How I tricked my brain to like doing hard things - Summary

Summary

The speaker shares their personal struggle with maintaining a consistent gym routine, despite growing up in a household where exercise was a normal part of life. They attribute their lack of consistency to their motivation being tied to a fantasized end goal, such as having a "Greek god physique." This type of motivation is problematic because it creates a disconnect between the enjoyable fantasy and the actual experience of going to the gym, which can be strenuous and boring.

To overcome this, the speaker suggests shifting one's mindset to focus on the process rather than the end goal. This can be achieved by adopting an abundance mindset, where one reminds themselves that they are an active person who values their health and well-being, rather than trying to achieve a specific outcome.

The speaker also recommends using a technique called "habit-bunching," where one pairs a new habit with an existing one. For example, they started reading more books by pairing it with their daily coffee habit, and eventually developed a love for reading in its own right.

By using these mindset shifts and practical strategies, individuals can learn to enjoy the process of developing new habits, such as going to the gym or reading, and make them a sustainable part of their lifestyle.

Facts

Here are the key facts extracted from the text:

1. The author struggled to consistently go to the gym throughout their life.
2. They grew up playing hockey and going to the gym was always a part of their life.
3. They wanted to look like Thor, but lost their hair.
4. They developed a tremendous consistency at the gym in recent years.
5. They credit a particular mindset they adopted for their consistency.
6. They stopped generating motivation by thinking about an end goal and instead learned to enjoy the process.
7. The author believes that having an ideal image of oneself can be unhelpful in achieving goals.
8. They think that fantasizing about an ideal image can create a disconnect between the fantasy and the reality of working towards the goal.
9. The author believes that having a goal can be helpful for creating direction, but it's not what you should focus on in the day-to-day struggle.
10. They think that identifying as someone who enjoys a particular activity can make it more likely that you'll follow through with doing it.
11. The author uses habit-bunching, pairing an existing habit with a new one, to develop positive associations with new habits.
12. They used habit-bunching to start reading more books by pairing it with their coffee habit.
13. The author believes that habit-bunching can help shift your mindset towards a new habit.
14. They think that it's better to love the process of doing something, rather than doing it for an end goal.
15. Skillshare is an online learning platform that offers classes on various topics, including photography, productivity, and the stock market.
16. The author is learning about the stock market through a class on Skillshare.
17. Skillshare is offering two months of premium membership for free to viewers of the video.
18. The author's channel has a growing notification squad, with over 20,000 people receiving notifications when a new video is uploaded.