Now, we’re afraid of failing a harder course, or of putting in extra effort on a project only to be rewarded with an average mark. In the modern day, the dangers are much more theoretical. Your ancestors didn’t want to get eaten by a predator, or trampled by the animal they were trying to catch for lunch! In 10,000BC the dangers were very real and very physical. If there was a choice between taking an energetic action or not, your inner caveman will tend to prefer not. To take the low-effort path rather than doing something that’s harder work.įor your hunter-gatherer ancestors, the supply of food (energy) was limited, so it made sense to conserve calories whenever possible. There are 3 really important instincts to know about: A. Meet your inner caveman: the ancient instincts that influence every modern human I collectively refer to this set of instincts as your “inner caveman”. They are the patterns of thought that evolved to keep you safe in a very different world to the one you face today. It’s possible to trace most of these instincts traced back to explanations from evolutionary history. It mainly comes down to a set of instincts that are constantly guiding your actions and behaviours. Why is it so hard to actually see through on good intentions to improve your study habits? You’ve been meaning to get out for some exercise every day… but somehow life has got in the way. You’ve been meaning to finish an assignment before the night of the deadline for once… but it’s never quite worked out. Why? Time to meet Factor 3: Factor 3: the instincts of your inner cavemanĪs we all well know, your motivations don’t always translate into your actions. The trouble is, what you intend to do doesn’t always translate to what you actually do. You can of course choose your motivations. (Even if no one is asking you for that work!) If you want to be an A-grade student and graduate at the top of your class, that motivation might spur you on to put in some extra work over the holidays or vacation. This is anything from your long-term destination in life, right down to your plan for any given day. What tasks will produce results that are in alignment with your goals and values? How do you think you should be allocating your time? Their impact can be pretty powerful, but they’re usually slow to build and change. You’re training a dog to respond to the word “sit” by sitting down. When you train an animal, what you’re really doing is building a habit. If I’m showering when travelling and there’s no squeegee, I feel a fleeting moment of discomfort when I can’t perform my post-shower ritual. For example, in the past 5 years, I’ve trained myself to wipe down the screen afterwards with a squeegee thing after every shower. It’s entirely possible to train new habits. You might have checking habits when you leave the house (“phone, wallet, keys…”), or hygiene habits (you brush your teeth, right?). Think of all the things you do on autopilot every day. The 3 factors that drive your actions each day are: Factor 1: your automatic habits The 3 factors can work together, but often, they are in conflict, pulling you in different directions. Together, these underpin just about anything you decide to do. I’m going to cut through the complexity for you today, and boil it all down to 3 very simple factors. But it’s very important to understand, because only once we understand why we behave in the way we do, can we truly become masters of our behaviour. The psychology of human behaviour is very complex. Why do you find yourself doing so many things you know aren’t in your best long-term interests? Things like helping yourself to an extra slice of cake, or procrastinating on TikTok rather than getting on with your essay? Why is it that you do certain things and don’t do certain other things? I’m going to start by answering a very simple question: Part 1: Meeting your inner caveman, and why s/he can make it so hard to act on your motivations Privacy protected because life’s too short for spam.
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