Why do we lack motivation to do certain things? Is it laziness? Personally, my understanding of my own lack of motivation is laziness. I don't do a lot of things simply because I'm lazy. I don't need to do them. Given the choice between jogging to the gym or watching TV, I almost go with the easier option. After all, it's just tiny squirts of dopamine inside our silly little pea-brains, right?
But is laziness the correct assessment? Is there something else in my brain going on?
Nobody ever lacks motivation to do essential things, like breathe, go to the bathroom, eat, sleep, or avoid pain. Even when doing those essential actions takes effort.
What is it about these essential actions that we're motivated to carry out without fail that differentiates them from the non-essential ones we struggle so much with so often?
The answer seems to be in the question: one I literally can't live without, the other I literally can live without. Breathing is essential, learning Javascript is not. I think we can extrapolate a lesson from this somehow.
Try not to breathe for as long as you can. Eventually, you give up and use your diaphragm. You make an effort because you HAVE to. Try to be lazy about the bathroom and not go. Eventually, you're forced to get off your ass, walk to the toilet, and squeeze your whatever muscles to get it all out. Try not to eat. Eventually the hunger pangs become unbearable and you have to make the effort to find food, chew, and swallow it.
Is there a way we can shift our perspective to feel a "must" for our non-essentials like hard work at the gym, our job, or our school? Can we transform the "should" in I should study math into the "need" in I need to go pee?
Submitted September 18, 2017 at 07:28AM by JihadDerp http://ift.tt/2x8LCye
No comments:
Post a Comment