Why Video Games Are So Hard To Put Down (And How To Learn To Moderate)
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the struggle of overcoming video game addiction by highlighting the role of behavioral reinforcement in shaping desires. It explains how traditional willpower often leads to a cycle of punishment and avoidance of productive behaviors. The speaker advocates for capturing and reflecting on creative impulses and practicing gratitude to positively reinforce healthier habits. The ultimate goal is to alter one's desires, making activities like exercise and socializing as rewarding as playing video games, thus breaking free from the addictive cycle.
Takeaways
- 🎮 The struggle with video game addiction is often a battle between the desire for immediate rewards and the lack of immediate satisfaction from productive behaviors.
- 🏋️♂️ Engaging in productive activities like going to the gym can feel like punishment if they are approached with the mindset of conquering a desire rather than finding enjoyment in the activity itself.
- 🔄 The brain's nucleus accumbens plays a crucial role in reinforcing behaviors that are perceived as enjoyable, which is why video games can be so addictive due to their constant dopamine release.
- 💡 Changing desires involves capturing and reflecting on creative impulses that naturally arise throughout the day, turning them into something tangible and meaningful.
- 📝 Writing down thoughts and ideas can help in capturing creative impulses and serves as a starting point for reinforcing non-gaming behaviors.
- 🤔 Reflecting on one's actions and focusing on the positive aspects can help in positively reinforcing behaviors, which is essential for altering desires over time.
- 🙏 Practicing gratitude is a powerful tool in shifting one's mindset from punishment to reward, even when the activity itself might not initially feel rewarding.
- 🔄 The process of altering desires is cyclical, requiring consistent capturing, reflection, and gratitude to reinforce new behaviors and diminish the allure of video games.
- 🌱 Cultivating the right desires involves changing the inputs to the brain, which can be achieved by focusing on the positive outcomes of actions and experiences.
- 🚫 The traditional approach of using willpower to resist video games often fails because it does not address the underlying issue of desire and reinforcement.
- 🌟 Long-term sobriety and behavior change are possible by reshaping desires through consistent positive reinforcement of new, healthier behaviors.
Q & A
What is the main challenge discussed in the script regarding video games?
-The main challenge discussed is the struggle to stop playing video games and engage in more productive activities. Video games are addictive because they provide immediate rewards and enjoyment, making it difficult for people to motivate themselves to do other tasks.
How does the script describe the relationship between dopamine and video game addiction?
-The script explains that the nucleus accumbens in the brain is activated when dopamine is released, reinforcing behaviors that are enjoyable. Video games trigger this circuit, leading to a cycle of desire to play more due to the pleasure and reward they provide.
What is the problem with using willpower to resist playing video games, according to the script?
-Using willpower to resist playing video games is problematic because it often leads to a temporary victory followed by a relapse. This cycle can make it harder each time to resist the habit, as the brain associates the alternative activities with punishment rather than reward.
How does the script suggest changing the desire to play video games?
-The script suggests changing the desire by capturing and reflecting on creative impulses, and practicing gratitude. This process helps to positively reinforce behaviors that are not related to video games, gradually altering the brain's desires.
What is the role of the nucleus accumbens in behavioral reinforcement?
-The nucleus accumbens is a part of the brain that plays a key role in behavioral reinforcement. When dopamine is released in this area, it reinforces behaviors by creating a sense of enjoyment and pleasure, making individuals more likely to repeat those behaviors.
Why does the script mention the importance of reflecting on creative impulses?
-Reflecting on creative impulses is important because it allows individuals to engage with their natural desires and interests, which can be a more effective way to motivate themselves than forcing themselves to do activities they find less enjoyable.
How does practicing gratitude help in the process of changing desires, as described in the script?
-Practicing gratitude helps by allowing individuals to acknowledge and appreciate the positive aspects of their actions, rather than focusing solely on the negatives. This positive reinforcement can help to change the brain's associations with certain behaviors, making them more desirable.
