Eat The Oreos, Skip The Gym

Why doing the “unhealthy thing” might help you in the long-run

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You read that title right. You’re not hallucinating. I did just tell you to choose the unhealthy thing. Eat the junk. Don’t work out.

No, I haven’t lost my mind. I promise.

I recently listened to an amazing pod titled, “Relaxed But Casual”, by , on 10% Happier.

There were a lot of nuggets in the pod and I strongly encourage you to listen, but what stood out to me was the concept of doing the thing that is not productive or not helpful… Whatever adverb you want to assign to something “bad for you”.

Eat the chips. Go overboard. Have a pie for dinner. Stay up late. Sleep in. Skip the workout. Don’t do fitness for X amount of time.

Do something that you avoid or assign negativity.

Why? So that you understand WHY you’re avoiding it in the first place.

Why would you avoid something if you don’t know why you’re avoiding it?

Here are some ideas to help navigate this little fun escapade. I also caution you about doing many experiments at once and facing overstimulation. Start with the thing that you restrict yourself with the most: but that food you don’t keep at home, stop slogging through…