Break Bad Habits
Build Better Ones
Become Better Men
- Nate Whitson -
I'm working on being a man of DISCIPLINE. It's one of our Fight Club's 4 Principles and something I need to constantly work on.
In particular, I'm challenged with finding discipline when it comes to the food that I eat.
I've always struggled with things like portion control, food quality vs convenience eating, and binge-eating at night when I'm bored or watching television.
But one of the things that makes this so challenging for me is how decision fatigue sets in and keeps me from doing the things I know I should do.
Decision fatigue is what happens when your brain gets tired from making too many choices — even small ones — throughout the day. The more decisions you make (or need to make), the harder each one becomes, and the lower the quality of your choices gets.
This leads to feeling overwhelmed and doing nothing or reverting to old, bad habits instead.
Maybe you can relate.
Here are a few things I'm trying to do that might help you too:
- Automate as much as you can. For me, this might mean having the exact same protein shake on the way out the door each day or eating the same thing for lunch every day so I can hit my protein goals. The point is that the fewer the decisions you have to make, the better! So automate whatever you can.
- Make important decisions earlier in the day. If I have heavy thinking or important decision-making to do, I try to schedule those things first thing in the morning when I have more brain power and energy. You should do the same if you can. Don't delay and do them when you're willpower and energy are at their lowest points later in the day.
- Use the Fight Club Framework. Having a common mantra or framework that you repeat often (like this one) can help you consider who you want to be and help you do what you need to do: "I am a man of DISCIPLINE. I do the hard right things over the easy wrong things every time."
- Less is best. Narrow your options so your brain doesn't have to work so hard to make decisions. Picking between 2-3 options will always trump having 10 or more to choose from (even if they're all great!). Small > Big. Here's how I help Christian men start super small and win.
- Don't overthink it. So much decision fatigue is due to overthinking. Make a plan and execute your plan. Move forward and make small changes along the way as you need to.
When it comes to making changes in your life, don't let decision fatigue be the thing that keeps you from being the husband, father, or follower of Jesus that you want to be.
Nate
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P.S.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with decision fatigue?
If so, give these few ideas that I mentioned above a try.
Change is tough, and the mental stress of making decisions is often a big reason why Christian men struggle.
But it doesn't have to be if you're thoughtful about these things and live more intentionally.
So, if you're looking for help and want to change but aren't sure what to do, check out this program. I think it might help.
