The Mental Frame & Specific Daily Actions to Succeed | Andy Stumpf

Huberman adopted this from Andy Stumpf's book 'Drown Proof.' He does it weekly and finds it helps him catch himself when he starts going down rabbit holes triggered by news or algorithms. He says it has remapped his unhealthy tendencies and given him a greater sense of agency. The exercise forces the realization that almost everything on the left side is outside your direct control, while the right side boils down to how you respond and what you do with your time. He recommends it for everyone, wishing he'd learned it in junior high.

Huberman describes his personal protocol, noting he is very heat tolerant but less cold tolerant, so he now does cold plunges in the low 40s°F. He mentions Jocko Willink's 'factory reset protocol' where you don't know the duration or temperature, adding an element of unpredictability. Huberman believes the cold plunge is one of the safest ways to get an adrenaline spike and learn to work with that state. He emphasizes doing it away from resistance training to avoid blunting hypertrophy.

Huberman explains that the anterior midcingulate cortex was poorly understood until recently. Stimulation of this area in patients produces a feeling of an impending challenge and the desire to lean into it. It grows when people successfully diet or add exercise they hate. He connects this to everyday choices like dealing with toilet paper rolls or putting dishes away immediately. The key is that the action must be something you don't want to do in the moment. Over time, these small acts compound to build a brain structure associated with resilience and longevity.

Huberman shares this tool from his own experience with someone in the SEAL community who was struggling. The person was told, 'Your goggles are foggy, so you can't trust anything you think or see about yourself for the next six months. You only can trust these three people.' The person accepted it and survived. Huberman connects this to the idea that people have an innate desire not to be controlled, and if they can see their dark thoughts as an external force rather than their own truth, they can resist. He suggests this approach might trigger the anterior midcingulate cortex to fight back against the 'evil forces' hijacking the mind.

Huberman describes a friend group where one member sends a Bible passage or a wish for the day, and everyone checks in. If they don't hear from him by 8:00 AM, they assume something is wrong. Huberman says he would be worried about himself if that check-in didn't happen, not because he's dependent on it, but because it's a small thing that really matters. He ties this back to the theme of small actions having big impacts on mental health.

Huberman shares a theory he's been thinking about after spending time with a major online content provider. He argues that unlike being drunk or on drugs, where people exit the state and realize they wasted time, social media is different because users are aware during use that they could or should be doing something else. He calls it 'low resolution' because it doesn't fully occupy the mind—you can still kind of tend to kids, be in a conversation, sort of be on a Zoom. This makes it the 'perfect addiction' because it's not extreme enough to cause immediate life collapse, so it persists. He worries especially about the younger generation, fearing that incredible accomplishments, art, and music will not be made because of this constant low-grade distraction. He says he fears this more than AI taking jobs.

Huberman details that this brain area hypertrophies (grows) when people successfully diet or add three 30-minute cardio sessions to their existing exercise program—but only if they hate cardio. If they love the ice bath or the workout, it doesn't stimulate growth. He connects this to the concept of 'superagers,' people who maintain cognitive and physical abilities into their 80s and 90s, whose defining feature is a larger anterior midcingulate cortex. He suggests that doing small things you don't want to do, like putting dishes in the dishwasher instead of the sink, may build this structure over time, potentially even relating to the will to live.

Huberman uses this finding to speculate about why activities like wing suiting or intense creative work might produce a long tail of mental clarity. He suggests that by lowering the stress threshold, these experiences allow the brain to make connections that were previously blocked, leading to better decision-making and perspective in everyday life. He ties this to Stumpf's description of feeling 'settled' for months after base jumping trips.

Huberman describes doing the exercise every week since reading the book. On the right side, he lists things he can control and actions he can take with his time. He says it pops to mind whenever he starts going down rabbit holes, like seeing something in the news, and he asks himself 'What am I doing?' He notes that once you realize you're being manipulated by algorithms, the obligation is to not follow that path. He finds the exercise helps him separate issues of concern from issues of impact, allowing him to ignore drama and focus on what he can actually affect.