Finding Meaning in Our Never Enough Culture - The Growth Equation
Brad Stulberg
The text discusses the challenge of choosing between immediate rewards and long-term benefits in a modern world of abundance. It highlights the importance of being aware of the evolutionary mismatch and making conscious choices to prioritize nourishing activities over instant gratification. By shifting focus towards meaningful activities and designing environments that support healthier choices, individuals can overcome the allure of immediate rewards and find fulfillment in the long term.
16 Dec 2024
Another important thing to be mindful of is that in-the-moment willpower is rarely, if ever, enough. Trying to choose brown rice over peanut M&Ms is especially challenging if you’ve always got an open bag of peanut M&Ms in your pocket. You may laugh and say that’s ridiculous, but for many of us, an app-loaded smartphone is just that: an open bag of peanut M&Ms in our pockets. Rather than try to overcome the evolutionary mismatch in the moment, it is better to get upstream and not put your brain in the position to consume the equivalent of candy all day. The more you can design your environment to favor brown rice and potato activities, the better.
Fortunately, the brain is good at learning. Once we start to shift more of our time and energy toward brown rice and potato activities, especially if we can make it through the first month or so, we start to feel pretty good. This effect is compounded if we undertake the journey with others*—a big part of why groups like alcoholics anonymous are so effective. This mix of gradually feeling good and social support—which counters FOMO—*makes it easier to overcome the evolutionary mismatches that are all around us.