Your brain values long-term benefits when they are in the future (tomorrow), but it values immediate gratification when it comes to the present moment (today).
The problem is that ‘today’ and ‘the future’ are handled by different parts of your brain, which often don’t collaborate well with each other.
So you bounce from one to the other and back again, not understanding why your immediate desirealways wins out over your good intentions.
This is what happens when you really fancy some chocolate even though you are trying to lose weight.
It is also why you keep on getting pulled into the dopamine hit of your phone even though you know you’re feeling more and more overloaded and burned out.
Which part of your brain is recognising this scenario?
Your Today Brain?
Or your Future Brain?
Or both?
What can you do about this? Well, just knowing that you have two different parts in your brain that are pulling in different directions here is a really helpful first step. Seeing that it is a conversation (or a tug-of-war!) helps get some perspective that can help you start to choose which outcome you would like.
#burnout #alwayson #goodintentions
