Nir Eyal says we escape discomfort through news, social media, and drinking instead of facing it. He argues discomfort is rocket fuel for change, not something to numb away.
What most people do when they feel, you know, lonesome, bored, indecisive, fearful, whatever it might be, they look for escape. Oh, let me just turn on the news real quick because I feel fearful. Maybe. Maybe the news will give me the answer. Of course it won't. I feel lonely. So let me just check Facebook real quick so that I can feel connected to others. Well, no, not really. That's not really going to give you that wholesome feeling of friendship that you might get. It's a band aid, right? We feel stressed. So, you know, let me just take a quick drink real quick to calm my nerves. Have that glass of wine after dinner so that I don't feel stressed. These are escapes from these uncomfortable internal triggers as opposed to harnessing them, as opposed to using it as rocket fuel to make things better. Okay. Make your own life better. Make the world better by reimagining the internal triggers. So discomfort is not necessarily a bad thing. Feeling bad is not bad.
Your Beliefs Are Sabotaging You (Here's Why) - Beyond Belief for Athletes with Nir Eyal
