Huberman Lab
How to Grow From Doing Hard Things | Michael Easter
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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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