Why Can’t Humans Do Anything In Moderation? - Michael Easter - #690

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Michael Easter. He's a professor at the University of Nevada, a journalist and an author, who focuses on health and human performance. Even though we might often feel in control of our impulses, there are regular moments that remind us of our uncontrolled tendencies. From overspending to overeating, there is a secret loop happening inside of our minds that causes our actions and intentions to move further apart. Expect to learn why moderation is so impossible to achieve, what humans actually want the most out of life, what the scarcity loop is and how it drives your behavior, if it's possible to become dependent on certainty, whether humans are more likely to chase happiness or avoid discomfort, Michael's contrarian opinion on first world problems, and much more. This episode is brought to you by Mudwater. Mudwater is a coffee alternative with adaptogenic mushrooms and Ayurvedic herbs. Provides energy without the anxiety, jitters or crash of coffee. The blend includes Lion's Mane for alertness, Cordyceps for physical performance, Chaga and Rishi for immune support, Turmeric for soreness and Cinnamon for antioxidants. It's Whole30 approved, 100% USDA organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan and Kosher certified. The blend can help alleviate pain and inflammation in the body. It's got anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can help improve brain function and reduce the risk of chronic disease. But best of all, it tastes fantastic and it encourages a little ritual on a morning while you're making it of reflection and just checking in ahead of your day. Head to mudwtr.com/mw and using the code MW15 at checkout for 15% of everything. That's mudwtr.com/mw and MW15 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. If you use a public Wi-Fi network like a cafeteria or a library or an airport, regularly that internet admin can see all of the data going back and forth between your computer and the internet. Your internet service provider is selling your data to companies that target you with ads and phishing websites are trying to steal everything from you at all times. All of this is fixed with a VPN and it is available across unlimited devices. So it protects your phone, your iPad, your laptop and even your smart TV. And it's got a 30-day money back guarantee. So you can buy it and try it for 29 days. And if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Head to surfshark.deals slash Modern Wisdom for an exclusive discount. Plus that 30-day money back guarantee. That's surfshark.deals slash Modern Wisdom. This episode is brought to you by House Of Macadamias. If you are a nut lover, you need to try these. These are the best tasting macadamia nuts I've ever had. They're absolutely phenomenal. They've got salty, sweet and spicy versions, but their ready salted macadamia nuts are unbelievably good. Macadamias are the only nut rich in omega-7 fatty acids. They've got arguably the best fat profile, more heart healthy, mono unsaturated fat than other nuts, and the lowest carb of any popular nut. House Of Macadamias have vertically integrated with over 90 farmers, making the highest quality nuts available to you. Also, you can get a 20% discount site-wide, plus a free box with your first purchase if you go to houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and use the code MW20 at checkout. That's houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and MW20 at checkout. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michael Easter.
Why is moderation so hard to achieve? Why can't humans just ever get enough?

**Michael Easter** (4:05)
It never made sense until maybe, I don't know, the 1970s to start moderating. We're a species that came up in these environments where everything we needed to survive was scarce food, stuff, information, even number of people we could influence, status, things like that. And so the people who lived on and spread their DNA were people who tended to not try and moderate on those things, right? But the difference is that today we have an abundance of all these things that were sort of built to crave, if you will. And we still have our old our old genes that push us into more.

**Chris Williamson** (4:40)
So because we existed for almost all of human history with less than we wanted, less than we needed, we have seen everything as being a fleeting, brief amount of abundance in an ocean of scarcity. We should take advantage of it right now. Give me more and more more of everything that's in front.

**Michael Easter** (5:01)
Yeah, exactly. Right in the past. Take food. Food is a great example. In the past, it was hard to find food. You would have to walk around all day, pick it out of the ground, pick it off a tree. You would have to hunt it. You have to literally run it down until it was exhausted. And then you'd spear it and then you take it home. And so it required effort.