Mind Over Matter

• Do your hardest task first. Self-control wanes as you get tired or hungry.

• Question the promise of bliss. Your dopamine system is the center of addiction and compulsion, making empty promises of happiness.

• Pick your peers. Behavior is contagious, so surround yourself with people who share your goals.

• Stretch your limits. Willpower is like a muscle—though you can tire it in the short run, the more you use it the stronger it gets.

• Surf the urge. Rather than drowning in a wave of craving, trust that the feeling will abate if you ride it out.

• Don't throw in the towel after a relapse. Recognizing that it's human to fall off the wagon makes it easier to pick yourself up.

• Stop moralizing willpower. If you think you've been "good" by exercising, for example, you'll only end up giving yourself permission to be "bad."

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