Rich Bello argues that self-discipline can be strengthened because the brain (though technically an organ) behaves like a muscle and grows stronger with use. He lists practical ways to "strengthen the brain muscle": mental exercise (decide and follow through), meditation (claims of increased white and gray matter), physical exercise, low-glycemic nutrition, slow/deeper breathing, relaxation/stress reduction, and sufficient sleep. The segment frames these practices as means to increase willpower and cognitive resilience.
Chapters
So can we build up willpower? Can we build up discipline? Is discipline a muscle? No, technically it's an organ, but it behaves like a muscle. It gets stronger and it grows when you do certain things, right? The, the brain matter actually grows when you, when you do certain things, which we'll see in a second. If you neglect it, it actually gets weaker and smaller, right? You don't use your willpower. You, you get weak. Your willpower muscles get weak. So how do you strengthen the, how do you strengthen the brain muscle? You use it, right? Mental exercise. Decide and follow through. That's why a lot of times when you see older people and they're doing puzzles, right, Their brains are usually sharp. They're doing all these puzzles. They're keeping their brain sharp. Meditation and relaxation. Meditation is probably the greatest way to improve your brain muscle. The studies show that you increase your white matter and your gray matter when you meditate immensely. Physical exercise, great for building your brain. Nutrition, low glycemic foods. Your brain does not like sugar, right? You're bombarding it with sugar, slow breathing, oxygen, prana. That puts your parasympathetic, stress reduction, sleep. People know that kind of an obvious thing. So these are ways to strengthen the brain muscle, which strengthens your willpower, strengthens your discipline.