Ep. 33: How to Motivate Yourself

We all have things we know would be good to do, but it’s hard to do them. On this episode, Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest focus on a key aspect of motivation: how we can incline our minds to break bad habits, and want the things that are good for it.

If you'd like to start making real, positive changes to your brain and your life, but you don't have a lot of extra time, then you may want to check out Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price.

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The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:40: Why doesn’t just knowing that something is bad stop us from doing it?

2:55: How does motivation work biologically?

7:00: The importance of connecting good behaviors to direct rewards.

8:50: Becoming good at imagining rewards.

12:40: Internalizing reward along the way.

14:20: Imbuing simple tasks with meaning.

17:30: Bringing playfulness to what you do.

19:30: Is there genetic variation in how easily motivated people are?

23:35: Having empathy for biological differences between people.

27:40: The relationship between nature and nurture.

33:35: The value of fulfilling expectations.

37:25: Identifying novelty.

39:40: Finding the fun factor.

41:00: Self-nurturance vs. self-criticism.

46:15: Recap

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