How To Make Life Easy

Summary

The video script explores the paradox of making life easy by challenging the reliance on motivation and willpower. It delves into the concept of 'gunas' from yoga philosophy, highlighting three qualities—tamas (inertia), rajas (activity), and sattva (balance)—and their impact on life's ease or difficulty. The speaker advocates for a balanced mind and body through nutritious food, mind-body practices like yoga, and avoidance of psychoactive substances. Embracing a disciplined life today leads to an easier life tomorrow, as the mind becomes more compliant and less reliant on external motivation.

Takeaways

• 🤔 The concept of making life easy is often met with skepticism, as people believe that those who suggest it don't understand the complexities of their personal struggles.
• 🚫 Society tends to 'cancel' those who claim to have figured out how to make life easy, preventing the spread of potentially valuable insights.
• 🔬 Science has advanced technology, making life more convenient, but paradoxically, this has not necessarily made life easier or improved mental health.
• 🧐 Science is poor at teaching how to live life; it provides population-based answers rather than individualized solutions.
• 🤝 Happiness studies can tell us what correlates with happiness, but they fall short in explaining how to achieve those states of being.
• 💊 The effectiveness of treatments like SSRIs is based on averages, not guarantees for individuals, highlighting the need for personalized application.
• 🔄 The difference between easy and hard lies in knowing how to do something; once you know, it becomes easy, and until then, it remains hard.
• 🧘 The concept of Guna from yoga philosophy suggests that balance between inertia (tamas), activity (rajas), and equilibrium (satva) is key to making life easy.
• 🍽️ Consuming light, nutritious food can help avoid the extremes of inertia and activity, promoting a balanced state of mind.
• 🧘‍♂️ Engaging in mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi can train the mind to focus and be more compliant, leading to ease in life.
• 🚫 Avoiding psychoactive substances is crucial for maintaining a balanced mind, as they can artificially induce states of inertia or activity.
• 💪 Embracing a 'hard' life today by investing in practices that promote balance can lead to an easier life tomorrow, as the body and mind become more compliant.

Q & A

What is the main argument presented in the video script about making life easy?

The main argument is that making life easy is not about avoiding challenges but understanding that life becomes easy when you know how to do something. It involves balancing one's body and mind, and this balance can be achieved through practices like yoga, eating nutritious food, and avoiding psychoactive substances.

Why does the speaker claim that relying on science has paradoxically made life harder?

The speaker argues that while science and technology have advanced and made life more convenient, they have also contributed to an unprecedented mental health crisis. Science is good at advancing technologies but not necessarily at teaching how to live a balanced life.

What is the problem with using science to determine what makes people happy, according to the script?

The issue is that scientific studies often provide population-based answers that correlate with happiness but do not offer individualized guidance on how to achieve it. They tell us what the goals are but not how to reach them.

What is the concept of 'Guna' mentioned in the script, and how does it relate to making life easy?

Guna refers to the three qualities or states that all things can be in: tamas (inertia), rajas (activity or passion), and sattva (balance). The script suggests that when these forces are in balance (sattva), life becomes easier.

How does the speaker describe the role of motivation and willpower in relation to making life easy?

The speaker suggests that motivation and willpower are not the keys to making life easy. Instead, they are compensations for an imbalanced state of mind (tamas and rajas). True ease comes from a balanced state of mind (sattva), where one does not overly rely on motivation or exert willpower.

What is the significance of the 'sattva' state in the context of the video script?

Sattva represents balance, and the script emphasizes that achieving this state through practices like yoga and mindful eating can make life easier. It is in this state that the mind and body are more compliant and responsive to one's intentions.

Why does the speaker suggest that eating light and nutritious food contributes to making life easier?

Eating light and nutritious food helps in creating a balanced mind (sattva). Such food does not weigh down or overly activate the mind, leading to better focus, reduced inflammation, and improved cognitive function.

What is the role of mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi in achieving a balanced state of mind?

Mind-body practices are crucial for cultivating a sattvic mind. They help in focusing the mind, improving mental balance, and creating a state where the mind is supple and more responsive to one's commands.

How does the speaker view the use of psychoactive substances in relation to achieving a balanced life?

The speaker advises against the use of psychoactive substances because they can artificially induce states of tamas or rajas, disrupting the natural balance of the mind. They suggest that avoiding these substances can help in achieving a more sattvic state.

What is the paradox presented in the script regarding living a hard life today for an easier life tomorrow?

