Why Do I Keep Doing This? The Agency Reset for Habits You Don’t Even Enjoy Anymore

Have you ever kept doing something you already decided you wanted to stop?

Dave and Luke look at the distance between what we decide and what we actually do, and what it can tell us about our agency. They unpack why we can feel stuck in compulsive habits even when we know better or no longer enjoy them, and offer a different view of freedom: being able to say no to something you want because you want something else more. Along the way they share a three-question test for a habit that may be eroding your agency, look at what research on limiting mobile internet access says about changing our defaults, and use Odysseus and the Sirens to show why deciding in advance works better than willpower in the moment. They close with a five-step agency reset for spotting your triggers and interrupting a compulsive habit before it runs.

Chapters

• 00:00 When Your Actions Don’t Match Your Decisions. Dave and Luke explore everyday examples of habits that can begin to take away our ability to choose.
• 03:55 What Does Agency Actually Mean? What agency means within the mental fitness framework, plus a three-question test for recognizing when a behavior may be taking away your freedom.
• 15:34 Why Knowing Better Isn’t Enough. Self-deception, triggers, dopamine, and why wanting something isn’t always the same as enjoying it.
• 26:25 Present You vs. Future You. Why immediate desires can overrule long-term goals, and how giving your future self a vote can change today’s choices.
• 37:16 Exercise Agency Before You Need It. What Odysseus and the Sirens can teach us about making decisions in advance, plus the five-step agency reset.

Links and Resources

• Sign up for NUE: Your Mental Fitness Platform
• ElizaChat: Responsible and Ethical AI Solutions