it cost me over $500 to learn this lesson

if only i took this money and invested it into:

• courses

• education

• mentors

• business tools

i would have probably been making 10K per month (arguably)

instead i wasted it on:

• nicotine

• cannabis

• caffeine

yes. an entire $250 was blown in one month on meaningless pleasure

i learned from my mistake. quit these bad habits. and made the money back eventually

but it could have been a lot worse if i had more money to waste

you might be in a similar position with more money

and that’s why i’m creating this.

let’s hop in…

the importance of environment

environments are an important part of the habit formation process because they stimulate cues for cravings

a smoker that hangs out at a bar where other people smoke is 10X more likely to light up a cigarette because of the social setting. same goes for alcoholic beverages, cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and other drugs

the first step in conquering any bad habit is changing your environment

if you’ve ever known someone who goes to rehab more than one time it’s because of this simple principle…

they return to their normal environments associated with that habit. and therefore fall back into the same patterns as they surround themselves with the same people

immerse yourself in environments where good habits are easier to pick up

gyms, coffee shops, martial art studios, etc.

you want to replace your old environment with a new environment that makes it easy to replace old habits with better ones

which brings me to my next point…

becoming aware of expected outcomes

every habit we indulge in has an expected outcome

this outcome is either conscious, subconscious, or unconscious

we want to become aware of these outcomes so we have more power over them

for example…

smokers often relate the habit of smoking with relaxation
heavy drinkers relate the habit of drinking with socialization
cannabis users might relate the sensation of being high with elevated creativity

on the other side of the spectrum…

lifters associate the gym with therapeutic benefits
writers associate walking with idea generation
creatives associate nature with creative development

do you see what i am pointing towards?

if not, i’ll be educating you on some neurobiology

dopamine is at the center of each habit

it drives our decisions without us even noticing

fasting from cheap dopamine through regular dopamine detoxing or replacing easy dopamine with earned dopamine makes us more resilient and increases our motivation to pursue harder tasks

this develops our willpower, discipline, and consistency the more aware we become over our decisions (more on that in modern monk)

cultivating discipline, willpower, and consistency

do more of what sucks

especially cold plunges

those really suck

but…

they make you more resilient
it’s great for muscle recovery
get’s you to breathe better
releases the same amount of dopamine as cocaine

yeah it sucks

but the benefits far outweigh the negatives

especially when you are trying to replace bad habits

(note that this is positioned specifically for people who want to replace bad habits)

it’s not always neccesarry to make your life suck as much as possible. unless you are david goggins

in the end the suck of life has it’s place. in my philosophy i believe being uncomfortable at least once per day through:

• excercise

• cold exposure

• meditation

• reading

• breathwork

• talking to more people

• etc

note that many of these are not physically challenging

they can also be mentally uncomfortable

the more you do this…

the more healthy dopamine you generate

and eventually that becomes a part of your identity

that’s all for this post. feel free to reach out if you need help with conquering bad habits and replacing them with good ones. till next time

— eric viviers