Why discipline fluctuates? #80
Why are we able to maintain strict discipline at certain times but not at others?
Hello everyone,
How is your July? I am back from Malta, where we prepped our wedding. The countdown is on, and I am getting super excited.
Today, we discuss discipline. We know that to manage our symptoms, we require a certain level of discipline and dedication.
Why are we able to maintain strict discipline at certain times but not at others?
I am reading The Hungry Brain by Stephen J. Guyanet, and I found a nugget of insight that I think you’d enjoy. Discipline doesn’t rely on willpower — it can be a brain chemical matter.
There is a key area of the brain called the striatum, which receives impulses from other brain areas to decide what action should follow. For example, some part of your brain might shout eat, and some other part might say run. This is subconscious; the brain can decide which impulse to listen to. The area that decides which impulse gets through is called the basal ganglia. You can think of it as a bouncer at a nightclub. You might show up at the door, but depending on many factors, he might decide not to let you in.
Certain areas of the brain scan our environment and inner feelings to create impulses. These impulses are motivations, and they represent our survival instincts, such as food, sex, being liked, etc.
Let’s take an example which is relevant to us:
You have not eaten in a while. From a survival standpoint, this will create a motivation for food. A part of your brain will send this impulse to the striatum. Given that you are low on energy, the strength of the impulse is great, and it can’t be ignored, so you will start feeling hungry. This cascades into action: finding food. This activates other parts of the brain to help you decide how to do that and presents you with options: take-out, restaurant, cooking at home, frozen meal. Again, your brain will start gathering information and putting in another strong impulse so you can make a decision. It will look at how much time we have, how long I need to walk to the restaurant, how good the food was last time you went there, and how expensive. Depending on that info, you will choose an option. It goes on and on, including what mode of transport to pick, etc. It’s thinking.
I am getting to my point. These motivations rely on dopamine. The more dopamine in the system, the more sensitive our brain becomes to these impulses. This is what makes the brain choose that action.
The issue arises when so many impulses come with high dopamine. In a high dopamine state, the brain becomes extremely sensitive and says yes to many of the impulses that come its way.
I had an aha moment. I realised that we live in such a high dopamine environment with social media, music, TV, and entertainment at every step that we are hijacking our discipline physiologically. This is not about willpower; this is a pure chemical reaction.
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When we scroll on Instagram for one hour, our dopamine levels are very high, and our brains get stronger and stronger impulses for food. As a result, we choose the easiest and most unhealthy option. Our brain doesn’t have the time to consider all of the information needed to make a decision (our goals, how we will feel after, the cost of it, etc.) because it’s been made very sensitive by the amount of dopamine.
The same happens with shopping. Social media companies are very clever because they know this: a high dopamine state makes you more likely to make impulsive decisions, so selling you things you don’t need becomes more accessible. So you hit checkout on those leggings that you don’t need because your brain did not have a chance to think that you already have ten pairs. It was pretty much in a drugged state, like taking cocaine.
Discipline is not strength of character; it’s pure chemistry. I noticed that when I spend more time on social media, I am much less disciplined with my exercise and eating, and now I know why.
What are your dopamine levels? How much time are you spending in this ‘drugged state’?
The solution is simple. Cutting back is the answer.
See you next Sunday,
Francesca
Guyenet, S. (2017). The hungry brain: Outsmarting the instincts that make us overeat. Vermilion.