Dr. Alok Kanojia

And if you look at most of our behaviors where we struggle with self-control, it's when we're behaving on autopilot, right? I ate one potato chip and then the next 99, I struggle with the first one, but the next 99 are on autopilot. So self-control and awareness, we think that these are two different things. I have to be aware of the conflict and then I have to control it.

But it turns out that these are actually the same. And as long as you are aware of your internal conflict, you will, that's actually the same thing as self-control. And what kind of happens is we like lose sight of it. I don't know if that kind of makes sense. It slips away from our mind and then we're like, ah, like whatever, right? That's what we do in our head. We stop thinking about it.

But it turns out that these are actually the same. And as long as you are aware of your internal conflict, you will, that's actually the same thing as self-control. And what kind of happens is we like lose sight of it. I don't know if that kind of makes sense. It slips away from our mind and then we're like, ah, like whatever, right? That's what we do in our head. We stop thinking about it.

But it turns out that these are actually the same. And as long as you are aware of your internal conflict, you will, that's actually the same thing as self-control. And what kind of happens is we like lose sight of it. I don't know if that kind of makes sense. It slips away from our mind and then we're like, ah, like whatever, right? That's what we do in our head. We stop thinking about it.

We stop focusing on it. And there's a really interesting technique called urge surfing, which we use in addictions, where if you think about like an impulse to use, that's not going to last forever. Right. So the the nature of the human body is that, you know, when I get hungry, if I don't eat, the hunger goes away and then it'll return and it'll go away and then it'll return. It'll go away.

We stop focusing on it. And there's a really interesting technique called urge surfing, which we use in addictions, where if you think about like an impulse to use, that's not going to last forever. Right. So the the nature of the human body is that, you know, when I get hungry, if I don't eat, the hunger goes away and then it'll return and it'll go away and then it'll return. It'll go away.

We stop focusing on it. And there's a really interesting technique called urge surfing, which we use in addictions, where if you think about like an impulse to use, that's not going to last forever. Right. So the the nature of the human body is that, you know, when I get hungry, if I don't eat, the hunger goes away and then it'll return and it'll go away and then it'll return. It'll go away.

What happens is any time I have a desire to do something, that desire won't last forever. So really, the war, this is where a lot of people get messed up because they think I have to conquer this. You don't have to conquer it. All you have to do is watch it and wait it out. You don't actually have to win. You just need to focus on inaction.

What happens is any time I have a desire to do something, that desire won't last forever. So really, the war, this is where a lot of people get messed up because they think I have to conquer this. You don't have to conquer it. All you have to do is watch it and wait it out. You don't actually have to win. You just need to focus on inaction.

What happens is any time I have a desire to do something, that desire won't last forever. So really, the war, this is where a lot of people get messed up because they think I have to conquer this. You don't have to conquer it. All you have to do is watch it and wait it out. You don't actually have to win. You just need to focus on inaction.

All you need to do is sit still for long enough and then it'll go away on its own.

All you need to do is sit still for long enough and then it'll go away on its own.

All you need to do is sit still for long enough and then it'll go away on its own.

Yeah, I mean, I think feeling discomfort is huge. So if you think about people who spend 30% of their calories snacking, they are not aware of what they're doing, right? So you like board the train and then the train takes you to wherever you end up. That's their experience. So you may be aware at the very beginning, but they're not usually aware of the whole journey.

Yeah, I mean, I think feeling discomfort is huge. So if you think about people who spend 30% of their calories snacking, they are not aware of what they're doing, right? So you like board the train and then the train takes you to wherever you end up. That's their experience. So you may be aware at the very beginning, but they're not usually aware of the whole journey.

Yeah, I mean, I think feeling discomfort is huge. So if you think about people who spend 30% of their calories snacking, they are not aware of what they're doing, right? So you like board the train and then the train takes you to wherever you end up. That's their experience. So you may be aware at the very beginning, but they're not usually aware of the whole journey.

So what I would strongly recommend is that first of all, you don't make it easy for yourself to snack automatically. So tech platforms are really good at this. We have things like biometrics so that we can auto log in. It saves our login. They make it super easy for us to engage in technology, right?

So what I would strongly recommend is that first of all, you don't make it easy for yourself to snack automatically. So tech platforms are really good at this. We have things like biometrics so that we can auto log in. It saves our login. They make it super easy for us to engage in technology, right?

So what I would strongly recommend is that first of all, you don't make it easy for yourself to snack automatically. So tech platforms are really good at this. We have things like biometrics so that we can auto log in. It saves our login. They make it super easy for us to engage in technology, right?

So if you have an impulse to like watch a TikTok, TikTok is designed to help you satisfy that impulse within a second. Because if they can get you started, they can hook you for 15 minutes. So all of the tech platforms are trying to reduce the time between you having an impulse and you engaging in the technology. And what we've learned, and this is actually really fascinating.