Notes

One of the biggest obstacles to engagement comes not from outside annoyances or distractions, says Vaden, but from inside our own heads. He shared three insights for how we might turn that around.

Get behind me, brain. “Our brain is not programmed for success. It’s programmed for survival,” Vaden explains. That means our brains are not always going to want to stretch to succeed or to banish distractions. They might even tempt us toward laziness. As long as we understand that, we can overcome it and succeed. But how best to do that?
Reprogram your gray matter. Vaden compares the human brain to a computer in that it “does not believe what is true or what is false” but rather believes “whatever you tell it most often.” In other words, we become the stories we tell ourselves.

You have to intentionally change that programming through repetition of what you think should matter most to you. One form of self-persuasion, which I use, is affirmations. But affirmations alone are not enough. We need to set exciting goals and identify our key motivations for reaching them. I detail that process here.

Fire at will. How do you find the discipline or willpower to do what it takes to succeed? Phrasing the question like that is a mental trap, Vaden warns. Don’t concentrate on the willpower. Instead, he says, concentrate on what you’re trying to will. In other words, keep your eye on the prize. The lack of discipline is really a lack of vision.

What we need to do is understand that our patterns of thinking are an obstacle to full engagement. But we can reprogram our brain and stay focused on the steps to achieve our goals. If we do that, the will to keep going will be a natural outgrowth of our having the end in sight.