“This is a problem for tomorrow. Today I am living the dream!” - My Subconscious Mind

I was chubby. Some would say I was fat.

I bought exercise equipment.

Now I eat snacks while using my exercise equipment to hang clothes.

My motto?

“Why sweat when we can snack?”

The brain test

Are we smarter than our brains? Maybe.

Are we stronger than our brains? No. 

What??? 

Are we puppets to our biology?

Our subconscious minds have powerful programs that crush our good intentions. Ouch. Sometimes reality isn’t nice.

What is going on?

There is a great battle going on in our minds over most of our decisions. Here are the two sides.

1. What our brains should do.

2. What our brains want to do.

Spoiler alert! “What our brains want to do” wins almost every time.

Our brains operate with these two guiding principles:

1. Conservation of effort.

2. The path of least resistance.

So every decision we make gets passed by these two programs. Our brain thinks, “Will I have to do something? How much effort will this take? I want to save my energy for emergencies. Is there another path that looks easier? Let's take that easier path."

Did we notice that there is no "good intentions" program? Our brains are wired for efficiency, not for effort. Yes, our brains are all about survival.

Our brains don’t care what’s right or best for us in the long term. It’s all about what’s easiest right now. This is hard-wired in our brains from our cavemen days. As cavemen, we only worried about the next few hours or days. We didn’t live that long. We only worried about our next meal, and not becoming someone else’s meal. Our brains didn’t build any long-term, 401k retirement-worrying brain cells. We didn’t need them. Our lives were short.

Need proof?

Are we skeptical? Are we thinking, “Oh no. This only applies to those weak-willed people. This doesn’t apply to me. I am results-driven, emperor of my brain, in total control of my decisions. 

Okay. Let’s look at life. Then we can be the judge.

Exercise or Sleep

Jogging at 5 a.m. We know that exercise is great for our health, boosts our energy, and sets us up for a productive day. But when the alarm screams at 5 a.m., what do we do? Our brains smash the snooze button and whisper, “Sleep is easier.”

Fancy Coffee or Retirement Savings

We’re at our favorite coffee shop. Ah, the aroma is pure happiness. We have a choice. Buy our beloved overpriced fancy coffee or save that money for our retirement. Our brains know that saving for retirement is the smart move. But, this is something we should ponder more … over that cup of our beloved overpriced fancy coffee.

Relaxation or Starting a Part-Time Business

Our jobs … a living prison. We made poor career and employment choices. Every day is a living hell.

After a long day at work, what should we do? Relax on the couch with our favorite streaming service, or work on that part-time business we’ve been thinking about?

Our brains know that starting a part-time business could give us a chance to change our lives. But, our brains also know that this would be hard work and involve some rejection and failures along the way. So, what action do our brains command us to do?

Our brains choose the remote control and that super-sized bag of chips.

The Healthy Snack or The Junk Food

We’re at the grocery store, and we have a choice. 

Grab some fresh fruits and veggies? Whoops, that would mean we have to wash them, prepare them, and try to make them tasty. Seems like a lot of work.

Or we can go for that super-sized bag of intense-flavored chips that's calling our name. We could even eat handfuls of these delicious chips on the way home from the store. 

Our brain carefully weighs the pros and cons. The decision?

"Junk food now, I’ll deal with health later." 

Health is a problem for “future me” to deal with.

Healthy Salad or Greasy Burger

It’s lunchtime. We know we should prepare a healthy salad. Fresh greens, a tasteless light dressing … perfect for our waistlines and energy levels. But then, we see the frozen pizza in our refrigerator. Just nuke it in our microwave and eat.

Our brains know the salad is the better choice, but what decision do our brains make? Our brains whisper, “The greasy burger has more protein. It’s tastier. We’ve had a rough morning. We deserve it. It will be ready in minutes.”

We know the ending.

How can we overcome this destructive program?

Oh, this is going to be hard.

Let’s attempt to trick our brains. Will we win most of the time? Maybe. Okay, who are we kidding? We will lose most of the time. 

But even a few wins will make our lives better. Let's not get discouraged attempting to overcome our hard-wired subconscious mind programs.

So how do we start?

Baby steps. Let’s make the hard decision feel easier.

An example?

We tell ourselves, “I need to walk every day. Fresh air and mild exercise are good for me.”

Now, let’s make taking action on this decision a bit easier.

• Walking with a donut is easier than walking without.
• Walking while listening to our favorite music feels better than being bored.
• Walking in the fresh air is more uplifting than continuing to sit with a computer.
• Walking outside is better than listening to the children fight.

Where else could we use this idea to make better choices in our lives?

If we can’t save money, then set up an automatic deduction from our paycheck. This will happen with no effort from now on.

If we can’t eat just one potato chip, then make sure we never buy potato chips again.

See a pattern yet? Yes, make the better decision our default decision.

And if this doesn’t work, then what?

How about some self-talk? Yeah, let’s talk to those stubborn subconscious minds of ours. And the key? Repetition works.

Propagandists know that if they tell a lie often enough, our minds begin to feel that the lie is true. This is the “illusory truth effect.” It seems our minds find processing repeated thoughts easier and faster. This is one of the many cognitive shortcuts our brain takes for efficiency.

Or, got a mirror?

Let’s stand in front of the mirror and slowly explain our choices. Take a deep breath. Visualize ourselves making the right decision. By slowing down, we can temporarily disrupt our subconscious minds’ default programs.

Bottom line? If we tell our minds we are disciplined decision machines often enough, it adds up. Every little bit helps, so let’s use any advantage we can get.

And when we do get a small victory? Let’s celebrate! We should feel good about the tiniest step in the right direction.

Don’t let our brains hold us back

Our minds have programs to look for the easiest way, but that doesn’t mean we have to let this control our lives. When we understand how our minds work, we can at least try to outsmart them.

We want our minds to work for us, and not against us. 

This is not about being perfect or iron-willed. When we have that rare victory over our minds’ default programming, let’s remember: “Every small victory makes us a better version of ourselves.”