Comment by blitz_skull | Hacker News Reader

Comment by blitz_skull | Hacker News Reader

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Hmm.. I’m torn because on the one hand, you’re definitely correct that a non-trivial amount of our lives is subconscious, which is different from auto-pilot in my pedantic opinion.

However, anecdotally I’ve found that whether you think you can do something or whether you think you cannot—you are correct. That is to say, I feel like admitting to the biological truth actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy which causes me to fall to my biological default.

However, if I reject that biological “truth”, I will more often find myself empowered by the notion that I can do anything I set my mind to, whether it be drugs or going for a run.

It’s the classic “mind over matter” phenomenon. Your fundamental beliefs can override your biological defaults, so I think it’s very important to regulate and review your beliefs.

I think you're totally missing the point. The point is that most of your actual lived life is simply stimulus and response. We actually have an extremely limited capacity for making reasoned choices - we just don't have the mental energy. So instead we learn to respond in a certain way to a certain stimulus (habit).

Here's an example from my life: I used to go the gym every Wednesday night after work. Several times over the course of this habit, I realized at the end of a long day that I would be better off going home and getting some rest, and decided to go home instead. In nearly every single instance I still drove to the gym, even though I had decided to go home. Because I was on auto-pilot. If we're talking about willpower, I would have say that it was my lack of willpower that led me to going to the gym and working out that day.

What you're talking about is a kind of willpower, which funnily enough has a biological basis also. Genetics seems to play a role, as do many medications. The marshmallow test seems to show willpower largely stays the same over 4 decades. Ozempic also seems to show you can artificially induce it. It's not mind over matter, it's having a mind primed to do it in the first place. It won't be as easily taught to someone who grabs the marshmallow instantly as a preschooler. We also seem to be able to induce it these days with ozempic, which is fascinating.

I don't think Ozempic operates on willpower... it slows your digestion process, which makes you feel fuller longer and can make you incredibly ill if you overeat.

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