The paradox is that those who seek an easy life and avoid hardship often end up with a harder life, as they fail to develop the resilience and balance needed for ease. Conversely, those who embrace difficulty today by practicing disciplines like yoga and healthy eating set themselves up for an easier life in the future.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 The Paradox of Life's Ease and Difficulty

The speaker challenges the notion that life can be made easy, acknowledging the skepticism that arises from varying life experiences. They argue that society often silences those who claim to have simplified life, which paradoxically maintains the widespread difficulty. The speaker introduces a counterintuitive idea that reliance on science, despite its technological benefits, may contribute to a harder life due to its inability to teach personal life skills. They critique the population-based approach of science, which provides general happiness indicators but lacks personalized guidance, leading to the conclusion that science is inadequate for teaching individual life management.

05:00

🧘 The Role of Science and Individuality in Life's Challenges

This paragraph delves into the limitations of science in providing personalized solutions to life's hardships. The speaker uses the example of SSRI medications, illustrating how science offers generalized outcomes without predicting individual responses. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of clinicians in applying scientific findings to individuals, highlighting the need for a human touch in translating population-based science to individual life management. It sets the stage for exploring the concept of 'Gunas' from yoga, which are qualities that can balance life's ease and difficulty.

10:02

🔄 Understanding the Balance of Gunas for an Easier Life

The speaker introduces the concept of 'Gunas' from yoga, explaining the three fundamental qualities that influence life's ease or difficulty: tamas (inertia), rajas (activity/passion), and sattva (balance). They discuss how imbalances in these qualities lead to hardship, using the example of addiction to illustrate how clinical medicine can help patients manage what is objectively difficult. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of learning and practice in transforming hard things into easy ones, drawing a parallel to learning complex subjects like calculus and the need for dedicated study in mastering life skills.

15:02

🚫 The Misguided Pursuit of Motivation and Willpower

The speaker critiques the common pursuit of motivation and willpower as strategies for overcoming life's challenges. They argue that motivation is fleeting and uncontrollable, while willpower is a draining effort that can lead to exhaustion. The paragraph discusses how reliance on these forces can lead to an unhealthy state of mind, suggesting instead the importance of cultivating a balanced state known as 'sattva'. The speaker hints at practical strategies for achieving this balance, such as making choices that set up for a more balanced state the following day.

20:04

🍽️ Cultivating a Sattvic Mind Through Diet and Practice

This paragraph focuses on the practical steps to cultivate a sattvic or balanced mind. The speaker recommends eating light, nutritious foods to avoid dulling or overly activating the mind. They also suggest engaging in mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi to purify and focus the mind. Additionally, they advise avoiding psychoactive substances, which can disrupt mental balance. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of these practices in creating a state of ease and balance, making it easier to manage life's demands.

25:06

⚖️ Balancing the Mind for Long-Term Ease

The speaker discusses the long-term benefits of maintaining a balanced mind, or 'sattva', and how it can make life progressively easier. They explain that by eating healthily, practicing mind-body exercises, and avoiding substances, one can create a domino effect of balance that compounds over time. The paragraph concludes with the paradoxical idea that embracing a 'hard' life today, through disciplined practices, will lead to an 'easy' life tomorrow, as the mind and body become more compliant and responsive to one's intentions.

Keywords

💡Easy Life

The concept of an 'Easy Life' is central to the video's theme, suggesting a state of existence free from undue hardship or stress. The video challenges the notion that life can be made easy, arguing that it's a common but often misguided aspiration. It is used to explore the idea that what makes life seem easy or hard is our ability to navigate it with skill and understanding, rather than external circumstances.

💡Science

In the script, 'Science' is presented as a double-edged sword. It is credited with technological advancements that make life more convenient but also blamed for contributing to the complexity and difficulty of modern life. The video suggests that while science can provide population-based insights, it often falls short in offering individualized guidance on how to live a fulfilling life.

💡Mental Health Crisis

The term 'Mental Health Crisis' is used to highlight the paradox that despite technological progress, society is facing unprecedented challenges with mental well-being. It underscores the video's argument that convenience and technological solutions are not synonymous with life satisfaction or ease.

💡Population-based

'Population-based' refers to the approach of science in studying what works for the average person in a group. The video explains that while science can identify patterns and correlations in large groups, it does not provide personalized solutions, which is crucial for understanding how to make one's own life easier.

💡SSRI

SSRI, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are a class of antidepressant medications. The script uses SSRI as an example to illustrate the population-based approach of science, where the medication may work differently for different individuals, emphasizing the need for personalized application of scientific findings.

