Willpower Doesn’t Work - by Ben Hardy
Quick-hitters
* We adapt to our environments. You are who you are because of your environment (xiii)
* New information, new relationship, new experiences = how you change (xvi)
* Your potential is shaped by what surrounds you
* Your personality is shaped by your behavior
* You are evolving right this very minute
* Your environment reveals you, both to yourself and other people
* Your environment + you = indivisible part of the same whole
* A person’s value is relative to their context
* [Plant and soil analogy] (36)
* Illusion of individuality = origin of all suffering
* We sleep our way to the top (actual sleep)
* Immense challenge/difficulty should be your lot in life
* Deep, not shallow, water is where you want to swim
* Good timber doesn’t grow in easy environments. Neither do good people.
* Peak experiences change the trajectory of a person’s life/career
* Peak state = Visualize from deepest soul; hight ambitions
* Most people are very disconnected from themselves
* While in routine, you can’t see the forest for the trees
* Daily, you need to ensure you’re going the direction you want to
* If you want a different life, you must /be/ a different person
* Morning rituals trigger a peak state
* Most essential aspect of morning routine = writing in your journal
* *You need to remove lots and lots from your life*
* The less you own, the more you have
* Overpowering message of today = live for the moment
* “Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again.” -Michael Jordan
* Everything of true value comes with sacrifice
* Success = taking 20 steps in a singular direction
* Fewer choices = more powerful choices
* Pattern interrupt: Only check your phone with your left hand (!!!!!)
* “You live in an addiction culture”
* Technology stresses your system
* *When you allow yourself to be unavailable, you’l live a far more present life*
* You only have 4-5 good hours of mental focus/day
* Opposite of addiction = connection
* Distract yourself for a few seconds —> addictive craving goes away
* Living in alignment w/goals —> boost of confidence (creates order)
* Goals are worth way more to you than a short-term dopamine boost
* Enriched environments evoke eustress —> focus and growth
* Forcing functions outsource desired behavior
* More novelty in life/environment —> more engaged you’ll be
* Changing your patterns changes you *biologically*
* *What you focus on expands*
* “Everything you want is on the other side of fear”
* If you’re willing to disregard what you feel in the moment, you’ll have access to a world of opportunity unavailable to 99% of the population, who are only concerned about Right Now
* You’ll also need to embrace uncertain situations which will require you to actually seek one approach difficult emotions
* “A cell is a machine for turning experience into biology.” -Dr. Steven Cole
* *Learning involves a permanent change in how you see and act in the world.*
* A mind stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions
* “Nothing was going to stop me.”
* You are fluid. *There’s no limit to how much you can change.*
* A full stomach can clog up your mind (although social work requires food)
* Most people operate under very limiting/incorrect assumptions
* People will initially be repelled by your forward thinking
* Socializing self vs. self-authoring self vs. *transforming* self
* You want to live more congruently with your highest aims and ambitions
* Every person has enormous potential
* When you change your environment, you will change