You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
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Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#2This article first says that this phenomenon is not "something that’s wrong with us or our behaviour, something that needs to be controlled, eradicated, tamed, left behind or put in its place."
Then it immediately defines a new term "internal resistance" that's exactly defined as something that's "a part of us" and explains how to work around it or "tame it".
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#3I think a lot of people don't do the thing they want to do for many reasons, but I found this helpful. If nothing else it's good advice to be curious about what's going on inside your head, and not to jump to condemnation. Who knows, maybe it is a simple lack of discipline, but I haven't found that such an assumption brings me closer to the goal, which means that even if it's "right" it's not useful.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#4As with most posts of this type, it assumes you are neurotypical and not dealing with other issues that compromise executive function.
This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just important to point out there is a prerequisite condition that must be met before this advice becomes useful.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#5no, sometimes I am definitely lazy.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#6This article first says that this phenomenon is not "something that’s wrong with us or our behaviour, something that needs to be controlled, eradicated, tamed, left behind or put in its place." Then it immediately defines a new term "internal resistance" that's exactly defined as something that's "a part of us" and explains how to work around it or "tame it".
Maybe it isn't to clear, but the author tries to go in the direction of not fighting it.
> 1. Recognise that internal resistance is on your side. Part of what is so awful about the cycle-of-not-doing-the-thing is that it feels so self-destructive. But internal resistance does not want to destroy us; it literally wants the opposite! It only exists to protect us from pain.
also
> There’s another reason why I think we should treat internal resistance as a form of wisdom rather than a malevolent opponent. It holds a lot of knowledge about what we secretly believe we might be able to do.
I think it is very beneficial to see this 'Resistance' as a force inside you, mostly trying to keep the status quo, for your benefit, unfortunately sometimes to the point of halting you in all things possible.
Maybe I am reading to much into this article with my already set up view, but my view is to recognize this part in us, that does not want things done/changed and acknowledge its existence (which we often want to ignore, bypass), explore possible why's. This can be a really intimate experience, the a-ha moment. The first (and most important step) would be acknowledgment of its existence.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#7I think a lot of people don't do the thing they want to do for many reasons, but I found this helpful. If nothing else it's good advice to be curious about what's going on inside your head, and not to jump to condemnation. Who knows, maybe it is a simple lack of discipline, but I haven't found that such an assumption brings me closer to the goal, which means that even if it's "right" it's not useful.
No amount of metacognition or framing has ever gotten me out of a rut.
> Internal resistance is not immovable — it responds to reason, to alternative scenarios, to making space for the emotions that seem like such a threat
This has not been my experience. My own internal resistance responds to people being impressed with what I'm doing and expressing that to me, or a eureka moment (which typically come when I'm watching Star Trek or cooking a meal or doing some other activity instead of the thing I'm trying to accomplish). The eureka moment trigger is a special circumstance though; most of the time if there's a puzzle to solve I won't disengage from the problem. Usually I just have seemingly random bouts of productivity. I feel very fortunate to have a job that allows me to work when I'm mentally able.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#8If this article resonates with you, I recommend reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#9no, sometimes I am definitely lazy.
...and it's just great. Capacity to be lazy (being very important in itself) does not negate existence of this 'pro status quo' force, holding you back.
Re: You Are Not Lazy or Undisciplined. You Have Internal Resistance
#10I came around to the idea that procrastination or other form of akrasia is an emotional problem, not a discipline problem.
That said, it doesn't really give me new tools or tricks to deal with the problems?
It's still the same: podomoro or timeboxing, giving oneself a reward for completing an objective, trying to complete a given task every week, and so forth.
I supposed I could give mental health therapies a try, I guess?