Debrief 27: Achieving Optimal Mental Health and Well-Being

6 Best Mental Health Advices

If it still bothers you after 24 hours, speak up within 48 hours.

Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for taking care of.

A bad day doesn’t mean a bad life.

The critical judge in your head does not tell the truth, and it does not have your best interest at heart.

Your brain can’t be grateful and anxious at the same time. When anxiety takes hold, look for gratitude.

Stop apologizing for expressing your feelings. You’re convincing yourself that you are not worth the space you take up.

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Meditation can happen anywhere/anyway

Coach Divine’s insight into how and when you CAN do it.

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Atomic Habits

The habit loop

It refers to the three-step process that makes up a habit, which includes the cue, the routine, and the reward. The cue triggers the brain to initiate the routine, and the reward reinforces the behavior, making it more likely to be repeated in the future. Understanding and manipulating the habit loop is a key aspect of developing new, positive habits and breaking old, negative ones.

Build identity-based habits

The idea is that habits become an extension of one's identity and thus, they are more likely to stick if they are tied to one's beliefs, values, and self-image. Rather than simply trying to adopt new behaviors as isolated actions, the focus is on making the new habits align with one's sense of self and purpose. By doing so, the individual is more motivated to maintain the habits even in the face of challenges or temptations. The author suggests using phrases like "I am the type of person who..." to link the habit to one's identity.

The Goldilocks Rule

The rule states that humans are most likely to stick with a habit when it is neither too easy nor too hard, but just right, meaning that the habit is challenging enough to be engaging, but not so hard that it's discouraging. According to the author, the Goldilocks Rule provides a framework for finding the ideal level of difficulty for a habit, so that the habit can be performed consistently and with minimal resistance. The idea is to start small and gradually increase the difficulty of the habit over time, finding the balance between boredom and frustration.

Habit Stacking

It refers to the process of attaching a new habit to an existing habit, thus making it easier to build a new behavior into one's routine. The idea is to stack the new habit on top of a current habit, using the established routine as a cue to trigger the new behavior. For example, if the current habit is to brush one's teeth every morning, the new habit could be to do 10 pushups after brushing teeth. By linking the new habit to an existing habit, the individual is able to build a new behavior into their daily routine with minimal effort and increase the chances of success.

How to break bad habits and create good ones

Identify the cue: Identify the trigger that starts the bad habit and then try to replace it with a new cue that triggers the desired behavior.

Make it unattractive: Reduce the rewards associated with the bad habit and increase the costs.

Make it difficult: Increase the friction or effort required to perform the bad habit.

Create a substitute: Create a new routine that satisfies the same craving or need that the bad habit was satisfying.

Make it a habit: Build the new behavior into a daily routine by stacking it on top of an existing habit.

Reframe your identity: Make the new habit an extension of your identity and view yourself as someone who engages in this behavior.

Celebrate small wins: Celebrate every small win along the way to reinforce

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