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I picked this one up on Hacker News. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1398805 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1398805 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_d
by DavidMcLaughlin 16y ago
I picked this one up on Hacker News.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1398805 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1398805
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion
The title says it all. Self-control is exhaustible. So when you're trying to make changes in your life, keep it to one simple thing at a time. Over time the one thing you decided to change stops being self-control and starts becoming a habit. Once it becomes a habit? Start training something else. You'll rack up positive changes in no time.
- pmcginn 16y agoI wish this had been the first advice I'd received when I started dieting. After flailing around for years, I started calorie counting, and then made lifestyle changes once every few weeks. Smaller portions, whole wheat instead of white, simple things like that. Doing them one at a time made all the difference, and I finally got back down to my college weight.
- jtheory 16y agoAh, and the whole dieting process has a nasty trap built right in, because your willpower diminishes as your blood sugar drops. I don't have the study in front of me, but I recall the effect was pretty clear.