A soft yelp is heard as an electric shock runs through floor of the dog's cage.

Yet for some reason, although the walls are barely higher than its head and there's no top, an easily escapable situation, the dog just whimpers and lays down. This isn't his normal behavior. This dog used to try to escape before it learned that its efforts were futile.

This is happening to humans everyday.

Learned Helplessness: When forces outside your control repeatedly force you into suffering DESPITE your best efforts, the mind can give up.

It's a belief, that's so deep that it happens to DOGS, that says, "even if I try it doesn't matter. Something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong."

This Achilles' heel of the human mind's motivational system is viciously resistant, but has a path out.

1) Teach your brain that you can WIN

Define small battles.

You must upset the brain's learned "lesson" that you lose each battle you fight. Can you wake up on-time 10 days in a row? Run/walk ANY distance 7-days straight? Choose a target small enough that with effort you can CRUSH it.

2) Show your brain that you can GROW

Measure otherwise invisible progress.

When your brain doesn't believe progress is possible for you, anything you can't do NOW feels impossible FOREVER. Go walk around the block and count how many laps before you want to quit. Promise after 7 days of daily mini-walks, you'll do another test. FIND GROWTH.

3) Map Out an An Upward Spiral

Avoid reaching for any big leaps.

Imagine you're at the bottom of a dome-shaped mud hole in the ground. If you run straight up the wall you slide backwards more disappointed. But if you can run up the walls at low-slanted angles you can auger yourself upward.

The key is slow progress, but every step upwards.