When it comes to healthy habits (e.g. being active and eating well) we know what we should do. DOING is the hard part We’ve all made bold resolutions in a surge of motivation.  But then, we don’t keep them.  Why not? What stops us from taking action, is the fuzzy monster in our mind.  Fuzzy, because we don’t see it clearly, and it looks a lot bigger than it is. When we build up this “fuzzy monster” it becomes easier to rationalize and justify poor decisions.  Essentially, we build it up to the point where we tell ourselves: “it’s just too hard” Sadly, when…

“Growth Hacking” … “Diet-Hacking” … “Bio-Hacking” … “Life-hacking” … “Hack-Hacking” Since the early 2000’s, the concept of “hacking” every aspect of our life has led to a whole industry from supplements, to books, touting increased productivity, wealth and everything in between. Buy this supplement, follow this guru, do this one trick What sounds like a good idea, rarely is, and I’ll explain why Hacking indicates seeking a shortcut … A way around the “work” – Let me give you a biological example.10 year old Jonny wants to “hack” his growth. So doctors start administering growth hormone, along with testosterone.Now Jonny…

The difference between wisdom and ignorance is the ability to appreciate nuance. Too many arguments (“discussions”) devolve into 2 extreme camps competing for who can shout the loudest (Unfortunately, loud shouting isn’t really regarded as a hallmark of intellect). These loud shout-y extreme camps then seek to push all opposing opinions into an opposite extreme camp to justify their abuse of people who disagree with them. Steven Covey popularized the quote (originally attributed to St. Francis of Assisi): ​ “First seek to understand, then seek to be understood”. How can we turn this into something practical? As much as possible,…

I ask my clients to track what they eat.  Is it a bit of an effort, and sometimes a pain to track what you eat? (*Note: track can be as simple as taking photos of meals) Yes. It’s 100% easier to eat mindlessly.  It’s easier because no effort is required, and you can just operate on autopilot. Somewhere along the way though, we confused “easier” with “better”.  And it’s killing us.  I don’t believe “ignorance is bliss” is true in all situations.  We say “I’d rather not know” until something terrible happens to our health, and then we say “If…

Struggling to make progress? Not seeing the results you want? Here’s why. “I want to lose weight” … Is not compelling enough It is not enough to stop you from eating for emotional reasons, when you’re tired from a long day. If a doctor told a smoker “the next cigarette you smoke, your heart will explode” that smoker will probably never smoke a cigarette again. That doesn’t mean the smoker won’t crave cigarettes ever again. But there’s a very powerful reason for them not to smoke. Powerful enough that they will dig deep and endure the difficult cravings. They have…