm going browse the web with that and get distracted, and I have all of the books I want with no buildup of useless physical book material. :D

ceejayoz 10y ago

"Stuff yourself with as much food as possible when it's available" used to be a good habit.

hliyan 10y ago

Because we're no longer living in the type of environment for which we evolved.