What is the script's perspective on the effectiveness of behavioral reinforcement in video games?
-The script suggests that behavioral reinforcement in video games is highly effective due to the immediate rewards and enjoyment they provide. This makes it challenging to break away from the habit, as the brain is constantly reinforced to seek more of the same pleasurable experiences.
How does the script relate the concept of behavioral reinforcement to other activities like exercise or studying?
-The script relates behavioral reinforcement to other activities by pointing out that these activities often do not provide immediate rewards or enjoyment, making them less reinforcing. This can lead to a lack of motivation and a tendency to avoid these activities in favor of more immediately rewarding ones like video games.
What is the script's advice for someone struggling with video game addiction and wanting to be more productive?
-The script advises capturing and reflecting on creative impulses, engaging in activities that naturally interest them, and practicing gratitude for their efforts. This approach is meant to help change the brain's desires and make productive activities more appealing over time.
Outlines
🎮 Overcoming Video Game Addiction
The speaker discusses the struggle of overcoming video game addiction, comparing the constant reward of playing games to the lack of immediate gratification from productive behaviors like going to the gym or studying. They emphasize the difficulty of using willpower to resist the desire to play games, suggesting that this approach often leads to a cycle of failure and relapse. The speaker introduces the concept of behavioral reinforcement in the brain's nucleus accumbens and how it can be leveraged to change desires and habits.
💪 The Challenge of Reinforcing Productive Behaviors
This paragraph delves into the challenge of reinforcing productive behaviors like exercising and studying, which often feel punishing due to the lack of immediate reward. The speaker describes how attempts at productivity can lead to feelings of failure and avoidance, making it harder to break away from addictive behaviors like video gaming. They explain the concept of behavioral reinforcement in the context of daily activities and how the lack of positive reinforcement can perpetuate unproductive cycles.
📝 Capturing and Reflecting on Creative Impulses
The speaker introduces a strategy for changing desires by capturing creative impulses, such as the excitement for a new hobby or idea, and reflecting on them. They suggest that writing down thoughts and ideas can train the mind to engage in non-gaming activities and provide material for reflection, which is essential for reinforcing new behaviors. The importance of not just capturing these impulses but also actively reflecting on them to cultivate a positive association with the new behavior is highlighted.
🌱 Cultivating Desire Through Positive Inputs
The paragraph discusses the importance of positive inputs in cultivating the right kind of desires. The speaker uses the example of discussing a friend's video game to illustrate how external inputs can trigger excitement and desire. They emphasize the need for reflection on one's own creative impulses to provide the brain with positive inputs that can spark excitement and desire for non-gaming activities, leading to a change in habitual behaviors.
🙏 The Power of Practicing Gratitude
The speaker shares their initial skepticism towards practicing gratitude but goes on to explain its significance in altering desires. They describe how acknowledging and being grateful for progress, even when it feels insufficient, can positively reinforce behaviors. The paragraph highlights the role of gratitude in counteracting the negative thoughts that often follow attempts at productivity, thus helping to change the brain's association with these activities and fostering a more positive outlook towards them.
🛑 Altering Inborn Desires to Break Free from Addiction
In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes that by capturing creative impulses, reflecting on them, and practicing gratitude, one can alter inborn desires shaped by the nucleus accumbens. They illustrate how this process can lead to a change in natural desires, making healthier activities feel rewarding and desirable. The speaker suggests that this method can ultimately lead to a state where the desire to play video games is diminished, similar to the experience of long-term sobriety from alcohol.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Behavioral Reinforcement
💡Nucleus Accumbens
💡Dopamine
💡Addiction
💡Willpower
💡Productivity
💡Creative Impulses
💡Reflection
💡Gratitude
💡Desire
Highlights
The struggle with conquering the desire to play video games and the feeling of punishment when engaging in productive behaviors.
