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Here's the secret: motivation only kicks in AFTER you start doing something. If you're waiting around for motivation to come out of the blue you'll be disappoin

Here's the secret: motivation only kicks in AFTER you start doing something. If you're waiting around for motivation to come out of the blue you'll be disappointed. So just start doing something. Choose one that appeals to you: help another person, create something, build friendships. You've spent enough time improving yourself through education, now it's time to focus outwards and give back. Second, structure. Set some recurring reminders for starting. In the past I have used a dark trick: I asked a friend to be my "demotivator". His job was to knock me off track. If I didn't meet my personal commitment on a given day I would pay him $50. It worked extremely well.

avindroth 10y ago
Cannot agree more. Every time you do something (a habit, like exercise or reading), it gets easier to do that same thing the next day. Save yourself the trouble and time by jumping into positive feedback loops. This video about worry also saved me from self-destruction at an opportune time; hope it does for you. FightMediocrity on How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UYYzbzGk6s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UYYzbzGk6s I also like setting up systems that make sense, over juicing out more willpower. The Five Minute Journal and the Productivity Planner have been incredibly helpful systems in my life. The $50 or so was easily worth ten thousand dollars for me. The Five Minute Journal: https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-j... The Productivity Planner: https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-productivity-planner https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-productivity-...
dharmon 10y ago
Strongly agree with the motivation bit. On top of it I'd say don't just start working on something, but start on something small. A ridiculous number of inventions, science, and companies started out as solving some small problem or looking into one issue. If you start out trying to solve a Big Problem (TM), you will get overwhelmed. Don't be fooled by revisionists histories where people try to pretend like they had some grand mission from the start. A lot of young people have this feeling that they need to do something important, but they feel overwhelmed. Then they end up doing lame stuff like getting tattoos, funky haircuts, or weird clothes in an attempt to be unique. Hint: If you can buy it or pay someone to do it, it is neither unique nor a true expression of yourself. There is no shortcut. Start working on something (anything!) to delight yourself. Then try to delight one other person. Grow from there.

avindroth 10y ago

Cannot agree more. Every time you do something (a habit, like exercise or reading), it gets easier to do that same thing the next day. Save yourself the trouble and time by jumping into positive feedback loops. This video about worry also saved me from self-destruction at an opportune time; hope it does for you. FightMediocrity on How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UYYzbzGk6s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4UYYzbzGk6s I also like setting up systems that make sense, over juicing out more willpower. The Five Minute Journal and the Productivity Planner have been incredibly helpful systems in my life. The $50 or so was easily worth ten thousand dollars for me. The Five Minute Journal: https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-j... The Productivity Planner: https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-productivity-planner https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-productivity-...

dharmon 10y ago

Strongly agree with the motivation bit. On top of it I'd say don't just start working on something, but start on something small. A ridiculous number of inventions, science, and companies started out as solving some small problem or looking into one issue. If you start out trying to solve a Big Problem (TM), you will get overwhelmed. Don't be fooled by revisionists histories where people try to pretend like they had some grand mission from the start. A lot of young people have this feeling that they need to do something important, but they feel overwhelmed. Then they end up doing lame stuff like getting tattoos, funky haircuts, or weird clothes in an attempt to be unique. Hint: If you can buy it or pay someone to do it, it is neither unique nor a true expression of yourself. There is no shortcut. Start working on something (anything!) to delight yourself. Then try to delight one other person. Grow from there.