Hacking Your Psychology to Do Hard Things Consistently - Dr Mike Israetel

Go see Chris live in America - https://chriswilliamson.live Dr Mike Israetel is a Professor of Exercise and Sport Science at Lehman College and the Co-Founder of Renaissance Periodization. How do you boost motivation and actually follow through on the things you know you should do, but don’t feel like doing? The answer isn’t more stimulants, thankfully, it’s something far more grounded in neuroscience and behaviour. Today, Dr Mike Israetel breaks down the science of willpower in a way that works for the average person and can even help make your daily life much more productive. Expect to learn the science behind willpower, habits & motivation, the de facto two kinds of things you should be doing with your time, how to know when its time to do things you actually feel like doing versus making yourself do things you don’t feel like doing, how to integrate habits that improve your life and get rid of the ones that don’t serve you, how to improve your willpower, how to become more antifragile and build your resilience, and much more… - 0:00 - Why Willpower is Such a Buzzing Topic 5:01 - Things You Feel Like Doing vs Things You Don't Feel Like Doing 15:14 - The Importance of Inspiration When Getting Things Done 24:22 - We Need To Say Yes to More Experiences 42:09 - The Key to Choosing Concrete Goals 51:03 - Intention is Critical to Success 01:02:27 - Discipline Looks Like Holding Yourself Accountable 01:17:58 - The Biggest Mistakes When Making Habits 01:36:47 - What Decisions Can Make Our Habits Stick? 01:47:20 - How Can Rest and Recovery Enhance Habits, Goals and Willpower? 02:08:23 - Building Resilience Through the Process of Becoming - Get 10% off Echo’s Hydrogen Flask at https://echowater.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get the best bloodwork analysis in America at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D, and more from AG1 at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostDr Mike Israetelguest

Jul 21, 20252h 19mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: July 21, 2025
Duration: 2h 19m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Go see Chris live in America - https://chriswilliamson.live Dr Mike Israetel is a Professor of Exercise and Sport Science at Lehman College and the Co-Founder of Renaissance Periodization. How do you boost motivation and actually follow through on the things you know you should do, but don’t feel like doing? The answer isn’t more stimulants, thankfully, it’s something far more grounded in neuroscience and behaviour. Today, Dr Mike Israetel breaks down the science of willpower in a way that works for the average person and can even help make your daily life much more productive. Expect to learn the science behind willpower, habits & motivation, the de facto two kinds of things you should be doing with your time, how to know when its time to do things you actually feel like doing versus making yourself do things you don’t feel like doing, how to integrate habits that improve your life and get rid of the ones that don’t serve you, how to improve your willpower, how to become more antifragile and build your resilience, and much more… - 0:00 - Why Willpower is Such a Buzzing Topic 5:01 - Things You Feel Like Doing vs Things You Don't Feel Like Doing 15:14 - The Importance of Inspiration When Getting Things Done 24:22 - We Need To Say Yes to More Experiences 42:09 - The Key to Choosing Concrete Goals 51:03 - Intention is Critical to Success 01:02:27 - Discipline Looks Like Holding Yourself Accountable 01:17:58 - The Biggest Mistakes When Making Habits 01:36:47 - What Decisions Can Make Our Habits Stick? 01:47:20 - How Can Rest and Recovery Enhance Habits, Goals and Willpower? 02:08:23 - Building Resilience Through the Process of Becoming - Get 10% off Echo’s Hydrogen Flask at https://echowater.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get the best bloodwork analysis in America at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D, and more from AG1 at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Dr Mike Israetel
guest
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Dr Mike Israetel, Hacking Your Psychology to Do Hard Things Consistently - Dr Mike Israetel explores dr. Mike Israetel’s Blueprint For Doing Hard Things On Autopilot Chris Williamson and Dr. Mike Israetel deconstruct willpower, motivation, discipline, and habits into a practical framework for doing difficult things consistently. They distinguish between short-lived inspiration, goal-directed motivation, concrete planning (intention), disciplined willpower, and finally habit formation, showing how each layer supports the next.

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