The concept of behavioral reinforcement and its role in video game addiction through the activation of the nucleus accumbens.
The difficulty in finding motivation to engage in activities other than video games due to the immediate rewards provided by games.
The idea that resisting the desire to play video games often leads to a cycle of relapse and reinforcement of the habit.
The importance of capturing creative impulses as a natural way to engage in non-game-related activities.
The role of reflection in shaping desires and the necessity to reflect on creative impulses to positively reinforce behaviors.
The practice of gratitude as a method to counteract negative thoughts and reinforce positive behaviors.
The challenge of experiencing punishment rather than reward when attempting to be productive, leading to avoidance of such behaviors.
The comparison between the immediate reinforcement provided by video games and the delayed reinforcement of activities like exercise.
The psychological impact of failing to meet personal goals, such as exercising for an hour, and how it affects behavior reinforcement.
The need to change the way the brain learns from progress by reflecting on and appreciating small victories.
The concept that addiction to video games can be overcome by altering desires through behavioral reinforcement.
The strategy of using creative impulses to transition from video game addiction to more productive activities.
The transformative power of writing down and reflecting on creative thoughts to foster a desire for non-game activities.
The potential for practicing gratitude to shift the mindset from punishment to reward when engaging in positive behaviors.
The process of altering inborn desires by positively reinforcing progress and practicing gratitude for achievements.
The final goal of reshaping desires to no longer crave video games by leveraging the principles of behavioral reinforcement.
Transcripts
so if we really think about it when we
conquer our desire to play video games
and we engage in another Behavior there
is no no reward in fact what we actually
experience is punishment from that
behavior and if we are if the our brain
experiences punishment when we go to the
gym or when we're productive what kind
of behavior do you think it's going to
avoid and what kind of behavior do you
think we're going to reinforce
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life and understand how the mind works
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the link is in description huh
I want to talk to you all today about
how to stop playing video games this is
something that I struggled with a lot
and a lot of the people in our community
have talked about this a lot where you
know you know you should be doing stuff
besides playing video games or maybe
using the internet or social media and
we kind of know in the back of our mind
that we should be more productive maybe
I should be exercising maybe I should
learn how to cook maybe I should do my
schoolwork maybe I should work on my
resume there are all kinds of things
that we know we should be doing the
problem though is that video games are
actually just way more fun right where
that's why they sort of become addictive
because any moment that we spend playing
a video game there's going to be some
kind of reward whereas all this other
stuff that we should be doing for some
reason it's just really hard to motivate
ourselves to do that and so what do we
end up doing we end up trying to conquer
that desire we wake up in the morning
and the first thought in my mind is okay
like I want to play games today I don't
want to work on my resume I don't want
to exercise I don't want to do any of
this stuff and if you're like me what
you end up doing is fighting with
yourself right you try to conquer that
desire you try to use willpower and
discipline and you win for a day or
maybe two but if you're like me
eventually the the real challenge is
that you know you're going to lose right
so you can conquer that desire with
willpower on day one you can conquer
that desire with willpower on day two
maybe even day three or day four but
inevitably you're going to slip right
you're going to go back to the video
game and the challenge that I faced and
maybe you feel this way too is that
conquering your desires to play games
feels like a war that you will
eventually lose sure you can win a
battle here you can win a battle there
but that desire to play the game in that
constant struggle that you have is never
going to go away and so what I'd love to
share with you all today is actually how
to change that because what I've
discovered and this is what's so bizarre
is that you can actually change that and
I know that if you sound kind of
skeptical of that let me just start by
sharing a story from a patient that I
worked with as an addiction psychiatrist
so I don't know if you'll know this but
you know alcohol is quite addictive so I
noticed something really strange when I
was working with patients who are sober
which is that once they were sober for a
