How Pavlov & His Dogs Saved My Life

My addiction to video games was quite nearly the death of me. I played for hours & hours every single day, and they totally destroyed my quality of life.

I hated myself for letting things get so bad and wasting so much of my time - but quitting them felt completely hopeless!

I could never seem to muster the willpower to kick that miserable habit. It wasn’t until I radically changed my approach towards “willpower” & personal growth that I found a way out.

Oddly enough, it was Ivan Pavlov’s famous study of classical conditioning (yes, the guy with the dogs) that changed how I thought about how I make choices - and the changes I made clearly saved my life from an untimely end.

In this post, we’re going to talk about how I stumbled upon a technique that Tony Robbins calls “Neuro-Associative Conditioning” and how it allows me to re-wire my brain to obey my intentions and desires.

Finally? We’ll cover how you can use these techniques, too.

Starting around my 10th birthday, I was on my PC slaying monsters in Azeroth or brawling on Summoner’s Rift at virtually every moment I was allowed to do so… and when I entered adulthood & began living on my own, things got worse - much worse.

Throughout my early 20’s, I was up late almost every night playing League of Legends, and that compulsion took a heavy toll on every aspect of my life. Every day I dumped into a game saw another pound tacked on to my waistline, and another ounce of hope drained from my soul.

I couldn’t focus on my classes, my work, or (trying to) date, because I poured every free moment I had into video games - desperate to feel something resembling happiness - or (more honestly) numbness.

If you’ve been down this road yourself, you know how this course of action tends to turn out. The dopamine hits that video games offer stop feeling pleasant - but you find yourself craving them regardless.

I was at the end of my rope mentally, financially, and emotionally, and I began making the sort of plans that people feeling such despair often do.

I still remember thinking to myself… “if nothing changes, it’s probably time to call it a life". Then, something changed. I discovered a more effective way to think about and address this habit that was well on its way to killing me - and it applies to almost everything you or I choose to do in life.

In This Newsletter:

1. The Pain/Pleasure Principle
   Willpower isn’t an effective motivator over the long run. You will inevitably respond to the stimuli you experience - pleasant or painful.

2. How Pavlov & His Dogs Saved My Life
   Humans are susceptible to classical conditioning, and you’re no exception. Let’s look at how I reshaped my brain’s response towards both unpleasant-but-healthy & harmful-but-pleasant behaviors.