💡Guna

Guna, a concept from yoga, refers to the three qualities or states that all things can be in: tamas (inertia), rajas (activity or passion), and sattva (balance). The video explains that understanding and balancing these qualities can make life easier, as they influence our mental and physical states.

💡Motivation

'Motivation' is discussed in the video as a natural inclination to do something without the need for willpower. However, it is also portrayed as an unreliable force that can lead to a lack of control over one's actions, as it is subject to fluctuation and external influence.

💡Willpower

'Willpower' is presented as an effort to overcome inertia or lack of motivation. The video suggests that relying on willpower can be exhausting and is not a sustainable strategy for making life easy, as it often involves forcing oneself to act against natural inclinations.

💡Psychoactive Substances

Psychoactive Substances, such as caffeine and alcohol, are mentioned as substances that can disrupt the balance of the mind by artificially inducing states of activity or inertia. The video advises reducing these substances to achieve a more balanced, sattvic state of mind.

💡Mind-Body Practices

Mind-Body Practices, like yoga or tai chi, are highlighted as activities that can help purify and focus the mind, contributing to a balanced state. The video suggests that engaging in these practices can train the mind to be more compliant and easier to manage, which in turn makes life easier.

💡Sattva

Sattva represents the quality of balance among the three Gunas. The video emphasizes the importance of cultivating a sattvic state of mind for ease in life. It is portrayed as a state where the mind is tranquil and responsive, making it easier to achieve one's goals and intentions.

Highlights

The concept that life can be made easy is often met with skepticism due to varying life experiences and hardships.

Society often silences those who claim to have figured out how to make life easy, which perpetuates the difficulty for others.

Reliance on science has paradoxically made life harder, despite technological advancements that should simplify it.

Science is ineffective at teaching life skills, contributing to the ongoing mental health crisis.

Scientific studies provide population-based insights but fail to offer individualized guidance on achieving happiness.

The application of scientific findings to individual lives requires human interpretation and specificity.

Understanding the difference between easy and hard is fundamental to making life easy; if you know how to do something, it's easy.

Addiction psychiatrists help patients make managing addiction easy through clinical practice and techniques.

The concept of 'guna' from yoga explains the qualities of inertia, activity, and balance that affect the ease of life.

Motivation and willpower are often misguided approaches to making life easy, as they do not lead to true control over one's mind or body.

The balance of the mind and body, or 'satva', is essential for ease in life and can be cultivated through certain practices.

Eating light, nutritious food contributes to a balanced mind and is a key component of making life easy.

Engaging in mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi helps purify and focus the mind, leading to a more balanced state.

Avoiding psychoactive substances is crucial for achieving a balanced mind and making life easier.

Cutting out psychoactive substances for 30 to 60 days often results in feeling better due to reduced dependency and withdrawal.

Embracing a difficult life today through disciplined practices leads to an easier life tomorrow.

The paradox of seeking an easy life by avoiding hardship often results in a harder life, whereas embracing difficulty can simplify life.

The journey towards an easy life involves a trend in the right direction, not perfection, and a willingness to invest in balance today for ease tomorrow.

Transcripts

today we're going to talk about how to

make life

[Music]

