WEBVTT - Second Cup: Willpower is over-rated

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:14.120
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:19.639
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to admit that willpower is overrated, so

0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:24.840
<v Speaker 1>design your environment for success instead. It's easy to intend

0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.600
<v Speaker 1>to have just a few oreos and then finish off

0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:30.480
<v Speaker 1>a whole row. You can promise yourself that you won't

0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:32.800
<v Speaker 1>hit snooze before you go to bed, but have a

0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:36.360
<v Speaker 1>different perspective. At six am. You can go into the

0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.559
<v Speaker 1>bookstore just to browse and end up buying an armload

0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:43.480
<v Speaker 1>of books. It happens to all of us, so don't

0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.520
<v Speaker 1>feel bad about yourself. While self awareness and self regulation

0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:53.000
<v Speaker 1>are great, exercising willpower is really hard. So rather than

0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.840
<v Speaker 1>relying on willpower too often, when you can change your

0:00:56.920 --> 0:01:00.440
<v Speaker 1>environment so you can make great choices f it lessly.

0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:03.920
<v Speaker 1>It can look something like this. If you have trouble

0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:06.120
<v Speaker 1>not eating the whole bag of Doritos or the whole

0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:09.280
<v Speaker 1>pint of Ben and Jerry's, by a single size bag

0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:11.840
<v Speaker 1>of chips or a four ounce container of ice cream instead,

0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:14.840
<v Speaker 1>then you can enjoy your treat without needing to tear

0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.200
<v Speaker 1>yourself away. Will you pay more per ounce for a

0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.080
<v Speaker 1>single serving container than you would for the full size. Well, sure,

0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.760
<v Speaker 1>but you're avoiding an internal conflict between your urge to

0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:27.959
<v Speaker 1>devour every bite and your intention to eat a small

0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.480
<v Speaker 1>portion that's worth a dollar or two. And hey, if

0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.720
<v Speaker 1>you would have eaten the whole point of Ben and Jerry's, well,

0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:36.319
<v Speaker 1>the four ounce container costs less, so you're saving money

0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:40.080
<v Speaker 1>after all. As for the temptation to hit snooze, put

0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.840
<v Speaker 1>your alarm clock far away from your bed. That way,

0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:45.399
<v Speaker 1>you have to get out of bed to turn it

0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.760
<v Speaker 1>off when it's dawn and the alarm is blasting from

0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.440
<v Speaker 1>ten feet away. It doesn't take willpower to get out

0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:54.880
<v Speaker 1>of bed, just a desire for quiet, and once you're up,

0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:58.600
<v Speaker 1>it's easier to stay up. If you want to browse,

0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:01.600
<v Speaker 1>but not by le your credit card at home or

0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:04.600
<v Speaker 1>in the car, or bring only as much cash as

0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:08.280
<v Speaker 1>you're okay with spending. This is especially helpful for places

0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:11.600
<v Speaker 1>like farmers markets or craft fares. Or you see so

0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.919
<v Speaker 1>many beautiful things and want to buy them all, but really,

0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:18.119
<v Speaker 1>how much produce does your family eat? And how many

0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.400
<v Speaker 1>people on your Christmas list need a pottery bowl or

0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.600
<v Speaker 1>a handwoven scarf. Designing your environment can help you avoid

0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:27.800
<v Speaker 1>things you don't want to do, and also help you

0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.919
<v Speaker 1>to do things that you do want to do. Want

0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.640
<v Speaker 1>to get more exercise, don't buy a permit for the

0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.600
<v Speaker 1>garage closest to your office. Instead, make it your norm

0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.440
<v Speaker 1>to park in a lot half a mile away. That's

0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:44.320
<v Speaker 1>a mile of walking every work day. If it's storming

0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.560
<v Speaker 1>or you're running late, you can pay extra to park

0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.960
<v Speaker 1>in the garage, but by making walking the default, you

0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.200
<v Speaker 1>get more steps. If you want to do more focused work,

0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.000
<v Speaker 1>close your email and text message apps and turn off

0:02:56.040 --> 0:03:00.200
<v Speaker 1>all notifications. Now you don't need the discipline to delay

0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.440
<v Speaker 1>reading messages because guess what, you don't even know they're there.

0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:08.359
<v Speaker 1>Instead of relying on willpower, reduce the temptations that your

0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:14.760
<v Speaker 1>future self will encounter. Make good behavior easy. If you do,

0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.839
<v Speaker 1>leading the life you want will take less effort and

0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:23.880
<v Speaker 1>be a lot more likely. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.560
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:36.800
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.680
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.000
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.920
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four. Then

0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.360
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.200
<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot

0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.680
<v Speaker 1>com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the

0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:01.840
<v Speaker 1>letters thank so much. I look forward to staying in touch.

0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.760
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.880
<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart

0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.320
<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:18.040
<v Speaker 1>favorite shows.