Habits and Hustle
Episode 397: Michael Easter on The Comfort Crisis: Is Optimizing Life Making Us Weaker?
12 Nov 2024
Is our obsession with optimization actually making us weaker? In this episode of the Habits and Hustle podcast, I am joined by Michael Easter, author of "The Comfort Crisis" and "Scarcity Brain," to explore how modern society's relentless pursuit of wellness and optimization might be backfiring. We discuss the possibility that the more requirements we add to basic human functions (like sleeping, exercising, or working), the more fragile we become. We also dive into elaborate morning routines, sleep-tracking devices, how subtraction, not addition, might be the key to building real resilience in our overly-comfortable world, and the best way to end a day of intellectual work. Michael Easter has made a career as a New York Times bestselling author by traveling the world to uncover practical ideas that help people live healthier, happier, and more remarkable lives. His research spans from war zones to the Arctic to the Bolivian jungle, where he's interviewed thousands of experts including Nobel laureates and world-class athletes. Easter shares these science-backed insights in his books, including Scarcity Brain and The Comfort Crisis, as well as in his newsletter, Two Percent with Michael Easter. His work has been adopted by professional sports teams, Fortune 500 companies, and elite military units to transform their approaches to physical health, mental well-being, and performance. What We Discuss: (00:00) Book Authors Discuss Success and Integrity (08:27) The Scarcity Loop in Behavior Psychology (15:34) Behavioral Psychology and Impulse Control (28:16) Unpredictability and Stimulus Seeking (42:21) Efficiency Through Resource Subtraction (50:30) Daily Habits and Mental Stamina …and more! Thank you to our sponsors: AquaTru: Get 20% off any purifier at aquatru.com with code HUSTLE Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off TruNiagen: Head over to truniagen.com and use code HUSTLE20 to get $20 off any purchase over $100. Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout. BiOptimizers: Want to try Magnesium Breakthrough? Go to https://bioptimizers.com/jennifercohen and use promo code JC10 at checkout to save 10% off your purchase. Timeline Nutrition: Get 10% off your first order at timeline.com/cohen Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers. Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagement Find more from Michael Easter: Website: https://eastermichael.com/ Books: https://eastermichael.com/books-v2-wip/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_easter/
Full Episode
Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits & Hustle. Crush it. Okay, so this is the book. This has been out for a year, The Scarcity Brain, yeah?
Yeah, a year tomorrow, actually.
Wow, happy anniversary. And this one is The Comfort Crisis, which is, I really enjoyed this one, too.
Oh, thank you.
This is your first one. Yep. I'm going to ask you a couple questions from that, too, because I really, I noticed something which I found to be very interesting in it. You talk about, in that book, I just did a TED Talk. Let me just get back up. Three days ago. Thank you. Part of that TED talk was me talking about this cool concept of like how boredom has been a lot is a lost feature in our world.
And because of that, I think mine was much more about kids and how building mental strength and toughness has been, it's, it's becoming a problem in a very soft world. And I think a big part of it is because of boredom. We've, we've lost that ability.
And then you talked about that a little bit, which is an interesting, I didn't realize, I didn't realize, like, I was like, oh my God, I really like this guy now. Like you kind of make, you kind of make mention of it also, like what the benefits of boredom are and like how the world has evolved to not having it anymore.
Yeah. Well, we'll have to talk about that.
I know. Let's talk about it. Go ahead. We're starting.
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