About This Talk
Willpower works like a muscle, Chris says, and this second part of his series looks at why it is so hard to build. He explains how habits wear pathways into the brain and how the body’s own chemicals reward our routines, healthy or not. Then he moves listeners from last week’s 30-second pause to a five-minute pause, filled with a picture of the outcome they want.
Key Ideas
- Willpower is the ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals.
- Every habit is a neural pathway, like a path through tall grass, and the more we walk it, the stronger it gets.
- Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins are released by nearly everything we do, and each has a light side and a shadow side.
- Changing a habit starts with disrupting routines, the way Chris rearranged his whole desk when he quit smoking.
- Before a choice you want to change, pause for five minutes and picture the benefit; by then your mind has usually moved on.
“The body doesn’t really know this isn’t good for you. It just knows what you’ve taught it.”
February 7, 2022 - Mindful Monday presented by Chris Masiello, President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate