Some time ago I pledged to aim my energy, focus, and hard hitting rationality on my life problems (depression, various medical problems, dissatisfaction with my financial situation, among other things).
The results have been nothing short of spectacular. Breathtaking, even. I quit smoking. I am not depressed. I have created a sustainable and comfortable financial situation for myself. And many peculiar medical ailments that I have suffered with for years are now gone. What follows is a recap of how I did it. Note: The following is not medical or psychological advice, consult a healthcare professional for that.
I’ve previously summarized the extraordinarily good advice of Dr. Stephen Ilardi on this blog, and I highly recommend his book The Depression Cure. I also take SAMe. I’ve even done some intermittent fasting (which is good for your brain and immune system among other systems) lately to make sure those sugar cravings die and stay dead. I often like to go 18 or 20 hours without eating and then eat a scrambled egg with butter and a full meal at the end.
For diet, my go-to book is Super Immunity (recommended to me by my physician). Essentially, it recommends a natural foods diet. I try very hard to eat natural foods and stay away from processed crap. I especially like to stay away from oils that are high in Omega 6’s (vegetable oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, etc.). Which means no potato chips. Or nuts with added oils (which is most nuts sold in convenience stores, FYI). I allow myself to eat plenty of butter and California Olive Oil (it’s purer and more subject to regulation than the stuff from overseas).
Mr Money Mustache taught me that the cheapest way to live is to stay in a centrally located part of town/city, don’t own a car, just ride a bike everywhere. Although my rent is a bit higher now, my car expenses (topping $500 a month) are gone and the net result is that I have more money.
Isn’t that giving up a lot of convenience? Not at all. Living in the Phoenix Metro area, I can’t tell you how many times it’s taken me 20 minutes to drive 3.5 miles because traffic was congested. “I might as well bike,” I thought to myself when I was first contemplating this radical life change. Statistics prove the same: bikes can be just as fast if not faster (!) than cars in the context of a city.* Beyond that, living in a central area puts you close to all your basic needs and pretty much everything (including groceries) can be ordered online nowadays anyway. For the occasional long trip I plan to use either public transit, Uber/Lyft, or a combination. Everything’s covered.
I have been doing this for the past six weeks and it’s been going great! Easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And I am proud of it because it was a life’s decision where I trusted a rational comparison with empirical information against gut feelings that were screaming not to do it (I’ve owned a car since I was 16). Trusting reason and evidence turns out to be a good idea not just in philosophy, but also in life. At last I see that not just intellectually but in a more personal and real way: in my own life!
Other than that, I’ve been following some tips and tricks like those mentioned in these articles (one / two / three / four) to keep my brain chemistry up and running smoothly.
59 Seconds and The Procrastination Equation offer very good psychological techniques for getting things done. When I was kicking cigarettes to the curb, occasionally temptation came knocking. When that happened, I would always think about how I wanted improved health and sex appeal more than cigarettes. This technique can be applied to any situation: find the motivators, the things you want more than the bad habit, and remind yourself of those things.
If you absolutely insist on not reading hundreds of pages (A meaty book is a true pleasure, but we are all pressed for time) then I’d recommend this summary of the 17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks (as well as this outline summary of The Procrastination Equation). Just understand that by reading the summary you won’t necessarily get a full overview of scientific evidence for the technique, the fascinating stories about how it was discovered, and so on. The executive summary is just meant for a quick read and a follow through on the part of the listener based on trust. But if you’re willing to do it to save time, more power to you.
It’s been a huge confidence boost, watching myself man handle so much in so little time! I’ve done such a good job with so much lately that I felt I needed a reward, which is why I wrote this post…
“Reflecting on past significant achievements allows the brain to re-live the experience. Our brain has trouble telling the difference between what’s real and imagined, so it produces serotonin in both cases.” (Source)
Note
* The episode of Adam Ruins Everything called “Adam Ruins Cars” is well worth watching on this topic. He does a great job of explaining why cars suck.
