Your Monkey Brain is Controlling You More Than You Think

Contrary to popular belief, instant gratification isn’t a characteristic made popular by Millennials. No, no. The Pleasure Principle is deeply rooted in our primitive “monkey brains,” and it will totally derail the course of your life if you let it. Here’s how to stop the psychological snowball effect of instant gratification.

Our Primitive “Monkey Brains” at Work

It doesn’t matter how logical you are. It doesn’t matter how much willpower you have. It doesn’t even matter if the immediate reward is less than the long-term repercussions of procrastination. To our pleasure-seeking primal brains, that’s your “future self’s” problem.

What Goes on Inside Your Head: Instant Gratification and Procrastination

The German language has a great word for our dopamine-seeking state. This phenomenon is described as “Lustprinzip.” (Say that five times fast.) Essentially, it’s our human instincts taking hold to do whatever it takes in the present moment to avoid pain and receive pleasure. The actions might be for a legitimate biological need, such as water or safety, but these days it’s often for psychological “needs” like MUST HAZ CHEEZBURGER.

If you haven’t already guessed, it’s a veeeery fine mental line between “needs” and “wants.” Sure, you need food to survive, but do you need that bacon-covered burger to prevent starvation or would a healthy meal at home suffice? There’s a subtle essence of rationalizing here as well, which we’ll get to in a bit. Ultimately, Lustprinzip is just a piece of the puzzle.

The Akrasia Effect

Temptation, self-indulgence, and unfulfilled judgments are all players involved in instant gratification and procrastination. These timeless behaviors can’t so easily be written off as a result of our consumerist society. They, in fact, date back to ancient societies and were studied by philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle who assigned the word “akrasia” to these seemingly irrational actions. As Behavioral Psychologist, James Clear explains,

“Akrasia is the state of acting against your better judgment. It is when you do one thing even though you know you should do something else. Akrasia is what prevents you from following through on what you set out to do.”

For example, you know that eating a vegetable-filled brown rice bowl would be better for your health and help you lose that last 10 pounds, yet you’re compelled to scarf down the greasy cheeseburger instead — logic be damned. (Your Monkey Brain also wants to know if you fancy a chocolate-covered banana for dessert? Ooh, ooh! Eeeh, eeeh!)

The Psychology Behind Rationalizing Our Behaviors

After eating the once-mouthwatering cheeseburger, your “future self” — you in the current moment — starts facing the flood of consequences. You feel sluggish and bloated. Regret sets in after calculating the 90-minute workout you now need to work off 1,247 calories. Questions start racing through your mind, “What on Earth made me do that? What’s wrong with me?” In times like these, your brain scrambles to explain why this situation played out this way.

Coping Mechanisms

The brain’s response to your ill-advised actions is to rationalize, or “make excuses” to explain the behaviors. Whether it’s conscious or unconscious, you know this wasn’t a shining moment. Rationalization is yet another Monkey Brain mechanism that helps prevent negative emotions like sadness, guilt, or anxiety. On a deeper level, it’s trying to guard your perceived or internal self-image (i.e. what others think of you or what you think of yourself.)

For example, after going against your better judgment and eating the cheeseburger, you’ll probably say things like:

• I deserved that cheat meal, I’ve worked out four times this week already.
• It was only one meal, that doesn’t mean anything.
• Being in shape is overrated anyway, people should just love me for me.
• At least I didn’t eat those donuts yesterday, so this really isn’t that bad.

In other words, no one wants to feel like they’re irrational, have no willpower, or that they’re a screw-up. Thus, the brain turns on “comfort mode,” gives you a mental hug, and sends you skipping on your way. On the one hand, it’s a useful adaptation that keeps us all from spiraling into a deep depression over small mistakes or even traumatic experiences. But on the other hand, rationalizing can lead to maladaptive or psychologically damaging behaviors. Such is the case for victims who excuse their abusive partners with skewed reasoning and stay in dangerous relationships.

Without recognizing and curbing this thought process, it will continue to add momentum to the rolling snowball of problematic choices and procrastination. We have to do things consciously to prevent it from happening.

How To Stop Procrastination & Avoid Lustprinzip

If you really want to put a hard stop to the Monkey Brain behaviors, there are three helpful tools.

Creating Commitment Devices

These beautiful little arrangements are basically ways you make it IMPOSSIBLE not to follow through with something. You’re removing all other options, any potential distractions, and whatever detours you’d be tempted to take. For example, if you’re trying to read a book after dinner instead of watching Netflix, put the entire TV in a locked storage room and give someone else the key. Now, you have no choice but to read.

Look at your situation and see what might thwart your efforts. Too tempted to eat the junk food in the house? Throw it all away. Keep getting distracted by Facebook while you’re writing an article? Unplug your modem. Use commitment devices to make the whole process easy and temptation-free.

Look for areas of friction to remedy as well. For instance, you might be resisting your post-dinner reading because you don’t have a comfortable, well-lit place to do it. Perhaps you’re always tempted to eat junk food because you don’t have healthy food in the house. Remove the friction! Set up a reading nook and pack your fridge full of fresh produce.

Start With a Baby Bite

If you’re anything like me, just starting a new thing is the hardest part. There’s a certain level of anxiety and “what ifs” that come with starting new things. What if I mess it up? What if I can’t figure it out? What if it’s too hard? What if this takes too long? As it turns out, these anxieties are often unfounded and can be worse than just completing the task. Remind yourself that all you need to do is spend five minutes on it and you’re free to fail. Once you have a “baby bite” done, the rest is going to be much easier because the hardest part is over.

Break It Down & Get Specific

My favorite college professor, William Heywood, shared this strategy for getting things done. Since then, I’ve completed innumerable “dormant” to-dos, tackled colossal projects I never believed I’d be able to do, and started “adulting” better than I ever had. I mean… calling the insurance company? No way, I’ll deal with that when I die. So anyway, this strategy is quite simple:

1. Write down your task — be specific.
2. Break it down into smaller completion steps.
3. Be specific about the details (time, date, location, etc.)

It looks like this:

Task: My car needs new tires.

1. Research local mechanics on (time/date).
2. Contact three mechanics to get the best quote.
3. Call (specific phone number) to schedule an appointment at the mechanic with the best price.
4. See mechanic on (date/time) at (location).

When you commit yourself to a time and give every bit of information you’d possibly need, the task seems much more doable. That applies to anything from a fitness goal, planning a move across the country, or looking for a new job.

Take That, Monkey Brain!

In my experience, knowing what the problem is and understanding the “why” behind it makes it much easier to change. In this case, you’ll become aware of when your primitive habits start kicking in, how the brain rationalizes actions, and instead use the three procrastination-avoidance tools to get shit done. Let’s do this!