while they started to make really weird
statements like they would say yeah I
don't even think about alcohol anymore
it's not actually a problem at all I
don't even want to drink and I got
really confused by that because I had
sort of been raised to believe that the
whole point of being addicted to alcohol
is that you have this genetic
predisposition you have these like
chemicals in your brain and these
neurotransmitters and neurons that make
you addicted to the substance that you
crave the substance you want the
substance and despite the fact that it
ruined your entire life you can't resist
the substance and so I started to wonder
a little bit wait hold on a second
what's going on here because these
people aren't sober anymore through
willpower they're not sober through
conquering their desire something has
changed about the way that their desire
manifests or more importantly they
actually desire to not drink anymore and
so what I'd love to share with you all
today is how to shape your desire that
you no longer even want to play video
games that may sound absolutely insane
but actually it's quite simple and the
main principle that we're going to focus
on today is behavioral reinforcement so
let's start by understanding behavioral
reinforcement within video games
so generally speaking we have the
circuit uh in the brain or this part of
our brain called the nucleus accumbens
and the nucleus accumbens is a very
dopaminergic circuit so usually what
happens is when dopamine is released in
the nucleus accumbens it reinforces a
behavior we want to do it more and the
subjective feeling of reinforcement in
the nucleus accumbens is actually
enjoyment pleasure so when we sort of
talk about all this dopaminergic stuff
like social media or video games or
things like that we enjoy doing it and
those behaviors get reinforced which is
why they're so hard to kick and this is
the basic problem with video games right
is that they're fun so every time we
play them that circuit of our brain gets
activated we get a little Spurt of
dopamine and then the behavior gets
reinforced the next day when we wake up
we're thinking about video games we want
to play video games because our brain
our nucleus accumbens is like hey we
need more dopamine so let's play again
and so then we fall into this trap of
okay since I have this natural impulse
to play the video game that's what my
nucleus accumbens wants I try to
restrict it I try to conquer I try to
control it and so let's understand a
little bit about what happens in terms
of reinforcement when we actually
control the impulse to play a video game
so let's say I wake up in the morning
and I want the video game I want that
dopamine energy expert but I decide not
to so I use my willpower I activate my
frontal lobes and I control the desire
and then what I'll do I'll say okay I
need to be productive so I will go and
exercise I'm going to go to the gym
today so then I go to the gym and I work
out for I was planning on going for an
hour but I'm kind of deconditioned
because I play games all day so after
about 20 minutes I'm huffing and puffing
and then I come home because I'm
exhausted right so I want you all to
think about that for a second what do
you think I'm actually reinforcing in
that moment do you think that I'm saying
to myself yeah I went to the gym today
no actually I feel terrible I feel out
of breath I feel ashamed because I was
going to work out for an hour and I
could only last 20 or 25 minutes I feel
kind of embarrassed with myself I don't
really feel good so if we really think
about it what am I actually doing in
that moment am I actually reinforcing
the desire to exercise
absolutely not the same is true for
something like being productive for a
day right so let's say I I have a test
that's a week from today and I decide
that I'm not going to procrastinate
right so I'm going to study for a little
while so I get up and I I force myself
to study and I study for two or three
hours and how do I feel at the end of
that study do I actually feel great
about myself usually no I start to think
all these kinds of thoughts like man
like I can't believe that I have to so
much work to do I wish I'd gotten
started earlier there are all kinds of
thoughts that I have but I usually don't
feel great I don't think at the end of
those two hours man I'm definitely going
to get an A a week from now right this
is I'm doing so awesome so if we really
think about it when we conquer our
desire to play video games and we engage
in another Behavior there is no no
reward in fact what we actually
experience is punishment from that
behavior and if we are if the our brain
experiences punishment when we go to the
gym or when we're productive what kind
of behavior do you think it's going to
avoid and what kind of behavior do you
think we're going to reinforce so even
spurts of productivity are spurts of
doing the right thing actually leads to
avoidance by our brain we actually start
to avoid productive stuff because we
actually don't enjoy it at all when we
do it and this is what actually happens
