Applying Gandhi's Wisdom, The Science of Learning, and $100 to Your Breath

1. Why Your Breathing Gains Get More Boring With Time

“Gaining the first $100 at the track feels much better than winning the second $100, which feels better than winning the third $100, and so on. Eventually, if things get good enough, there is almost no psychological benefit when they get even better. This relationship reflects what economists call diminishing marginal utility.”

- Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

Building off last week’s “Satisfaction Treadmill,” let’s not forget this passage when our breathing, or anything else we’re working on, starts feeling boring.

We’re still making gains. They just might not feel as dramatic, because we already feel so good.

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Related: James Clear’s Plateau of Latent Potential

2. Applying Gandhi’s Wisdom and Scientific Research to Appreciate Your Favorite Breathing Practice

“Humans do not give greater credence to an objective record of a past event than to their subjective remembering of it.”

- Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Translation: What you experience holds more weight than what you learn.

As the Make it Stick authors also tell us, research shows it’s “nearly impossible to avoid basing one's judgments on subjective experience.”

Some might say this is a flaw of being human—we base things on emotions instead of facts. I say it’s amazing, at least when it comes to breathing : )

Because with breathing, this means that whatever you experience is what’s true for you. Your practice is yours; no science or statistics needed.

Practically, it means that if your experience with Wim Hof was terrific, then you should keep doing it. Or, if slow breathing was life-changing, do that.

As Gandhi tells us, “As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it.” This applies perfectly to breathing. And science agrees.

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P.S. If you like mouth breathing 24/7, I’m sorry, that doesn’t count here 😂

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