Rabby
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I just wanted to mention this. Whenever I think about discipline and especially impulse control, I say "taming the octopus."
I call it that because the human brain is a lot like an octopus. No, really. It's always reaching out for things, stretching in several directions, holding on to something here while it moves its attention to that thing over there.
If you let it run wild, it's ruinous. But we have lots of traditional or recommended activities that are really no more than "taming the octopus."
Here are some examples:
I call it that because the human brain is a lot like an octopus. No, really. It's always reaching out for things, stretching in several directions, holding on to something here while it moves its attention to that thing over there.
If you let it run wild, it's ruinous. But we have lots of traditional or recommended activities that are really no more than "taming the octopus."
Here are some examples:
- Meditating to stop your mind from constantly wandering to "wanting" things and impulsively wasting time, shopping, etc.
- Exercising control over impulse spending by following a budget, plan, savings routine, etc.
- Fasting for all but a 2 hour period during the day to stop impulse eating.
- Observing periods of silence to control wasteful, impulsive, or harmful speech.
- Observing days of rest to reduce anxious, frenetic, wasteful activity.
- Using business controls to avoid impulsive or useless spending, and busywork.
- Limiting phone/email/facebook checking to certain times, or certain days, to avoid obsessing and task switching.
- Using timers to divert your attention to a single activity, after which you can follow other impulses during a short break.
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