is we can fall into this cycle where I
try to resist the video game I resist
for a day or two it doesn't really work
out and then I I crash right so I
relapse I start playing again and then I
have to resist again so I muster up all
my willpower and energy but the second
time around it feels harder to kick the
habit and the third time around it feels
even harder to kick the habit and the
more that you try to kick the habit the
harder it becomes and if you kind of
think about that wait like that's so
weird why is that it's because each time
you try to kick the habit and you fail
to a certain degree or it's too
temporary what you're actually doing is
punishing yourself because all you're
doing is paying the cost without
actually seeing any benefit so let's
just think about exercise for a second
right how many days do you have to go to
the gym to actually see positive
reinforcement from the gym right it's
got to be months it's not going to be a
couple of days it's not going to be a
couple of weeks we're talking about
three months four months five months six
months and if we look at it through the
lens of reinforcement we can now see why
going to the gym is hard because every
day that we go to the gym we actually
feel worse and there's this alluring
video game over here that we can kind of
tap into at any point and it'll give us
that straight Spurt of dopamine so this
is the first thing that we have to
understand is that overcoming video game
addiction is not actually positively
reinforcing it's actually punishing and
over time can induce our brains to avoid
productivity instead of video games
so now the question becomes okay what do
we do about it so our strategy has to be
one where we start reinforcing the right
kinds of behaviors instead of when we
engage in a behavior actually being
punished for it we need to cultivate
particular ways to where our brain can
actually enjoy the activity and that
starts with first of all catching your
creative impulses so if you're like me
part of what you may have experienced is
that there are times throughout the day
when you do get a little bit excited
about things that are not video games
maybe you get excited about reading a
particular book or maybe you get excited
about I don't know painting or maybe you
do get excited you watch some workout
video or something or you see someone
canoeing and you're like man that would
be a lot of fun to go canoeing or go
swimming there are these impulses that
we have towards the right behaviors now
this is really important because these
impulses come naturally they're not
something that we have to force
ourselves into so this is not like
avoiding a video game to go exercise
this is sort of catching a natural
impulse in my case it's writing so
that's kind of what I'm going to focus
focus on but you can absolutely apply
this to whatever your creative impulse
is or what kind of impulses you have so
I started by simply jotting things down
so the first thing that we're going to
do is if you have some kind of impulse
try to capture it in some way so I
started carrying around a notebook I
installed a Notes app on my phone and
what I what I started doing was just
capturing my thoughts I started taking
some of that creative impulse and
actually turning it into something so
that's actually step one is that when we
have that creative impulse we want to
capture it and we want to put it down
into something now this does a couple of
things the first thing that it does is
it trains us to start engaging in things
that are not video games since we
already have that impulse we don't have
to overcome anything but we can kind of
capture it and we want to sort of get
started with some kind of work the
second thing that this does is gives us
an opportunity for something to reflect
on and that's going to be the second
step that we do so if we think a little
bit about how can we start to encourage
our minds to have the right kind of
Desire I want you to imagine a scenario
let's say that a friend of yours is
thinking about I don't know writing a
making a video game and as they start
telling you about the video game you can
get excited about it too so you may want
to give them suggestions you may want to
say oh hey I think you should have this
I think you should add that and then you
kind of get excited about it the two of
you all talk about it maybe even talk a
little bit about collaborating and now
suddenly there's excitement there's
desire and if we kind of think about it
what triggered that desire what
triggered the desire was the input that
your friend gave you your friend started
talking about the video game that they
made so if we want to cultivate the
right kinds of desires we need the right
kinds of inputs and this is why writing
stuff down can be incredibly important
so what I started doing is writing stuff
down and then I would reflect on it
right so I would pause and I would look
at it sometimes I would read it so this
is where a lot of people fall short
because they may try to capture that
creative impulse but then if you never
