Category: Uncategorized

 

I just returned from an insane trip to the Bulletproof Conference in California. Last year, we announced Pavlok preorders there, and this time I met ten people who were actually WEARING the Pavlok unit! Several people had amazing stories to tell — so I wanted to share a couple.

 

John Used Pavlok to Reduce Negative Thoughts (watch the video) – John received his Pavlok in the mail and put it on. He wasn’t sure exactly how to use it, so he strapped it on and decided to press the button whenever he had negative thoughts about his family, or felt emotional.

His results were incredible to say the least — within two days, he noticed the negative thoughts disappear. He only did it for 2 days (not the recommended 5 days), but the thoughts disappeared for 10 days(!!) before creeping back up slowly. An extra booster session will keep them at bay.

You could imagine using Pavlok for things like:

• Self criticism

• Obsessive thoughts

• Trying to get over your ex

• Mind racing when trying to sleep

• I even use it all the time to get a stuck song out of my head!

 

Jason used Pavlok for his donut addiction (watch the video)- Jason wanted to cut back on unhealthy snacks — specifically, donuts.

 

On day 1, he pressed the button when he wanted a donut — desire gone.

On day 2, he did the whole formula. Button press while buying the donut, smelling, eating bite one, bite two, etc.

And THAT WAS IT. He has had 0 cravings for the donuts ever since. He explains in the video, that the aversion was rapidly built and every time he thinks of donuts he thinks of zap.

You could imagine using this same system for

• Getting over sugar

• Quitting drinking

• Quitting tortilla chips

• Quitting smoking

 

 

Can’t believe I got to meet real users, it was incredible.

Other notes:

• Are you a Pavlok user and have tried out the product for a few days? Please fill out this survey about your experiences
  
  

• Interested in getting a Pavlok? Click here to order your own. We have about 2200 left to ship to previous customers. New orders will arrive in mid to late November.
  
  

• NOTE: We are selling very fast and are likely going to run out well before xmas. If you are interested in a Pavlok for this year, consider ordering sooner rather than later.
  
  

• Use code BULLETPROOF for 15% off your order.

 

Thanks a lot 🙂

 

P.S. I can’t believe how many supporters there were at the Bulletproof event. Thanks so much for being there guys. You are truly the best.

MANEESH OUT

(Boston, MA today, NYC this week/weekend)

 

We all have things we should be doing… and things we spend way too much time on:

“I really should go to the gym, but I’ve got this novel I can’t put down”.

“I really should start working on my assignment, but I can’t stop scrolling through Facebook”.

“I really should go to bed early tonight, but I really wanna find out what happens in this next episode of…”

If you often find yourself dealing with any of the above or similar dilemmas, don’t despair!

A group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to help us do the things we should be doing, and also enjoy our guilty pleasures, by “bundling” the two together.

Instant gratification plus long-term benefits = win-win!

The research

In the study (Milkman, Minson, Volpp, 2013) the researchers tested a new approach called “attention bundling” to get people to start exercising at the gym.

Volunteers were split into three groups. Participants in the first groups were given highly-engaging audiobooks that they could only access at the gym.

The second group was given the same audiobooks, but was not restricted on their use. However, the participants were encouraged to listen to them exclusively at the gym.

The control group received no audiobooks and were given no restrictions. They were simply instructed to go to the gym.

The results

After the study, the group who had gym-only audiobook access had visited the gym 51% more frequently than the control group. Those in the second group (unrestricted audiobook access) also showed up 29% more frequently than the control group.

Overall attendance did decline after a while, particularly after Thanksgiving.

However, 61% of participants found the method so useful, they stated they would pay to have gym-only devices to help them with their training program.

How to use “temptation bundling” in everyday life

“Temptation bundling” is a great way to get you going on what you should be doing, by taking away the tedium and replacing it with things you actually enjoy.

The gym example used in the study above is a great starting point. You could also apply it to other physical activities.

Let’s say you want to start running.

Find an audiobook you’ve really been wanting to listen to. Download it to your phone and commit to listen to it only while running.

