How to Grow From Doing Hard Things | Michael Easter

My guest is Michael Easter, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and best-selling author. We discuss how particular daily life choices undermine our level of joy, our sense of purpose, our physical and our mental health and the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly steps we can all take to vastly increase our level of motivation, gratitude and overall life satisfaction. We discuss how effortful foraging for information, undistracted reflection and physical exercise are ways to ‘invest’ and therefore grow our levels of dopamine, energy and motivation, whereas low-friction activities are specifically designed to hijack or diminish them. We also discuss dopamine reward circuitry in the context of how to build and reset one’s energy levels and create a deeper sense of purpose in work, creative pursuits and relationships.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Michael Easter

00:02:14 Discomforts, Modern vs Ancient Life

00:07:35 Sponsors: Maui Nui & Helix Sleep

00:10:17 Modern Problems, Exercise, Trail vs Treadmill Running, Optic Flow, Hunting

00:20:01 Risk & Rewards, Intellectual vs Experiential Understanding

00:23:39 Modern Luxuries, First-World Problems, Gratitude, Tool: Volunteer

00:34:33 Rites of Passage, Tool: Challenge, Narrative & Purpose; Embracing Discomfort

00:40:43 Sponsors: AG1 & Mateina

00:43:33 Choice, 2% Study, Silence, Tools: Do Slightly Harder Things; Notice Resistance

00:54:05 Cognitive Challenges, Walking, Screens, Tool: Sitting with Boredom

01:01:53 Capturing Ideas, Attractor States, Tool: Being in Nature

01:06:50 2% Rule, Rites of Passage, Tool: Misogi Challenge

01:14:12 Phones, Sharing with Others, Social Media, Tool: Reflection vs Screen Time

01:23:23 Dopamine, Spending vs Investing, Guilt

01:29:48 Sponsor: Function

01:31:35 Relaxation, Shared Identities & Community, Music, Tool: In-Person Meeting

01:38:58 Loss of Gathering Places, Internet & Distorted Views, Hitchhiking

01:45:06 Misogi & Entry Points; Daily Schedule, Caffeine Intake

01:54:37 Optimal Circadian Schedule, Work Bouts, Exercise

01:59:12 Outdoor Adventures, Backpacking & Nutrition

02:04:57 Camping & Sleeping, Nature, Three-Day Effect

02:10:10 Sea Squirts; Misogi Adventures & Cognitive Vigor, Writing, Happiness

02:17:55 Effort & Rewards, Addiction, Dopamine, Catecholamines

02:22:36 Humans, Running & Carrying Weight, Fat Loss, Tool: How to Start Rucking

02:32:32 Physical/Cognitive Pursuits & Resistance; Creative “Magic” & Foraging

02:39:27 Motivation; Slot Machines, Loss Disguised as a Win, Speed

02:46:06 Gambling, Dopamine, Addiction

02:50:29 Tool: Avoid Frictionless Foraging; Sports Betting, Speed; Junk Food, Three V’s

02:56:22 Conveniences, Technology; Upcoming Book, Satisfaction

03:02:57 Substack Links, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

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