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Frustratingly, for me this loop persists chronically: I have a block of doing X, I do X, it feels great, next day I have the same block; and this block never tr

Frustratingly, for me this loop persists chronically: I have a block of doing X, I do X, it feels great, next day I have the same block; and this block never truly disappears. Like a friend of mine said, don't depend on motivation; dogged consistency is the only way, and that is true for me :( Very exhausting.

jvanderbot 2y ago
Oh don't get me started. My mind will actually conjure up disasters in adjacent parts of my life to make me forget what's going on that I should be working on. I'll get all anxious about X, when I'm really just avoiding Y. The more I focus on X, the more I'm avoiding Y, so the worse I feel about X. There's a little bit of self-cognitive behavioral therapy that I learned through journalling. Once I recognize it I can either A) just ignore my thoughts ('I am not that, that is not me' over and over?) or B) procrastinate productively by saying I'll deal with X later.
- sevensor 2y ago
  Productive procrastination is where it’s at. Find something mundane, uninspiring, and mandatory, and avoid it by doing something else instead right up to the last minute. Just make sure something else is also work that you wanted to do.
nradov 2y ago
Champion ultra runner David Goggins talks about staring at his running shoes for 30 minutes, trying to work up the motivation to put them on and get out the door.
matwood 2y ago
> don't depend on motivation; Exactly! Discipline is the word you're looking for. Don't expect the block to go away, instead accept it will exist and you're going to go through it every day. I've worked out nearly every day for 20+ years at this point. It's just something that happens. Another thing to think about is that people tend to avoid being uncomfortable. It's a super power to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Look for opportunities to train yourself to be uncomfortable, however small.
- HPsquared 2y ago
  A great trick for being "uncomfortable thinking about doing something" is observing when it happens. Like, consciously observe "oh, I'm feeling uncomfortable about this". Often the signs are really evident from paying attention to the body - tension in the back or stomach, for example.
- setengetilion 2y ago
  I think if we waited for motivation to kick in on doing anything many times doing things would never happen.

jvanderbot 2y ago

Oh don't get me started. My mind will actually conjure up disasters in adjacent parts of my life to make me forget what's going on that I should be working on. I'll get all anxious about X, when I'm really just avoiding Y. The more I focus on X, the more I'm avoiding Y, so the worse I feel about X. There's a little bit of self-cognitive behavioral therapy that I learned through journalling. Once I recognize it I can either A) just ignore my thoughts ('I am not that, that is not me' over and over?) or B) procrastinate productively by saying I'll deal with X later.

sevensor 2y ago
Productive procrastination is where it’s at. Find something mundane, uninspiring, and mandatory, and avoid it by doing something else instead right up to the last minute. Just make sure something else is also work that you wanted to do.

nradov 2y ago

Champion ultra runner David Goggins talks about staring at his running shoes for 30 minutes, trying to work up the motivation to put them on and get out the door.

matwood 2y ago

> don't depend on motivation; Exactly! Discipline is the word you're looking for. Don't expect the block to go away, instead accept it will exist and you're going to go through it every day. I've worked out nearly every day for 20+ years at this point. It's just something that happens. Another thing to think about is that people tend to avoid being uncomfortable. It's a super power to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Look for opportunities to train yourself to be uncomfortable, however small.

HPsquared 2y ago
A great trick for being "uncomfortable thinking about doing something" is observing when it happens. Like, consciously observe "oh, I'm feeling uncomfortable about this". Often the signs are really evident from paying attention to the body - tension in the back or stomach, for example.
setengetilion 2y ago
I think if we waited for motivation to kick in on doing anything many times doing things would never happen.