easy now if you're listening to this

your first reaction to that is probably

this is ridiculous right this guy is

telling me that there's a way to make

life easy and how do we naturally

respond to that we say that this person

does not understand my life this person

may think life is easy but that's

because their life is easy some people

out there have easy lives if they have

money if they have power if they have

security and then there are people out

there who have hard lives and it's it's

no use for people who have easy lives to

tell people who have hard lives it's

possible to make your life easy so when

we have this kind of reaction to this

statement hey it's possible to make your

life easy what do you think that

actually does the first thing that it

does is if someone has actually figured

out how to make life easy we end up

muzzling them we end up canceling them

because you're not allowed to say that

and if we live in a societ soety where

people who have figured out how to make

life easy can't talk about it what does

that mean for the rest of us that means

that the rest of us will continue to

live Hard lives because the people who

have figured out we're canceling in the

first place and the most bizarre thing

is that one of the reasons that life has

become harder and harder and harder is

because we've started to rely on science

more and more and more and the more we

rely on science the harder life becomes

now this may sound really confusing

because doesn't like it doesn't science

make a lot of Our Lives better it's very

easy I can get food delivered to my door

I can get grocery delivery I can work

online science makes my life easy in so

many different ways well yes and no

because if we look at science sure

there's a lot of technological advances

which will make my life more convenient

but something paradoxical is happening

even though my life is becoming more and

more convenient because everything is at

my fingertips right especially this guy

that can do everything somehow we're

seeing a unprecedented Mental Health

crisis despite the fact that we have a

ton of technological advancement so

what's going on so it turns out that

science is really good at advancing

Technologies and building convenience

but science is actually quite bad at

teaching you how to live your life but

you may say but hold on Dr K we have all

of these studies about happiness and

this and that and let's tunnel down into

that as it turns out those studies don't

make things easier they actually make

things harder so we can have as many

studies as you want about what makes

people happy and people will say okay

you need $100,000 a year now probably

1225 you need a healthy stable

relationship you need social support you

need access to Green Space this is the

way that you get a happy life right this

is science's answers just do all of

these things and you will be happy the

problem is that science tells you what

the goals are or what correlates with

with happiness but it doesn't actually

tell you how to get there right so they

don't teach us the how they just teach

us in general what correlates with

people being happy now let's understand

what I mean by that so science is very

good at teaching you populationbased

stuff science can't tell you what will

work for you science is the study of

what works for the average person so we

can look at scientific studies on

happiness for example and science can

look at 100 people who are happy and 100

people who are unhappy and science will

tell you okay the way to be happy is to

make $125,000 a year to have a strong

friend group to have someone who loves

you in your life access to Green Space a

pet and to meditate every day so science

is like this is the way to happiness and

then if you try to apply that knowledge

to your life it becomes very very

difficult because you can't just wake up

one day and say hey I'm going to go find

someone who loves me hey I'm going to

create a friend group because this is

how science Works science is a

populationbased approach so science

doesn't give us answers for you as an

individual it gives us answers for what

works on average for most people so a

good example of this is something like

SSRI by anti-depressant medication so we

can do randomized control trials that

show us that 100 people who are

depressed can start on an SSRI and on

average we will see a 30% Improvement

but this doesn't mean that if I give you

an SSRI that you will get 30% better it

means that if we take a 100 people a

third of them will get 80% better a

third of them will get maybe 40% better

and a third of them will have no benefit

at all but when it comes to applying the

science to your life which of those

things do you fall into science has no

way of knowing and this is why despite

all of our advances in science we still

require

clinicians to administer medicine so

let's understand precisely what a

clinician does what a clinician does is

takes all of this information that

science has provided these

evidence-based techniques like let's say

motivational interviewing for addictions

or dialectical behavioral therapy for

borderline personality disorder it takes

all of these like scientific things and

then we actually app apply it to an

individual you require a human being to

take all of Science and translate it

into something that will work for you

and this is why when we look at the

outcomes for problems that are hard

right like problems like addictions we

require clinical support and this is

what we discover is that science is good

at providing population-based answers

but the application to a human being

still requires a lot of specificity so

science can't give us all the answers

for our individual life so in order to

understand how to make life easy we have

to understand what is the difference

between easy and hard and this is very

simple so if you know how to do

something it's easy and if you don't

know how to do something it's hard right

this is very very simple if you know how

to change change a tire it's relatively

easy if you don't know how to change a

tire it feels very hard and feels very

impossible and this is true of things

that we view as objectively hard as well

so I'm an addiction psychiatrist which

means that I work with people who have