If it’s a good audiobook it will serve as motivation to get you on the road. Plus, you’ll be so absorbed with listening to it, your mind will be distracted from the running, making it the activity easier to stomach.

If you don’t trust yourself to stick to the plan, just use an old phone and dump the audiobook on it. Then, give it to a family member or friend who wants to help you succeed, and ask them to only give it back to you when you go running.

Remember, this method is intended to take away the tedium of you initial attempts at building a habit. Once you’ve repeated an activity enough times, you’ll probably find you won’t need these external motivators anymore!

Bibliography

Milkman, K., Minson, J., & Volpp, K. (2013). Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e570052013-128

Smoking is an addiction. If you disagree, there’s probably little point in you reading this article.

On the other hand, if you have tried to quit smoking and failed many times over, you will agree it is a relentless drain on your health and finances. The cigarette becomes an essential part of your life, making it very hard to quit and stay away.

The problem is that cigarettes give instant gratification, while most of the negative effects are long-term. Your health can decline subtly, and you might not realize just how much money you burn on cigarettes over time.

So a team of researchers decided to make the financial downside of smoking a little more “painful”, to see whether this would help smokers quit their habit.

The research

The field experiment (Gine, Karlan, Zinman, 2009) focused on a group of volunteers who wished to stop smoking. As part of the study, they were asked to deposit funds in a savings account once a month for six months. The total deposited was approximately 20% of their monthly income.

At the end of this period, they would be tested for indicators of smoking. If found clean of any smoking-related substances, they would get their money back. If not, the money would be donated to charity.

The results

After six months, the volunteers were given a urine test — 35% were found to be free of any smoking-related substances, having effectively quit their habit.

More importantly, a surprise test 12 months later found 48% of them had stayed away from smoking.

How you can use this method to quit and stay away from smoking

As Mark Twain says, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”

The method above isn’t only effective at helping you quit, but also at keeping you away from the habit in the long term.

Here’s how you can set up a system to help you quit smoking, using the principles in this article:

1. Find a friend or family member whom you trust and who cares about your success.
2. Set up a monthly automatic transfer of funds from your account to this person’s account. To decide how much you will be contributing per month, use this formula:
   (Your Monthly Salary x 20%) / 6 = Monthly Contribution There’s no need to go for a huge chunk of your salary. Just make sure the sum is large enough to make it a painful loss if you don’t succeed.
3. Agree on which charity will benefit in case you fail. For extra motivation, get your friend to choose a charity you’re not particularly fond of.
4. Write all the details down on paper, sign it, and have your friend sign it too.

IMPORTANT: Make sure your friend is committed to following through with the plan even if you fail. This will give you the resolve to stick to the plan and finally give up smoking once and for all!

Bibliography

Gine, X., Karlan, D., & Zinman, J. (2009). Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e596022012-001

Next week (10/20 & 10/21), Pavlok is teaming up with CreativeLive to host a special two-day course called Unstoppable Improvement on hacking habits and creating permanent behavior change in your life.

Sounds great, right? But if you’re like most of us (myself included a few years ago), you might be thinking…

“I don’t have ANY good habits going for me right now. And I wouldn’t even know where to start changing them.”

Don’t worry, it’s normal to feel completely overwhelmed when confronted with changing some of your most fundamental behaviors.

It’s also hard to know where you should begin, isn’t it?

Should you try to form a new positive habit? Or should you try to break an old negative one? And what’s the difference between the two?

These are the types of tough challenges we’ve been helping each other solve  in our private CreativeLive Facebook community dedicated to hacking habits. And now, it’s open for you to join (click here to request access).

The community is free to join, and it’s the only place you can get on the inside track to attend the CreativeLive event next week.

Some people want to work eliminating things that bother them forever:

Other members are working on developing rock-solid routines to enhance their lives:

Do you need this type of support? We’d love to have you!

Click here to request FREE access to our private community and get all the support you’ll need to start changing your life immediately + inside info on how to access the CreativeLive course next week and other bonuses.