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This used to work for me, but there is a limit to how much rage can help. As an adult, the anger only seems to lead to an endless cycle of pain and burnout. It'

This used to work for me, but there is a limit to how much rage can help. As an adult, the anger only seems to lead to an endless cycle of pain and burnout. It's too easy for me to fall into the cycle of: "Oh, you're in pain, you should try harder, you're weak, pathetic, and useless." -> Try even harder. -> Debilitating injury -> Tiny bit of progress towards recovery. -> "Come on, you're a total weakling, you shouldn't have taken a break, work harder." -> Injure self again. I haven't figured out how to fix this cycle. It was much easier before lockdown when I had external feedback (gym buddies, etc.) on what was just cowardice and what was actually pushing myself too hard.

nightowl_games 6y ago
I think I've got a good handle on it now. Basically I don't get as angry anymore, and I don't get as depressed anymore, and I don't work as hard anymore. Using terms like "rage" is off-putting to alot of people, but the reality is that I set all my personal records in exercise when I was super pissed off about something that happened in my life. The softer approach now is that I understand that the "I am not good enough" mindset is a powerful one that is behind many successful people's motivation. It's kinda a paradox, because you basically think "I am the best", but also "I am not good enough"... Putting it together into something cohesive is more like "I am capable of being better than I currently am". The emotional stuff is kinda like "I will suffer more if I don't do this". Like self imposed suffering caused by dissapointment.