Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd say habits beat motivation
making habits requires motivation and discipline.
You won't make habits because you won't have the motivation and discipline to make those habits. It's a bit of a chicken and egg. /s
The Art of Not Thinking
21–30 of 168 posts
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#22For the main example given (exercise), I think for people like me there really is no thinking involved. It's purely an emotional aversion to discomfort and disenjoyment of physical activity. I think the better advice is to search for physical hobbies you enjoy rather than to 'just do it' (tm).
you won't find a physical hobby you enjoy because you never "just do it" enough to find out if you enjoy any of it. It's a bit of chicken and egg. People who think they have "emotional aversion to discomfort and disenjoyment of physical activity" should probably seek therapy if they really want to change.
I tried yoga, cycling, going to the gym - none stuck with me. I did try though.
I only really enjoy swimming - but it's too much work to prepare yourself for the pool - and carrying things - the other day me and a few frineds helped my other friend move ten station wagons worth of stuff - but that isn't a particularly healthy activity.
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#23For the main example given (exercise), I think for people like me there really is no thinking involved. It's purely an emotional aversion to discomfort and disenjoyment of physical activity. I think the better advice is to search for physical hobbies you enjoy rather than to 'just do it' (tm).
Problem with this theory is that you may not always find hobbies that are equivalent to good workout. I.e. walking will not get your heart rate up.
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#24TL;DR: Discipline beats motivation
Everyone has their own "entry point". Maybe you overdo motivation so you focus on discipline. Maybe you overdo discipline so you focus on motivation.
Both are tools you use to apply to your own exact situation. Person A may vote for Team Motivation, because that works for them. Person B may vote for Team Discipline. That works for them.
The more accurate your self-knowledge and self-awareness, the more effective you can apply the tools (discipline, motivation, etc).
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#25For things like textbooks, I'll start easily but then, when I reach a new point or new chapter, I will rationalized my self to stop it there and call it a done work, when in reality I worked only 30 minutes instead of and hour.
it's like my mind is rationalizing itself to settle for a sub goal.
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#26If you are in a similar boat, it's likely that when you consider an upcoming dreaded task, there is at least a small part of you that admits the possibility that you will not do the task . And because there is, and because your brain realizes it, it expends mental energy trying to convince you not to do it. Once you are actually doing the task, or it's done, or you realize that you must start doing it immediately, yo…
Vonnegut had a great quote along the lines of "we become who we pretend to be".
I think this was pretty much the topic of one of his books
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#27For the main example given (exercise), I think for people like me there really is no thinking involved. It's purely an emotional aversion to discomfort and disenjoyment of physical activity. I think the better advice is to search for physical hobbies you enjoy rather than to 'just do it' (tm).
Problem with this theory is that you may not always find hobbies that are equivalent to good workout. I.e. walking will not get your heart rate up.
Running is bad for the knees and isn't really a great substitute either for most people. It depends on the person. The point I was making is that not thinking and blindly doing exercises you don't like is not the best argument to make the case in the article.
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#28If you are in a similar boat, it's likely that when you consider an upcoming dreaded task, there is at least a small part of you that admits the possibility that you will not do the task . And because there is, and because your brain realizes it, it expends mental energy trying to convince you not to do it. Once you are actually doing the task, or it's done, or you realize that you must start doing it immediately, yo…
Vonnegut had a great quote along the lines of "we become who we pretend to be".
"Fake it till you make it" meme?
Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#29Re: The Art of Not Thinking
#30If you are in a similar boat, it's likely that when you consider an upcoming dreaded task, there is at least a small part of you that admits the possibility that you will not do the task . And because there is, and because your brain realizes it, it expends mental energy trying to convince you not to do it. Once you are actually doing the task, or it's done, or you realize that you must start doing it immediately, yo…
> A trick I've learned is to lie to yourself. Say you're excited to do it, that you can't wait, and that you enjoy it. Your brain is easily convinced if you're willing to let it be.
The technique I finally learned was to attempt to cultivate an enjoyment of the task I didn’t want to do. But I wonder if what you’re suggesting isn't really just a different way of looking at the same thing.
You might be “lying to yourself” telling yourself that you’re excited to do something, but the brain will start synthesizing that into what it might indeed find enjoyable about the task. I found I could easily get myself to fold laundry by focusing on the satisfaction of a folded shirt - it sounds silly, but I somehow hooked that process up to the right dopamine trigger, and now I rarely procrastinate this particular chore.
The process was similar for exercise. Whether it was “I’m going to tell myself I’ll enjoy this” or “I’m going to find something I enjoy about this” is perhaps not as clear-cut as I originally imagined, but either way, my epiphany was this: I will always find a way to avoid a task I don’t want to do, while I will always find a way to do something I’ve learned to enjoy.