So - it's come to my attention that substance abuse and bad habits in general have been
skyrocketing this year.
And it's to no surprise.
The large majority of us are cooped up inside, either stressed or bored out of our minds.
So we end up turning to quick fixes in order to cope - which almost always drag us down
even more.
Which is why today I want to go over 3 rules that you have to stick to – if you want
to be able to keep your bad habits under control, overcome your addiction, and do well during
these tough times.
Rule Number One.
You need to have an obsession.
The large majority of the negative feelings that we experience come from the thoughts
that we have.
If you are thinking about all the problems in the world and in your life all day long
- then you are almost guaranteed to feel bad all day long.
The more negative emotions you feel, the more likely you will turn to your bad habits.
In order to combat this, you need to have a healthy obsession.
Something that you can spend your time thinking about that inspires hope within you.
A couple of months ago I started obsessing over bitcoin.
I feel like there's a genuine chance that this new technology can fix many of the problems
around the world right now.
And I've been spending hours everyday reading articles and listening to podcasts about it
– and it makes me feel happy – because it makes me believe that the future might
actually be better.
I've also taken on a couple of new projects this year – the one that I'm most passionate
about - is designing a new video game.
This something that I've always wanted to do ever since I was younger.
And it's been taking up a lot of my mental space throughout the day as I'm constantly
thinking about ideas, game design, and game balance.
You need to have something similar to either of these 2 obsessions of mine.
So that you can spend more time focused on positive and constructive things.
Which will reduce the amount of negative emotions you have throughout the day giving you less
of a reason to turn to your bad habits.
Rule #2 is that you have to take care of your body.
Your body and mind are directly connected –
so what you're doing to your body today ultimately determines how you feel for the next couple
of days.
If you've been turning to junk food, the bottle, or other substances frequently in order to
cope with life - then you're only damning yourself to feel more negative emotions down
the line.
Which is only going to cause you to turn to those bad habits even more and the cycle goes
on and on and on.
Getting worse every single time.
If you ever want to break out of this cycle and start feeling better then you need to
fix your diet and you need to start getting some regular exercise.
Which is why this episode was brought to you with the help of the people over at Noom.
Noom is unlike all of the other weight loss programs out there.
I've been trying them out this year as I've put on a couple of kilos from being indoors
all day due to the lockdowns.
And so far I've been loving the experience.
I like how they teach you about the psychology and science of weight loss so that you become
more self aware of why you do what you do.
They also provide you with an app that lets you track everything from what you eat, your
workouts, and even how much weight you've lost so far.
On top of that they provide you with a group of people to talk to as well as a personal
goal specialist (who are real people who have been trained in psychology, fitness, and nutrition)
to help motivate and guide you during the journey.
Noom really does give you all of the tools you need in order to make the proper changes
for long term healthier habits.
In fact, 78% of Noom users have reported sustained weight loss over 9 months.
If you want to join them then click on the link in the description box below to get an
online evaluation so you can get started.
And finally rule #3 for overcoming your addiction - is to socialize.
I've been stuck in Vietnam for like a year now.
And to be honest I was feeling a bit down because of the language barrier that exists
here.
There simply aren't that many people that I can interact with on a deep fulfilling level.
And I could feel myself turning to some of my old eating habits as a way to cope.
Luckily, a couple of weeks ago – I decided to start playing games with some of the fans
of the channel.
We've been playing a lot of Among Us and it's been surprising how therapeutic it is.
I find myself laughing and having a blast, and after a couple of games – I genuinely
feel better.
You see one of the reasons why Alcoholics Anonymous is so effective at helping those
with drinking problem, is because it gets people out of their house and it brings them
to a place where they can interact with others on a deep level.
The meetings serve as a healthy way for them to cope with their negative emotions.
Everyone experiences some degree of negative emotions in their life – it's unavoidable.
But back in the day we would cope by hanging out with the rest of our tribe.
We would share stories with each other, dance, and do other sorts of weird freaking things
- all while having a blast.
Nowadays most of us don't really have bonds that are as strong as this – which is a
shame, but this doesn't mean that we should just give up and not socialize.
You need to be socializing.
You need to be reaching out to old friends.
You need to be jumping on the phone and talking to your loved one as much as possible.
And you need to find a community where you can hang out and mingle with new people.
There are dozens of free communities like this that you can join, a lot of other YouTubers
have one, and we're actually going to be opening up our own private community pretty soon.
In fact, we already have a Discord Server with over a hundred active members.
This was something that was originally reserved for those that have taken on the Habit Builder
Challenge – but I've decided to open it up to more of the general public as I know
a thriving community is something that a lot of us lack right now.
If you are interested – all you got to do is sign up for my newsletter in the description
box below to receive news and updates about this.
Now just a fair warning - there will be a cost to joining.
This helps us ensure the quality of the people in the group and it also helps us fund many
of the activities that we will be hosting there.
Because we do have people running book clubs, study sessions, social skill training and
much much more – and they need to be compensated for their time.
Just to recap everything.
If you are someone who is currently struggling with bad habits that have suddenly appeared
this year then you need to follow the 3 rules that I mentioned in this video.
You need to have an obsession so that your mind can focus on positive and constructive
things so that you spend less time thinking about the negative things.
You need to take care of your body by eating right and getting exercise so that you feel
better overall.
And you need to be socializing in order to cope with the negative emotions that are unavoidable.
Do all three of these things and you will find yourself turning to your bad habits less
and less overtime.
Because your overall quality of life will have improved.
I hope this video was helpful and besides that guys – stay tuned.