addictions and if we look at the

definition of an addiction it's

something that's very very very hard to

deal with we have aspects of your

physiology your biology we have for

example an opioid addiction we have

these mu receptors these little

receptors all over your body that if you

ever stop taking an opiate they will

start exhibiting pain signals they'll

amplify all of the pain in your body

they'll give you withdrawals you'll

start having diarrhea you'll feel awful

you'll start shaking everything will be

very very difficult your body will

punish you your brain will punish you if

you ever stop opiates and so this is

something that is objectively hard to

deal with and yet through the practice

of clinical medicine we will do

something really cool which is that the

majority of my patients feel like

managing their addiction is now easy

right they don't even think about it

anymore it used to be hard but then they

learned The Knack of it then they

figured it out and then suddenly it

becomes easy so let's take the example

of something that is objectively hard

like an addiction so if I have something

like an opioid addiction or marijuana

addiction this is something that is

objectively difficult to overcome

because I have all these receptors in my

brain and my body these mu receptors in

opioid addiction that if I ever stop

taking opiates they will punish me they

will create pain they will create

diarrhea I'll start aching all over I'll

feel chills I will feel so physically

bad my body will punish me if I ever

stop taking the opiate and so someone

struggles with opioid addiction they

will say this is really hard to overcome

it is impossible to overcome but as they

practice and as use certain techniques

like motivational interviewing as they

engage in things like Narcotics

Anonymous and peer support as they do

all this stuff they get the Knack of it

right and suddenly what became

impossible becomes very difficult but

doable and then it becomes hard but

actually not that big of a deal and then

eventually you get to this point where a

lot of people who are sober will get to

will say oh I don't even think about it

anymore right even now when I go to a

barbecue I don't even think about having

a beer I don't want the beer suddenly

that that which was so difficult to

control becomes a natural impulse I

don't even want to drink like it's

disgusting I'm done with that stuff and

the question is what the hell how did

this happen because this is objectively

difficult right science will tell you oh

my god

overcoming addiction is objectively

difficult so what's going on here

because it's very simple if we want to

understand the difference between hard

and easy it's one very simple thing if

you know how to do something it's easy

and if you don't know how to do

something it's hard right so until we

learn how to manage our addiction it

becomes hard or even impossible and once

we learn how to manage our addiction it

becomes easy and this is not just true

of addiction right so you can say oh my

God I just built my first PC and it was

so hard it's so hard to build a PC I

have no idea how to do it and then you

have people over here at PC Master race

who are like don't worry about it bro

it's easy like I'll I'll help you out

right so as soon as you learn how to do

something it becomes easy and if you

don't know how to do something it

becomes hard very simple hey y'all if

you're interested in applying some of

the principles that we share to actually

create change in your life check out Dr

K's guide to mental health it combines

over two decades of my experience of

both being a monk and a psychiatrist and

distills all of the most important

things I've learned into a Choose Your

Own Adventure format so check out the

link in the bio and start your journey

today we spend a lot of time learning to

do hard things so let's take the example

of calculus okay so if we're studying

calculus we study calculus for one year

about two semesters so the semester is

about 12 weeks and then over the course

of let's say one week of calculus let's

look at what our actual studying program

is if you want to learn calculus you go

to class for 3 hours a week and for

every hour that you're in class you

should study for two hours a week so

we're spending nine hours a week

studying calculus we're studying

calculus over two sem semesters that are

12 weeks each right and so this ends up

12 weeks * 9 is 108 so I'm spending 108

hours for one semester of calculus and

over the course of the year I spend

216 hours of dedicated study to learn

calculus now when it comes to living

your life how many hours of dedicated

study do you have do you go to class

where you learn certain Concepts about

how to live your life and then spend two

hours applying those concepts for every

hour that you learn do you spend nine

hours a week practicing how to live life

with intention where someone is teaching

you what the principles are and then you

practice abs absolutely not the reason

that life is hard is because we don't

spend time learning how to live life

right you just kind of get bodied by

life you're sort of struggling over here

and then this thing happens and you try

to manage you're managing managing

managing coping coping coping instead of

ever intentionally learning and as long

as you are not doing that if you don't

know how to live life of course life is

going to be hard and so until you've

spent 26 hours of dedicated study trying

to live life of course it's going to be

hard so today we are going to teach you

the most most fundamental building block

of how to make your life easy this is a

concept that was discovered by the yogis

thousands of years ago and it turns out

that if you understand this concept A

lot of your life will become easy and

there's another problem here which is

that a lot of the things that we try to

do to make our life easy or actually

making our life harder and the number

two the two culprits are motivation and

willower everyone is out there looking

for motivation and everyone is out there

for looking for willpower and they think

the more motivated the more I I my

willpower is strong the easier my life

will be actually the exact opposite

motivation and willpower the wrong

direction you shouldn't even be moving