reflect on it or never turn it into
anything what is that actually going to
reinforce what that's what your brain
will actually learn is that there is no
point in writing these things down
because we never turned it into anything
it's actually a complete waste of our
time you spent 15 minutes writing
something down and then a year later you
did nothing with it so then your brain
actually reinforces hey this is a waste
of time we actually should not capture
our creative impulses so how do you
switch that around you actually spend
time reflecting on it if you write for
15 minutes and you wake up the next day
and you read what you wrote what you'll
start to discover is that your mind will
be sparked in the right way you'll start
to have more and more desires you just
love to think about it maybe you feel
inspired to write a little bit more and
so as you start to reflect on things
you're actually giving your brain the
right kinds of inputs that will get you
excited and then once again you
capitalize on those inputs so the second
thing that we really have to learn how
to do is reflect on whatever our
creative impulses are in the case of
something like exercise you can still
reflect on it even if you don't feel
good about it you can sort of pause
after you go to the the gym and you can
kind of start to ask yourself some
questions you can say okay well how do I
feel about what happened today instead
of actually defaulting to oh man this
was an absolute mess and you know
there's no way we're ever going to do
this again stop and pause and reflect
and think a little bit critically what
do I like about today what are the wins
today and what are the losses today
because here's the wild thing if you
actually go to the gym for the first
time and you spend 25 minutes there
that's actually a huge W right for the
first day you exercised and that's
actually a huge win but unless we're
careful unless we reflect properly what
we end up actually doing is punishing
ourselves for going to the gym because
we don't see it as a w all we see are
all of the thousand things that we did
wrong right all we actually experience
is all these negative thoughts I should
have gone a year ago I should have gone
longer I can't believe I'm so weak you
know why am I wasting my time because
this is actually what your brain is
learning so how do you change the
learnings you change the learnings by
actually reflecting on it once you start
reflecting on the exercise you'll start
to see okay well actually you know at
least it was a win that I went today I
went for 20 minutes today if I'm lucky I
can go for 20 minutes tomorrow or maybe
I can shoot for 25 minutes everyone's
going to start gotta start somewhere and
as you start to go through that
cognitive process you actually start to
positively reinforce the desire to
exercise
the third thing that we're going to talk
a little bit about is honestly
originally I thought that this was kind
of BS okay and that is practicing
gratitude so I heard about all this
practice and gratitude crap when I
originally got into alternative medicine
and especially when I was becoming a
psychiatrist and even as a psychiatrist
I thought that practice and gratitude
was like a waste of everyone's time I
really did not understand it because in
my mind here's what I kind of discovered
was like okay people are like telling me
I should be grateful for stuff but why
on Earth would I be grateful about
anything when I have all of this crap
that I need to do you know all my mind
would see are all the things that need
to get done I can't spend time being
grateful for the tiny little portion of
thing that I do things that I do right
when I've got a bunch of stuff that I
need to be doing better so every fiber
of my being thought that practice and
gratitude was BS but as I've grown and
learned this is actually a huge huge
huge part of cultivating the right kind
of Desire so what is practicing
gratitude do so if we go back to our gym
example let's say that I went to the gym
for 20 minutes planning on going for an
hour and now I come home I feel ashamed
of myself and I feel weak so let's pause
for a second did I actually do the right
thing today and the answer is
unequivocally yes right because I got up
off my ass I went to the gym and I
exercised at least for 20 minutes that
is way way way better than sitting at
home and playing video games even if I
look at something like writing I used to
write and the first thing that would
happen is I would think to myself how
bad this writing is I would read it the
next day I try to reflect
and all I would see is criticisms in my
mind I can't believe that it's so bad I
have so much work to do I would only see
the negatives with my actual progress
and you think about that for a second
if all the progress that you make is met
by negatives in your mind what are you
actually going to reinforce because
every time you actually take a step
forward your mind punishes you for it
and so how do we stop that how do we
make it so that even if I go to the gym
for 20 minutes sure it's 20 minutes or
