How To Trick Your Brain Into Doing Hard Things

“I’ll put it off until tomorrow.”

“Today was stressful, I just don’t have the energy.”

“I’m sooooooooo tired.”

We all have those days where we don’t feel like doing anything. Where we have an irresistible urge to just lay down and not get up. When we have no motivation to keep going, and begin asking questions like “Why do I even bother?”

Everyone feels this way from time to time, even super successful people like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. But what separates them from everyone else is their ability to trick their brain into doing hard things even when they don’t feel like it. You see, successful people understand that if they want to accomplish something in life, they can’t make excuses. They can’t allow their brain to control them – they have to be the ones in control.

This is why knowing how to trick your brain into doing the things you want is such a crucial skill to learn if you want to succeed. Instead of constantly fighting with your brain whether or not to do something, you can make up your mind once and for all. That gives you the peace of mind to enjoy the present moment, instead of having a thought linger inside your head.

If you’re having trouble getting your brain to listen, you are in luck. Today we’re revealing some of the best tricks on how to trick your brain and make it do things on demand.

What To Do When Your Brain Won’t Listen

The difference between successful and average people is that successful people get things done even when they don’t feel like it.

They’re able to hack into their minds so that they control their own emotions, not the other way around. This is the biggest reason why average people stay average – they allow their bodies to control them, and give in to emotional desires that don’t benefit them.

So how do you trick your brain to overcome obstacles that are hindering your will to get things done? How can you take control of your mind, and force it to obey your commands?

The answer is, you can’t. Your brain is stubborn, and forcing it to do something that it doesn’t want won’t make it listen. In fact, trying to use force to get your brain to do what you want is only going to make it even more stubborn. Now, you have to fight a battle against your own mind to get it to listen to you, which solves nothing. And as Abraham Lincoln once said – a house divided in two cannot stand.

Instead of using force, a much more effective way of getting your brain to do what you want is to use influence. That way, you can persuade your brain into doing what you want, without any resistance.

For example, if I ordered you to eat an apple and you disliked apples, you would most likely refuse. But if I told you how juicy, delicious, and mouth-watering this apple in my hand is, now you are starting to reconsider your choices. You are allowing your brain to make its own decisions. And when your brain wants to do something by itself, that creates desire. That’s why influence and persuasion is one of the best techniques on how to trick your brain.

Here are 3 of the best mind hacks on how to trick your brain into doing what you want.

Tip #1: The Cost of Inaction

Instead of focusing on what needs to be done, ask yourself the question: “What is the cost of inaction?”

What is the cost of not doing what you know you are supposed to? For example, if you usually go to the gym 3 times a week, but are feeling lazy that week, what is the cost of slacking off? Think about all the work you have put in up to this point. The goal of achieving a 6 pack as your goal for 2020. Are you going to let yet another New Year’s Resolution go unachieved? How many sessions will you have to make up in order to get back to the fitness level you want? 

People are motivated more by loss than by reward. For example, the thought of losing everything you own is a far greater fear than having something to gain. If you had to make a choice between keeping all your assets or risk losing them all for a chance to win $1,000, would you take that risk? Most likely not, because the reward does not justify the risk. 

As a result, your brain naturally leans toward not taking that risk, because it is risk-averse. It would prefer to keep what it has than to risk losing it. That is why focusing on what you have to lose is one way to influence your brain to do what you want.

Tip #1 on how to trick your brain: Use fear or the risk of loss as a motivator.

Tip #2: Indecision Is A Decision

If you have difficulty making decisions on the spot, realize that not making a decision is a decision.

For example, if someone offered you an all-expenses-paid vacation to Hawaii, you have only two choices: To accept the offer or to decline it. If you accept the offer, you are consciously making the decision to say yes. But if you do nothing, you are unconsciously making the decision to say no. The person offering you the opportunity is waiting for you to make a decision. If you stand there are look at them for a few minutes, they are going to assume you are declining their offer and move on to the next person.

This is why indecision is so costly – by doing nothing you are basically declining opportunities that come your way. Realize that by doing nothing, you are still doing something. Doing nothing is a choice. Doing something is also a choice. Every time you make a choice, you are making a decision. And indecision is the worst decision of all. If you can’t make your mind up, you are automatically declining an offer without even realizing it.