in that direction if you understand this

one yoga concept that concept is the

concept of something called a Guna so

Guna means quality basically and what

the yogis essentially discovered is that

there are three states three qualities

that all things can be in there's a

fundamental quality of thas which is

inertia there's a fundamental quality of

rajas which is activity or passion and

there's a fundamental quality of satas

which is balance so if you look at

anything in the universe we're going to

talk about people for a second you'll

notice that there are two forces there

is a an inertia force and there is an

activating force and when these two

forces are in Balance things will be

easy and when they are out of balance

things will become hard so let's

understand this in the body and mind so

there have been days in your life where

things are easy right you had some days

where things are easy and if you really

look at those days in your life you may

say okay I'm like kind of motivated but

it's not actually technically that

you're very motivated you don't wake up

and you like I'm a I've got a fire in my

B

go you're like okay like I got to do

this stuff today so let me just go ahead

and do it okay let me just take care of

this stuff let me take care of this

there's a certain casualness to it

there's a certain ease to it right and

on these days you're also not pushing

yourself because you're not like oh my

God I need a ton of willpower I got to

do it I got to do it oh my God it's so

hard it's so hard you kind of wake up

and on some days you know what I'm

talking about you've had some of these

days where like the stars align and you

don't know what is going on and like

suddenly like things are a little bit

easier that day you wake up one day you

brush your teeth you have some breakfast

you sit down you do a couple hours of

work and suddenly like oh my God you did

so much you were procrastinating so hard

and in three or four hours you kind of

got everything done what the hell is

going on like how did that happen and

then you wake up on other days where

you're like oh my God it's so hard to

get out of bed I don't want to get out

of bed man I need a cup of coffee man I

need two cups of coffee oh my God and

doing everything is so difficult you

have to push your body this is thus

because your body and your mind are

inert pushing your mind to focus on

something it's inert it doesn't want to

move pushing your body it's inert right

and when we get an abundance of thumb us

we even get a clinical diagnosis of

something like major depressive disorder

in a depressive episode there's a part

of that that is psychomotor retardation

which means that moving walking down the

street is like moving through mud

instead of moving through air there's a

lot of resistance in an inertia this is

thus on the flip side we have rajas

rajas is activity or passion and you may

say okay but like inertia is bad so

rajas is better right no equally bad

just bad in a different way so when we

have an overabundance of rajas we get a

ton of passion right so we get super

excited about stuff and this is your

problem too it's not just that you're

inert some days it's that you're way too

passionate other days oh my God I got so

excited about this I'm going to do it

I'm going to do it I'm going to do it

I'm going to order all this stuff I'm

going to buy a guitar I'm going to buy

all this stuff I'm going to learn to

play guitar you this overabundance of

activity or passion you get super

excited about a video game your mind

gets super excited about something oh my

God we're we're cooking now let's go

baby let's go and what ends up happening

after an overabundance of regist you run

out of steam or the other problem is

that you should be focusing on thing

number a but your mind is so active or

passionate about thing number B that you

don't focus on what you're supposed to

be focusing on so in both cases this is

not the right State of Mind instead what

we want is a balance for things to be

balanced right I'm not overly excited

but I have enough energy or activity to

where I can do the thing that I need to

do and my mind is relatively tranquil

and calm now let's go back to motivation

and willpower the problem with

motivation and willpower is that they

are

compensations for tamas and rajas so if

we really think about motivation why do

we want motivation so we want motivation

because if my body or mind is motivated

then I don't have to force it right so

motivation is a natural inclination to

do something and we all go seeking out

motivation because if we have were

motivated oh thank God then I don't need

willpower my body will naturally want to

do it but I want you to think a little

bit about how Insidious and devastating

This truly is because what you're trying

to do is create a state for your body or

mind where it does what you want it to

do it wants to do it right the Mind once

it's motivated it naturally wants to do

something but that still means you're

not in control if the mind is motivated

towards doing something you're breathing

a sigh of relief but it's not that you

are telling it to do it and then the

mind naturally follows your orders it's

thank God the Mind actually wants to do

it because I have no [ __ ] control

over my mind to begin with so on the

days that it wants to do what I want it

to do thank God and so we end up chasing

this idea where we want the mind to do

what we want it to do but we are

fundamentally not control of it and this

is what makes life hard because

motivation waxes and waines so what

motivation is is to try to channel the

sense of rajas we want a natural passion

in the direction that we want it because

we don't control the mind so we hope

that the passion is in the direction

that we want well what about willpower

willpower is our antidote to thumb us

right so when our body or mind is inert

and we don't feel like doing something

what is our solution our solution is

willpower so even though it's sluggish

and slow I'm going to force it I'm going

to push it push boy push willpower like

let's go let's go let's go but if you

live a life where things are there's a

large exertion of willpower your life

will not be easy you may accomplish

particular things but it'll be [ __ ]

