Why do I have to fight this battle every day?!

You wake up determined to eat clean, move more, and go to bed early. But by evening, desire creeps in: that ice cream is screaming your name, maybe a little extra cake, maybe some wine, maybe some…you get the idea. We start scrolling instead of sleeping, our phone hits us in the face and we smile because we know we have a problem….that will have to wait til tomorrow to conquer. Why does this battle keep repeating?

It’s not a personal flaw. It’s biology, psychology, and environment—stacked against your long-term goals.

The Battle Is Wired In

Your brain has two competing systems:

• The limbic system (emotional, fast-acting) drives desires for immediate pleasure.

• The prefrontal cortex (rational, long-term) governs self-control and decision-making.

These systems are in constant negotiation. When you’re tired, stressed, or overstimulated, desire often wins.

Recent research shows:

• Dopamine surges from anticipating rewards can override rational thinking—even before the reward is received¹.

• Decision fatigue lowers willpower throughout the day. The more choices you make, the harder self-discipline becomes².

• Processed foods hijack reward circuits in the brain, making cravings more intense and harder to resist³.

• Sleep deprivation significantly reduces prefrontal cortex function, weakening discipline⁴.

• Stress hormones like cortisol increase impulsive behavior and reduce goal-oriented decision-making⁵.

You’re Not Lazy—You’re Overloaded

You’ve built a life with responsibilities. Family. Business. Aging parents. Young Kids. Teenagers. Your schedule reflects your priorities, but it also reflects decision fatigue and a nervous system under chronic stress.

Objection: “I already have so much on my plate. I can’t add another ‘discipline’ to the list.”

Answer: Don’t add more. Instead, remove friction:

• Plan ahead when your willpower is strongest—usually in the morning.

• Set up “no-brainer defaults.” For example: protein shake after your morning walk. No decision needed.

• Keep temptations out of sight—visual cues are powerful triggers. If you don’t buy it - you can’t eat it.

Objection: “But I want to enjoy my evenings, not live like a monk.”

Answer: Discipline isn’t about denial. It’s about designing your life to support what matters most.

• Enjoyment and discipline aren’t opposites. They co-exist when you align your habits with long-term joy, not short-term escape.

• Replace the reward, not just remove it. For example: Instead of late-night TV, try a hot shower and a novel or wind-down playlist or pick one or two nights where the Tv comes on while others you know it doesn’t.

How to Shift the Balance Toward Discipline

These practices make discipline feel less like a battle:

• Create routines, not rules. Automate what matters.

• Anchor behavior to existing habits. For example: right after dinner, prep your workout clothes, prep healthy breakfast.

• Visualize the future cost of small compromises. Studies show future-self connection increases long-term decision-making⁶. What does the long term healthy, happy you do on a daily basis? Start that practice today.

• Recover your brain through better sleep, regular movement, and stillness. A regulated nervous system is your greatest asset.

You’re not weak. You’re simply living in a world designed to distract and deplete. Discipline isn’t about perfection—it’s about stacking your environment, routines, and self-awareness so that desire doesn’t always drive the wheel.

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I’d love to hear about how you fight the battle of desire and discipline. 👋

I write this newsletter each week because I feel my best when my body, mind and soul are all healthy. I want the same for you. If you feel like you’ve seen something valuable here, please do me a favor and forward this newsletter to a friend or let me know what you think by replying or texting me - (310) 879-8441

I think the world is in desperate need of healthy, happy men who love the strong women in their lives with a self-sacrificing type of love.

I have found the following four books to be the 4 books every man should read and every woman should want their man to read.

• Good Energy - What makes for a Healthy Body and Mind?

• The Masculine in Relationship - How to Win the Trust, Lust and Devotion of a Strong Woman

• The Man’s Guide to Women - The Science of Happy Relationships

• The Desire of Ages - Leadership in a World of Cowards

Here are a few other links to things that have changed my life:

Whoop - Track your HRV and REM Sleep

Function Health - Optimize Your Health via 100+ BioMarkers

Here are a few topics I think you’ll love if you haven’t checked them out before:

How to Breathe for Better Health

How to Supercharge Your Sleep

The Power of the Sauna

-Jared

P.S. - This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The content, such as graphics, images, text, and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only. The content is not meant to be complete or exhaustive or to be applicable to any specific individual's medical condition.

Footnotes

¹ Salamone JD, Correa M. The Mysterious Motivational Functions of Mesolimbic Dopamine. Neuron. 2012.

² Vohs KD et al. Decision fatigue exhausts self-regulatory resources. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008.

³ Gearhardt AN et al. The neurobiology of food addiction. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2011.

⁴ Gujar N et al. Sleep deprivation amplifies reactivity of brain reward networks. J Neurosci. 2011.

⁵ Arnsten AFT. Stress signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex function. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009.

⁶ Hershfield HE et al. Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self. J Mark Res.2011.