Transcription
Please, I really want to know, can we actually brainwash ourselves?
Absolutely. And I can give you the answers on exactly how to do that in four steps. If you want to learn brainwashing, the best place to do that is to start with the fear model. It's F E A R.
F is focus. And what we're really trying to do is not thinking of how a human being starts focusing. We're really thinking at a mammalian level. In any mammal that you can think of, the moment that something unexpected or different is introduced, there's a tremendous amount of increase [music] in focus in that animal. Always think of it in terms of there's a human side of this and there's an animal side of this. And if I don't get the animal side right, the human side is going to try to logic its way out of problems and it's not going to work. And this is what makes all of our body work. So, that is the first element of brainwashing is that extreme level of novelty, which manufactures focus.
So, let's shift to the next one, which is emotion. So, this is I need some kind of emotional stimulus that's [music] repetitive. You are doing things to build an emotional connection to what is going on. And this happens through negative emotion and positive emotion.
On the negative side of emotion, you have something that I like to call self-deprivation. It's just depriving yourself of things. You're kind of treating yourself like a detainee in one of these operations, except you're doing it for good. So, cold showers in the morning. I'm setting my alarm clock 30 minutes earlier throughout the day. I'm exercising when I don't want to. I usually do sugar in my coffee. I'm taking that sugar out. And what this is secretly doing on the emotional side, the mammalian part of our brain, it says, "This person is providing and developing proof and facts that are proving that discipline is starting to occur." And the animal part of your brain is learning that you are in charge now.
And the second part is there's an emotional aspect to discipline that most people lack in that we're not forward-thinking. [music] The way that I define discipline is your ability to prioritize the needs of your future self ahead of your own. And the reason that most people have discipline problems [music] is that they don't have a mental relationship with me out in the future. Like it's 11:00 p.m. I've stayed up too late. Maybe I got drunk or something. I came home and I'm just gorging on cheesecake like I'm a madman. That is because I've lost a connection with future me.
So, the way to do that is I need a visual reminder and I need to develop a visual relationship with a future version of me. You download that app that's called Facetune or FaceApp. It's an app that makes you look like 85, 90 years old. And you just take a selfie and you make yourself look old as hell and you put that everywhere. Put it on your fridge, put it on your bathroom mirror. Just put it in your awareness because this is what's actually called the reticular formation in your brain. And what we're doing is just repeated exposure leads to future desire and future focus. I'm teaching my brain that I am becoming familiar with all of those things that I'm routinely exposed to.