exhausting because we know that there

are three major things that drain our

mental willpower and uh drain our our

cognition actually is really a better

way to put it drain our cognitive energy

and willpower is one of them forcing

your mind to do something or your body

to do something is very very difficult

and very draining and here we are

chasing motivation which is actually

tricky because motivation means you're

not in control you cross your fingers

and you hope that your body and mind

want to do something because they're the

boss and you're just along for the ride

and on the flip side we're draining

ourselves trying to push this inert body

and then on the flip side there are

these days where you're in satas and in

satas your mind is relatively balanced

you're not overly excited so you've got

some stamina you've got some stay power

and you can say to your mind okay today

we're going to do this so and then your

mind is like okay like let's just get it

done and on these days life is easy so

now the question is all right so if I'm

in a Raj sick or thick State of Mind how

do I cultivate Savas there's one really

simple trick that you can do and we'll

teach all some more details the first is

on a day that you are passionate you

need to do things that will make you

more satvic tomorrow so anytime you have

a overabundance of rajas the goal is not

to give into the rajas but to do things

that will make you have a balanced mind

tomorrow so good examples of this are

first of all food so there are certain

foods that will lead to passion and

certain foods that will lead to inertia

we all know there are foods that will

lead to food Comas right so these are

things that are highly calorically dense

a combination of carbohydrates and fats

together so all desserts fall in this

category Pizza falls into this category

processed foods that will cause things

like inflammation and stuff like that in

the gut well there's all kinds of

science we're not going to get into that

now you can check out all of our other

videos but we know that when you eat

processed foods it increases

inflammation inflammation then causes a

low level of brain fog in your brain

will make it hard for you to focus on

things will make it hard for you to have

willpower everything gets screwed so how

do we create this balanced mind so let's

just think about it for a second right

how do we create balance in our body how

do we create balance in our mind what we

put into the body and mind will

determine its function so if we eat

particular kinds of food the body will

be slow if we eat other kinds of food

the body will be activated right if I

get drunk on liquor suddenly I'm filled

with passion and the same is true of the

Mind certain foods will slow down the

Mind certain foods will speed up the

mind this is true of all psychoactive

substances as as well these are the

things that affect the mind in a

particular way so food that is light and

nutritious doesn't weigh down the mind

but also doesn't overly activate it the

second thing that we can do to create a

balanced body or mind is to stretch it

right so we want to engage in exercises

that will sort of clean out the Mind

purify the mind as well as stretch the

Mind Focus the mind so this is where

Mind Body practices are very very

powerful so if we look at practices like

yoga or taichi how do these things work

fundamentally so when I engage in a yoga

posture it's not about becoming a human

pretzel it's that if I try to balance on

one leg with my arms above like this

what's it going to do to my mind it is

going to force my mind to focus right

because I can't stand like this with on

one leg unless my mind is focused this

is the point of yoga is to induce to

literally practice the focusing of the

mind and since you are telling the mind

to do something and it is maintaining

that state despite the fact that it is

hard you are training the mind to listen

and the more you engage in this kind of

stuff the more balanced the mind will be

the more plant the mind will be it'll

become Supple easy to to kind of listen

to you so these are the two things that

we really want to focus on so the first

thing is we're going to eat light

nutritious food so high amounts of fiber

but not processed fiber anything like

that don't don't have any of that

Metamucil crap or anything like that eat

vegetables eat fruits cook yourself a

nice nutritious meal second thing that

we want to do on a day of reges when we

feel pretty good is we want to do some

kind of yoga or taichi ideally not even

exercise but we want a Mind Body

balancing practice so you can do Surya

namaskar or something like that the

third thing that we really want to be

careful about when we are trying to

create a soic mind is to avoid all

psychoactive substances now this is a

big one that a lot of people will

struggle with so let's understand

psychoactive substances for a second and

how they affect our mind let's take

caffeine so does caffeine do caffeine

counters thus right so if I wake up in

the morning and I feel very sluggish or

if I'm having an afternoon oh my God I'm

kind of sluggish let me take caffeine it

artificially boosts my energy but

caffeine doesn't increase your energy

all you're doing is taking in advance on

your future energy so if I drink

caffeine now I'm going to have a crash

later this is true of all stimulants

right so once the stuff wears out all of

this artificial stuff that you've been

kind of suppressing through the caffeine

so if we we look at technically the way

that caffeine works it blunts our

ability to detect our fatigue so the way

that our brain knows how fatigued we are

is we detect this uh chemical called

adenosine and the more adenosine we have

in our brain the the more we feel tired

and so that what ends up happening when

we take caffeine doesn't actually give

us energy it just blunts our ability to

uh detect our tiredness so once the

caffeine wears off there's this pile of

adenosine and suddenly you feel very

tired okay so caffeine is doesn't give

you energy you're just taking an advance

from the future and then you're going to

