Don’t Get Hooked On Stuff You Don’t Really Need | The Placebo Effect

Three things that I stopped doing, that made me reflect and say… WOW! Why was I doing these things to begin with? There are some things that we do because of a habit. We develop a habit to do certain things. Habit of this, habit of doing this, habit of using this equipment or having whatever habits you have that you do on a daily basis, on a consistent basis. I think that habits are good. They serve you for a period of time to adjust you or to help you improve. But I think that from time to time, it’s a good idea to reevaluate those habits and see if they’re actually boxing you in and not letting you grow further.

That happened to me on these examples that I’m going to share with you. I think it’s good to evaluate and take a look at what habits you have, things that you do on a regular basis, just because you’re used to doing them, you’re comfortable doing them. That’s the way you learned how to do them. You think that’s the best way to do them… These are our beliefs that we have in whatever we’re doing. Just think about it for a minute, and ask yourself, or try to stop doing those habits and see if you can actually continue doing as good as you’re doing. Observe that you may be doing the same thing or even better. That’s what happened to me.

Let me give you an example. I was drinking coffee about two years ago on a regular basis. I drank like four or five cups of coffee each day. It was a habit and I didn’t really like it that I was hooked on it. About a year ago, I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey. I just stopped drinking it for over a year. I drank celery juice instead. And I found that I didn’t really need coffee. I was fine without it. So it was just a habit of drinking it, and it didn’t really serve me. At the beginning, first cup of coffee, second cup of coffee, okay, yeah, it gives you a little boost. But then you don’t really need it.
These are some things that are like a placebo. They do have an effect on you, but it comes to a point where it’s more of a mindset thing. Your mind gets convinced that you can do something because you’re doing something else, or because you’re taking a certain pill, or because you’re taking a certain drink. So I challenge you to try what you’re doing. This is very general, whatever it is, I don’t know what you’re doing, but just think about it. Is there something that you can stop doing that you think you’re doing and it’s helping you and you’re afraid to stop doing it, give it a shot. Coffee is an example for me.

Another example that I can give you is sleep. As you may know, I’ve been going to the gym, 5:00 in the morning, I wake up at 4:00. And there’s a common theme about, oh, you got to get all your sleep, or seven hours, eight hours sleep. Yeah, you need sleep. There’s a physiological need that your body needs sleep and rest and all of that. But the number of hours, I think, that your body can adjust to certain numbers, I think it’s different for everybody, but there’s definitely a good amount of sleep that you need. But exactly how much, I think that you can tweak it a little bit and it’s based on how your day goes, what your nutrition is and your fitness, etc. It’s not set in stone. So think about what habits you have in terms of sleeping.

Oh, NO, I can’t wake up early. That’s just the mindset thing that you have developed. Once you get used to doing something, you create another habit, right? So maybe you have a habit of going to bed late or watching some Netflix before going to bed or something, and then time just goes by and you’re not really doing anything productive. It’s more entertaining than anything else. Okay. But does it serve you in the long run? Does it compound into something good for you? No? Maybe? Just think about that. So, you could definitely wake up earlier. You don’t have to, but try it, try it, see how it works out. But remember, your mindset is what’s driving you more than your physical body, right? You might feel tired, but you can change your physiology by how you think, and just creating some type of movement in your body, and you can shake out of that rut, if you are in one.

There’s a lot of placebo effect going on with what we’re doing, and you might think that it’s helping you and it’s really not. I think it just keeps you where you are. So think about that.

Here’s a third example I want to share with you. I have AirPods that I use every single time that I go to the gym. Every time I go running or workout, I listen to music, and that’s why I have them. I like to listen to music. If I leave the house, or if I misplace the AirPods, I’m miserable because I can’t find them, I can’t have my music when I’m working out and I don’t work out as good. That’s what was happening. Now, last couple of weeks, my son has AirPods as well, but he has the regular AirPods, I have the AirPods Pro. He says his AirPods weren’t working that well, so he was asking to borrow my AirPods Pro. So he asked for that a few times, and I think he was just making it up. He just likes the noise cancellation feature that the AirPods Pro have, but whatever, he was asking for them. So he borrowed it a few times. And what ended up happening is that he didn’t return them. He didn’t return my AirPods right away. So the next day, or whenever I needed them, I didn’t have them with me. A lot of times I woke up early in the morning, I didn’t find my AirPods and I didn’t have my AirPods when I went to the gym. So I went to the gym without the AirPods. Was it the end of the world? No, I worked out. So then later on what I ended up doing was I just gave him the AirPods. I just said, well, take them for you. So I gave him my AirPods Pro, and I ordered something else… not the AirPods, I ordered some Amazon Echo Buds 2, which I just wanted to try. So, I’m waiting for them to be delivered. So, in the meantime, while I wait for them to arrive, I don’t have any AirPods, or any earbuds… No music. So I’ve been going to the gym for two, three days already without AirPods, I worked out, and it wasn’t the end of the world. And I discovered that I’m okay, that I worked out fine. I had a great workout yesterday. Today’s workout was very good as well. So I’m thinking I don’t really need the music. I think, I thought, that I needed the music to get pumped up, to do a good workout.

It’s not true. Yes, it helps push you, maybe, at the beginning, but with your body, it’s all about your mindset. These are tools, you use tools to help you, right? But after a while, you don’t really need the tools. It’s all in you to be the best that you can. There’s certain things that help you do better, but don’t get hooked on these things. Don’t get hooked. You can do it! It’s in you! So the AirPod, that was a great example for me, that made me reflect on this. I don’t really need it. Yeah, I like them. If I don’t have them, it’s not the end of the world. I can still do good without them. So, those are my three examples. Take a look, reevaluate, evaluate yourself what it is that you can think about that you can cut off, and test it. Test doing something without them.