📧 You don’t have a discipline problem

The Real Reason You Keep Falling Back Into Old Habits

You don’t have a discipline problem.

You have a context problem.

Let me explain — with rats.

There’s this experiment called Rat Park.

Image Credit: stuartmcmillen.com

And if you understand it, it’ll change the way you think about addiction, productivity, and the life you’re building.

Vietnam Soldiers and Addiction

Back in the Vietnam War, soldiers had access to nearly any narcotic — especially opiates like morphine.

Many became seriously addicted during deployment.

But here’s the twist:

When they returned home, most of them simply stopped using.
No rehab. No intervention. Few became addicts.

Scientists Were Confused

This baffled scientists. Morphine is supposed to be powerfully addictive.

Yet all their previous research — mainly involving rats in cages — produced consistent results:

• Rat gets addicted.

• Take away the drug.

• Rat goes into withdrawal.

It didn’t explain why the soldiers quit so easily.

Enter Bruce Alexander and “Rat Park”

Bruce Alexander had a different theory:

“What if the problem isn’t the drug… it’s the cage?”

So he built Rat Park — a huge, enriched environment 200 times bigger than standard cages, filled with:

• 15–20 rats (both sexes)

• Plenty of food

• Wheels

• Toys

• Stimulation And space for mating

In short: rat paradise.

The Experiment Setup

They took rats already addicted to morphine water and divided them into two groups:

• Group 1: Put in standard lab cages

• Group 2: Placed inside Rat Park

Both groups had access to two water bottles:

• One clean

• One laced with morphine

The Surprising Results

The caged rats?

They kept drinking the morphine.

The Rat Park rats?

They mostly chose clean water — only occasionally testing the drugged one.

When life sucks, addiction has a tighter grip.
When life is full, addiction loses its power.

Environment matters more than we realize.

You’ve Experienced Your Own ‘Rat Park’

Think about it:

You go on vacation. You feel engaged, fulfilled, relaxed.

And suddenly, the desire to scroll, drink, or overeat fades.

That’s your human version of Rat Park.

How to Build Your Own Rat Park

Fortunately as a human, you can build your own ‘Rat Park’ around yourself.

Look at the differences between vacation life and normal life, and try to change the normal life.

First, you need enrichment.

Plan one engaging but pleasurable activity every day.

Go play mini golf, play real golf, or take up a hobby — learn an instrument perhaps.

Get your dopamine hit in a positive way.

Second, schedule some exercise.

2–3x per week.

It should be something fun.

For example, go for a walk around the park while listening to some music you like.

Third, learn to cook.

Junk food is a cheap dopamine hit and it’s easy to get.

But if you learn to cook you can get better food, much cheaper, and take a sense of pride in its making.

Fourth, schedule social activities.

Arrange more activities with friends.

Try to do at least one every week or so.

Basically, in every situation where you’d seek distraction, provide yourself with engagement/enrichment.

Last Word 👋

In every situation where you’d usually seek distraction, swap it with engagement.

You don’t need more motivation or discipline.
You need a better environment — your own Rat Park.

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~ Elevated Path