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Habit Science

Prudence, Paranoia, and Preparation: How to deal with habits that aren’t second nature yet

June 29, 2020

When you’re growing a new habit that isn’t second nature, you’ll face situations that tempt you to regress to your old default behavior.

Some people deal with this through naive invocations of willpower: “I’ll just be strong and say no.”

Others get paranoid, and start seeing danger and threat in every situation. Obviously, neither of these is the answer.

Today’s video shares the best solution that I’ve found.

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The Key to Human Resilience with Scott Carney: PYP 413

June 16, 2020 01:13:43
Most of my work as a health coach involves helping people respond differently to stimuli. That is, develop the ability to make different choices when confronted with tempting foods, tempting environments, tempting people, and tempting sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Think about it – NOT having that ability basically means you’re a robot, a machine. If… Read More

How to Scare Yourself into Better Health

June 12, 2020

This week I got the shit scared out of me, and it was the best thing ever. Because I used two strategies to transform the fear while riding its energy.

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Do You Want to Play a Game?: PYP 407

May 14, 2020 0:12:02
One of the hot trends in behavior modification is gamification – that is, turning our goals and activities into behavioral chunks in order to win points and, sometimes, prizes. Gamification has its place, but there are a couple of pitfalls to watch out for. How best to gamify, and when not to – these are… Read More
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Why I won’t “wish you luck”: PYP 406

May 13, 2020 00:09:27
Often a coaching client will end a session by saying, “Wish me luck” after setting a goal and making a plan to achieve it. In health coaching, this phrase is a huge red flag that the client is going to fail. Read More
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When There’s Nothing More to be Done: PYP 404

May 11, 2020 00:08:34
Sometimes I hear from clients that they’ve done all they can, and they can’t move the needle. They’re stuck. They’ve hit a plateau. And there’s simply nothing more to be done. What do we do then? Read More
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Changing Your Thinking Isn’t Enough: PYP 403

May 7, 2020 00:25:24
Say you want to stop eating junk food, or drinking soda, or watching porn, or whatever. Maybe you’ve read a motivating article or seen a video, or gotten a scary medical result, or just got fed up at your current reality. So you set an intention, and then… you end up doing the same thing… Read More
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How to Eat Less During a Pandemic: PYP 402

May 6, 2020 00:05:44
Lots of us are moving less during this stay-at-home time. But we’re often eating just as much, or more, or more frequently, or worse. It’s easy to say, “Just eat less,” but it’s not that easy to do. In this short episode, I share three strategies for reducing caloric intake without feeling deprived. Read More
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The Power of Incantations: PYP 400

May 1, 2020 00:08:21
In the Jewish tradition, we say “Blessed is the righteous judge” upon hearing of a death. That’s pretty much the opposite of how we may feel at that moment. We’d rather lash out at the unfairness of it, rather than praising the deity that ordained the death. So that incantation gives us the space to… Read More
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You and What Army?: PYP 380

March 27, 2020 0:15:33
Now is not the time to indulge in crappy food choices, even though we may be stressed and cooped up and grieving. We have an army inside us – our immune system – that does its best to keep us safe. Now’s the time to feed it well. We have an opportunity to find new… Read More
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Howard JacobsonHi, I’m Howard Jacobson, host of the Plant Yourself Podcast, and co-founder of WellStart Health. My mission is to inspire and empower you to make Big Changes for yourself, your family, your community, and our planet.

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