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Our brains are acted upon by the elephant and the rider. The elephant represents our sensibility, while the rider is our rationality. Your rider wants to get up early to exercise and memorize English words. But your elephant wants to stay under the covers for a little longer. The rider decided to eat a healthy vegetable salad, but the elephant unconsciously ordered a bowl of fried noodles. Elephants crave instant gratification, while riders are just the opposite. Elephants need energy and motivation, while riders tend to overthink and stay put. Riders make plans, while elephants are responsible for moving forward.

But elephants are not always troublemakers. Elephants are in charge of many emotions such as love, pity, sympathy, and loyalty. When the elephant lacks motivation, the rider will just spin around in circles, constantly analyzing plans, but not taking action. Some people are racking their brains over what to eat for dinner, which means that their elephants are not hungry yet.

Controlling an elephant takes energy, which is why it’s easy to overeat when you’re exhausted. The testers gave chocolate biscuits and carrots to two groups of children respectively. The children in the carrot group could only watch others eat chocolate biscuits. After the end, they were assigned questions of the same difficulty. The first group of children spent an average of 19 minutes trying new methods; the carrot group gave up after an average of 8 minutes. Because they have exhausted their self-control! Our self-control is limited, and although it can be exercised and enhanced, it is still scarce.