So where does indecision come from? It stems from a fear of making the wrong decisions. Most people who are indecisive and unable to make decisions is because they are afraid of being wrong. They are afraid that their decision will result in some kind of consequence. However, the reality is that not making a decision has consequences as well. For example, if a car is speeding towards you, being indecisive is going to cost you your life. But making the decision to move out of the way – whether or not it is right or wrong, will potentially save your life.

The other consequence of being indecisive is wasting time. Time is a precious resource that can never be refunded. Once you spend it, it’s gone. Instead of wasting your time pondering about whether or not to do something, make a decision and stick with it. Even if it turns out to be a bad decision, you can learn from your mistakes and move on.

It’s Okay To Be Wrong But Not To Be In Doubt

Make a decision and stick with it. Be bold, and trust in yourself. One of the most valuable skills you can learn is learning how to be decisive. In business, money loves speed, and if you aren’t able to be bold and make quick decisions, you are going to end up poor.

For example, have you ever stuttered during an opportunity, only for someone else to swoop in and steal it from you? In business, this happens quite frequently. Business people who aren’t decisive run into the problem of having opportunities stolen right from them. Because they hesitate, it leaves room for their competitors to come in and make a better offer. 

If you want to be more decisive, have the mindset that a decision is not good or bad – what matters is how you handle what comes next. In fact, the consequences of not taking action or making a decision are far more costly than making a mistake. Not making a decision means that you are accepting your current circumstances and allowing them to continue. If you are unhappy with your current situation, realize that by doing nothing, nothing gets solved either. 

Learning how to trick your brain goes beyond just motivation. Being able to see different perspectives and turn losses into wins is another way that successful people take control of their lives. A truly successful person can learn from both their victories and their failures. And the only way to achieve something great is to make and commit to a decision. 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky

Tip #3: Life Is Short

You are going to die anyway. What are you afraid of?

Many people follow a traditional way of thinking. They want to save money, live below their means and not take risks. They’re afraid of losing in the game we call life. But the truth is that there is nothing to lose in the first place.

At the end of our lifespan, each and every one of us is going to die. We are not getting off this planet alive, and we have a limited amount of time left. What we do with the short amount of time we have, determines whether or not life was worth living. Our emotions, happiness, success, and sense of achievement is based on what we do, not what we didn’t do.

In fact, research shows that when a group of people were asked to name their single biggest life regret, 76% of participants cited an action not taken, that would have helped them realize their ideal self. These people are saying they regret the fact that they have regrets. There were things that they didn’t do, that they knew would have helped them grow. But due to indecision or refusing to take action, they missed out on the opportunity to grow themselves and their potential to become something greater.

If you want to know how to trick your brain into doing things when it doesn’t want to, ask yourself why it is allowing that type of behavior to occur.

To live life is to experience everything it has to offer – good or bad. But if your brain does not want to take action, it is essentially saying it does not want to live. It does not want to experience life and would prefer to just let it pass by.

Do you see the problem?

If your brain is allowing that to happen, at the end of your life you are going to have regrets. And there won’t be any second chances to correct those decisions, it will simply just be over. If you’re having trouble telling your brain to do things, ask it one question: Do you want to live?

The Unseen Threat That Looms Over Everyone

“As I get older there’s something that I notice. It’s something that when I was in my 20’s, it was almost non-existent. But once I entered my 30’s, I realized it became much more frequent and noticeable. This realization was that the people around me started to disappear.

At first, it was just one person that I didn’t know that well. But then it began to happen more frequently, and to people that I was closer with. First, it was a stranger, then a close acquaintance. Then it began to happen even more frequently – a close friend, a relative, a family member. And the next one, and the next one, and the next one. People around me started to pass away. And I realized over that period of time, that life is precious. 

There were some close friends I knew that passed away before they achieved their dreams. Before they managed to fully enjoy life, and make their parents proud with their achievements. Life is unpredictable, and while no one likes to think about it, we won’t always be here. We spend our time doing things that don’t bring us meaning and fulfillment when in reality we should be doing everything we possibly can to enjoy life while we still can. To me, I believe the greatest risk is not taking any risks at all. Because that means you never got the opportunity to truly live. At the end of your life, your regrets won’t be the things you did do, it’s the things you didn’t do.”

Too often we take life for granted. We forget that our time here is limited and that we should make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.

At the end of our lives, we’ll look back at our experiences and our regrets. The ones who will be satisfied with how they lived their life, will be those with the least regrets.

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