have to pay it back other psychoactive

substances like alcohol or marijuana or

things like that these too are

problematic because what these are going

to do is going to calm us down oh my God

I have anxiety this is an overabundance

of activity of the mind and so then what

happens I take the substance and it

induces a thic state we are making our

mind inert which by the way is true of

our psychiatric medications as well if

you look at these medications like

anticho medications they're all sedating

because they literally slow down the

activity of the mind even ssris are

somewhat sedating right we can feel

sleepy sluggish we're inducing a th6

state because in Psychiatry when there

is an overactivity of the mind we just

sedate it literally that's what we do

that's the neurochemistry of our our

psychiatric drugs so this is the problem

is as long as you are ping ponging back

and forth between a Raj sick mind that

is chemically not even balanced but

overcome with some something that's

thick right we're sedating a passionate

mind or on the flip side we have a

sluggish mind that we're artificially

boosting with stimulants in both of

these cases the state of our mind is

unhealthy it's not balanced it's not

easy so you must cut out as many

psychoactive substances as you can and

you will hear this you may even

experience this yourself that if you

take a break from all alcohol all

marijuana caffeine doesn't have to be

any all of these substances at the same

time every patient I've ever talked to

if they can cut out a psychoactive

substance after 30 to 60 days they feel

better it may come back after a while

you may need to use it I'm definitely in

that camp for caffeine but this is the

kind of thing where once you actually

detox off of the substance everyone says

they feel better so what we want to do

is create a savic mind and the more

savic our mind is the more balanced our

mind is the better we will be so we want

to eat light nutritious foods that are

nutrient rich and ideally not too

calorically dense it's not so much about

whether you eat 2,000 calories or 1,800

or 21100 that's not important the main

thing is that the food should not be

Psycho actively dulling right so we want

food that's light and nutritious some

kind of Mind Body practice and some kind

of restriction on as many substances as

you can manage to restrict if you can do

these three days on a day that you are

Raj sick right because remember there

are going to be some days that you're

overly active some days that you're uh

sorry inactive and some days where

you're balance so you take an overly

active day which is going to happen at

some point and then you do as many saic

things as you can can as you do more

satvic things what are you actually

doing you're actually setting up for a

healthier tomorrow so when you wake up

the next day all of that stuff in your

gut the Mind Body practice that you've

done the reduction in substances means

you're going through less withdrawal

okay or maybe you started the process of

withdrawal but since you're eating

healthy and stuff like that you're not

very sluggish your gut bacteria isn't

out of whack the next day when you wake

up your mind will be 1% 5% 10% more

savic and as your mind becomes more

satvic it'll be a little bit easier to

get it to do what you want to do because

it's balanced it's not overly sluggish

and it's not overly excited so now

you've added 10% balance and so then if

you tell it okay today we're going to

eat healthy again today we're going to

do a little bit more yoga let's try yoga

today let's let's skip that second cup

of caffeine in the afternoon and by the

way a great way to avoid afternoon

caffeine is just to nap okay so if you

guys are struggling with caffeine fine

have your cup in the morning but in the

afternoon just nap right cuz you're

tired so listen to your body instead of

ignoring your body just listen to it and

take a little bit more rest then when

you wake up you'll feel probably not

even refresh you'll feel a little bit

more sluggish mentally but your body

will get that rest which will help you

tomorrow so this is the key thing to

understand about how to make your life

easy the first thing is that you must

balance your body as your body and mind

are balanced life will suddenly become a

lot easier second thing to understand is

that this balancing takes time and the

main thing to do is you should invest

whatever you can today that will make

your mind more savic tomorrow the third

thing to understand is that if your mind

is more saic it is easier to do more

savic things so it's kind of like a

string of dominoes where if I can eat

healthy and meditate one day do Mind

Body practices whatever tomorrow in some

way it'll be easier to do it again we're

not saying that you have to be perfect

it's not about perfection it's about a

trend in the right direction and the

last thing to understand about making

your life easy is that in order to make

your life easy you must must be willing

to live a hard life today there are two

kinds of people in life the people who

want an easy life so they seek an easy

life and they avoid hardness and their

life becomes hard right so when you're

sitting here and you're avoiding the

work that you have to do when you're not

exercising you're not doing yoga because

you want an easy life you want an easy

life in search of an easy life you

create an easy life today a life of

indulgence a life of lack of effort a

life where you screw yourself over

tomorrow then your life will be hard

paradoxic

the ones who Embrace a difficult life

today will have an easier life tomorrow

and the more that you Embrace difficulty

the easier your life will become until

you reach a point where you are

relatively saic and as you're relatively

saic something magical will happen your

body and mind will start to listen to

you and if your body and mind listen to

you you don't need motivation you don't

need willpower because it is it is

compliant it is a well-trained animal

when you tell the horse to go this way

goes this way and then your life will

truly become

[Music]

easy