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I don't see a problem with this. Habits are self-reinforcing, good or bad. If you can interrupt a bad habit once, or start a good habit once, you give yoursel

by 09bjb 9y ago

I don't see a problem with this. Habits are self-reinforcing, good or bad. If you can interrupt a bad habit once, or start a good habit once, you give yourself more momentum for the next go-round. You have X probability of successfully doing it the first time, and you may or may not do what you set out to. But whether you do affects the probability that you'll do it the next time. And I'd be wary of anyone that claims that they never, ever, have any say in the matter when it comes to doing something once, even if it's hard. I do agree with you in that by this same logic, you have a better chance of arriving at great self-control if you start with decent self-control.

Bjartr 9y ago
>I'd be wary of anyone that claims that they never, ever, have any say in the matter when it comes to doing something once, even if it's hard. When I hear "I don't have a say in the matter" I read frustration, not dismissal. I'd posit that when people say that, they don't mean it literally. Or, rather, it's the best they can articulate the internal struggle. I've found the language I know (English) to not provide me with the tools to describe the nuance of the sensation of lacking self-control or willpower. What I describe going forward is hard-won from long term introspection, and it still falls short of effectively communicating what I am really trying to say. I would wager that, for a not insignificant fraction of people, when they tell you they "don't have a say in the matter" they are trying to articulate the feeling/sensation of having the intellectual understanding of the situation i.e. (paraphrased for brevity) "I should do X because it has benefits Y and Z, instead of A which has downsides B and C" but where merely having that understanding is insufficient to compel (willpower, initiative, motivation, w/e) themselves to action, for however long they choose to linger on it in their mind.

by 09bjb 9y ago

Bjartr 9y ago

>I'd be wary of anyone that claims that they never, ever, have any say in the matter when it comes to doing something once, even if it's hard. When I hear "I don't have a say in the matter" I read frustration, not dismissal. I'd posit that when people say that, they don't mean it literally. Or, rather, it's the best they can articulate the internal struggle. I've found the language I know (English) to not provide me with the tools to describe the nuance of the sensation of lacking self-control or willpower. What I describe going forward is hard-won from long term introspection, and it still falls short of effectively communicating what I am really trying to say. I would wager that, for a not insignificant fraction of people, when they tell you they "don't have a say in the matter" they are trying to articulate the feeling/sensation of having the intellectual understanding of the situation i.e. (paraphrased for brevity) "I should do X because it has benefits Y and Z, instead of A which has downsides B and C" but where merely having that understanding is insufficient to compel (willpower, initiative, motivation, w/e) themselves to action, for however long they choose to linger on it in their mind.