25 at least I did it right and that
answer is gratitude this is the huge
value of practice and gratitude you need
to learn how to practice gratitude if if
when you make take the right step
forward if you make some kind of
progress if your mind yells at you about
all the negativity if it yells at you
about how you should have started
earlier or it's not enough or what will
other people think or someone else does
it better than me if your mind responds
to your step forward with all of these
negative thoughts then you need to
practice gratitude because as your mind
responds with all of those thoughts what
are you actually reinforcing your mind
is punishing you for making progress in
life
and just think about this because this
is exactly why we get addicted to video
games because when we take a step
forward if our mind punishes us for
Progress what do you think we're going
to end up doing our brain learns our
nucleus accumbens learns hey we can
write and exercise and learn how to cook
and try to be social which you remember
when you tried to be social and you were
filled with with anxiety and you went to
a party and no one talked to you and it
was a really really painful experience
as soon as you leave does your mind tell
you man you made a You made huge
progress today right you actually like
got up off your ass and you went to a
party and sure it was rough but you did
a good job kid like good job that's not
what your mind said your mind says never
again and when our mind says never again
to progress what is it going to say to
video games it's going to say absolutely
all the time let's go so practicing
gratitude is the process of any time you
do something acknowledging that there
are negatives acknowledging we're not
saying that there isn't a long way to go
we're not saying that you know you are
out of you aren't out of shape like all
those things can be true and you can at
least appreciate some kind of positive
right you can say at least I went today
and once you start cultivating that what
you're actually going to be doing is
positively reinforcing the behavior and
so if we do these three things if we
start by capturing our creative impulses
or capturing our impulses reflecting on
our impulses and practice and gratitude
what we will actually do is reinforce
these behaviors in our mind as we start
to reinforce these behaviors in our mind
our desires begin to change because
where does desire come from it comes
from what's been reinforced in the
nucleus accumbens since video games are
so good at reinforcing stuff in the
nucleus
since video games are so good at causing
dopamine to be released in the nucleus
accumbens that's literally why we get
addicted so what we need is to start
cultivating the right kinds of desires
and the way that we cultivate the right
kinds of desires is by actually
processing in the right way are creative
impulses reflecting on our creative
impulses and even practicing gratitude
so here's the crazy thing about being
addicted to video games even when you do
the right thing your mind punishes you
for it and as long as your mind is
punishing you for doing the right thing
it will always be a war that you will
inevitably lose the way to win this war
is by actually altering your desires and
then the question becomes okay hold on a
second how do I do that and this is the
cycle that will lead to an alteration of
your inborn desire because once I start
capturing my creative impulses once I
start reflecting on those things and
once I start practicing gratitude that
kind of progress address becomes
positively reinforced once that progress
becomes positively reinforced then my
mind wants it again right that's the
whole point behind the nucleus accumbens
when the nucleus accumbens lights up it
actually influences our desires the next
day and this is the problem with video
games is that they're so good at
lighting up the nucleus accumbens the
moment they light up the nucleus
accumbens you've created a desire to
play a video game tomorrow a simple way
of looking at this is when I play a
video game and I have fun what do I want
to do tomorrow I want to play more of
the video game if I play a video game
and I don't have fun I don't want to
play that video game tomorrow so what we
need to start doing to create the right
kind of Desire is to actually pause
reflect and practice gratitude on our
positive moment in our positive momentum
in life and once we start to do that our
brain will naturally start to create
desires that are sort of good for us
it'll start to want to exercise man I
feel so good after exercising I really
enjoy cooking I really enjoy writing I I
really enjoy hanging out with my friends
and our natural desires will start to
change and once our natural desires
start to change this is how we achieve
the state of an alcoholic who's in
long-term sobriety and doesn't even want
to touch the alcohol anymore because
that's absolutely possible and this is
the sequence of events to really shape
your desire to no longer even want to
play video games
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