Give me 2 minutes and I'll show you that you ARE stronger than your cravings: For most people trying to resist or overcome cravings there is usually the required realization that must happen:

"I don't need this."

Seems obvious, but many people go day by day thinking (often subconsciously) they "need" their item of craving just to feel right.

Your guide to replacing bad habits with good ones: Something you must understand is that most of the time just "getting rid of" a bad habit isn't enough.

This will often lead to a pitfall of boredom/anxiety most don't expect due to the sudden change in routine.

Which is why you must inject good habits as well.

The paradox of chasing happiness is that it ultimately leads to unhappiness.

But through this conundrum we're able to see a path TO happiness.

Here's how: There's three sides of the answer to this problem:

The philosophical,
The psychological.
And the scientific.

All are valid and equally as important and through this thread we'll touch on each of them.

Chronic spikes in dopamine lead to a buildup of dynorphin.

Dynorphin is part of the brain's anti-reward system.

2 Main functions include:

1) Increases the feelings of dysphoria
2) Decreased dopaminergic function

Read this ASAP: Dynorphin is a molecule rarely mentioned even though it plays a huge role in addiction.

It is essentially the opposite of endorphins- The body's natural pain reliever in response to stress.

Dynorphin works in an inverse manner.

The real reason you can't focus:

Overstimulation.

But most people don't even realize they're in this state.

Here's what you need to know: Does this sound like you:

You've finally sat down to get some work done,

But something's wrong...

Everything EXCEPT the thing you want to work on seems more interesting.

Why is this happening?

Because you've raised your stimulation threshold too high with cheap dopamine.

How to train your mind to enjoy being productive and getting things done: Before we begin, we're going to take a quick detour so that you understand this process.

Modern civilization as a whole is set up in a way that makes you anything BUT productive.

Cheap dopamine here,
Instant gratification there,
Worn-out dopamine receptors everywhere.

Signs your dopamine systems are shot:

• Low sex drive
• You're compulsive
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulties concentration
• Addicted to cheap pleasures
• Very little in life seems fun/interesting

A beginner's guide to dopamine fasting: To begin, it will make more sense why you're doing this if you check out this thread first.

This one's referring to porn use, but it's relevant to most addictions:

https://twitter.com/ZenConqueror/status/1606252510972370948

Chronic porn addiction is one of the fastest growing addictions in the world.

And it's destroying your relationships, focus, and motivation.

Here's how: We live in a sad reality,

Porn use has become so widely accepted that most people just "assume" you already watch it.

One of the reasons is because most people see it as something harmless that people just "do".

They couldn't be more wrong.

How to make your body enjoy exercising: We all know exercise is something everyone should be doing.

And while a lot of people love it,

The majority still sides with hating it.

Let's work on changing this:

Comfort in modern civilization is a trap.

Largely because for most people, comfort has come to mean instant-gratification.

If you want to avoid the downfall of the masses while finding true comfort, read this: “Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life”
― Susan David

We as humans have a very basic drive that guides us:

We run towards comfort,
And away from discomfort.

And this drive is ruining many people's lives.

You've been breathing wrong for most of your life.

And it's slowly killing you.

Here's what you need to know: To understand why you're breathing wrong we need to go over three essential subjects:

1) Ventilation
2) Internal/External Respiration
3) The Bohr Effect.

Afterward, we'll end with how you can start improving your breathing.

Let's go.

Cold exposure gets made fun of a lot.

Usually by those who hate it.

But the benefits are undeniable.

Here are 6 of those benefits you should know about: 1) Improves Cardiovascular Health

When exposed to cold,

Blood rushes to your vital organs and your heart is forced to pump more efficiently.

There's also studies suggesting cold exposure's ability to reduce arterial stiffness and help improve blood flow.

Research shows the benefits of walnuts on brain health and longevity.

You need to read this: Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation both play key roles in:

-Aging
-Alzheimer's disease
-Mild cognitive impairment

And many other brain disorders.

One of the main contributors to this is amyloid beta protein.

If you want a simple practice that will:

-Boost creativity
-Increase critical thinking
-Form a greater sense of self

That practice is talking to yourself.

Read this to learn how: It's thrown around a lot these days that how you talk to yourself is important.

And it is, but that's only scratching the surface.

When most people say that, they're mostly talking about being nice to yourself.

We're going to take that a step deeper:

Why addicts are willing to give up everything for another hit: We've all seen the effects addiction has on people.

Slowly & methodically everything in their life begins to fall apart as nothing seems quite as important as their drug of choice.

Jobs never last
Relationships fail
Money disappears

If you're not careful this could become you.

Men, this is how porn is destroying your brain chemistry: Porn addiction is an all too common pitfall that a lot of men find themselves in,

Often before they even realize what's happened.

It's not entirely your fault though.

Sadly porn has become normalized which leads watchers to think it's harmless b/c "Everyone does it"

If you're trying to climb out of rock bottom, but keep falling back down, read this: When a person is overwhelmed by:

-Guilt
-Stress
-Anxiety

There's one trick that can instantly relieve these negative feelings:

Resolving to change.

But if you're not careful, this can be a deadly trap.

If you're constantly relapsing into bad habits, use this: One of the top reasons people relapse is due to them underestimating the power of routines and habits.

They try to quit, but do nothing help insure they succeed.

One effective tool to use it called self-binding.

There's 3 types you can use:

Symptoms of low dopamine include:

• Anxiety
• Always tired
• Low sex drive
• Low motivation
• Trouble sleeping
• Can't concentrate
• Fun activities are no longer fun

If any of these sound familiar,

Read this to find how you could be drastically draining your dopamine: Before we start, remember this mantra:

Dopamine is not the enemy, it's our addiction to it that is.

When most people think of dopamine they're only thinking about one specific pathway,

The mesolimbic,

Or better known as the desire pathway.

Understanding your dopamine triggers is the first step to breaking bad habits.

Yet most people don't even know how triggers are formed.

Here's how dopamine is tricking you: The mental process that explains this is called 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧.

It is the reason that the triggers that lead you down the slippery slope of bad habits get formed in the first place.

And to better understand this, let's tell a story:

The 4 cardinal virtues of Stoicism every young man should learn: The world we live in is overflowing with vices.

Most have long since lost the desire you experience the joy that living a virtuous life can bring.

Yet, most of these people end up miserable and wonder why.

These 4 virtues are your keys to a life of happiness and fulfillment: