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There are problems with all three techniques. The problem with adopting a prevention focus is that it doesn't work. Or, rather, it might work when the fear of
by nathell 13y ago
There are problems with all three techniques.
The problem with adopting a prevention focus is that it doesn't work. Or, rather, it might work when the fear of failure is the only fear at stake, but -- at least for me -- it seldom is. For example, one might have thoughts like "I really need to be doing this, otherwise it might be too late ... hang on, it already might be too late ... I really should check ... but what if it's already too late? I'd feel awful ... no, let's not feel awful, let's check sometime later." Poof, thought gone until next time. When you suffer from GAD or any other psychological disorder involving anxiety, about the only thing you can do is understand your fears and your reactions to them, and take small steps towards reinterpretation. Fighting anxiety with inducing more anxiety is not going to work.
The problem with ignoring your feelings is that it's much easier said than done. Good luck ignoring the urge of turning off the alarm clock when you're not even half-conscious, you feel dizzy, sleepy and have headaches. While in #3 the author advises to "embrace the fact that your willpower is limited," here he seems to forget all about it. In situations like getting up in the morning, techniques involving subconsciousness like [1] are more likely to work.
We are more feeling-driven than we think ourselves to be, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those feelings are there for a reason, and ignoring them might just not work. Indeed, the author acknowledges that "on some level you need to be committed to what you are doing" and I think when he says "ignore not feeling like doing something," he actually means "_trick_ your mind into starting feeling like doing that."
The problem with using if-then planning is that for some people, it's all too easy to change the decision, even if it's already been done; the unconscious mind keeps re-examining the decision and re-pondering the issue at hand. So when the time comes, you end up re-considering the decision instead of deliberating what to do. That's not exactly the same thing, but it still eats up willpower.
[1]: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right...
- read 13y agoSome of what you say doesn't contradict the author. You might also have an incomplete understanding of some others. (1) A prevention and a promotion focus are two types of focus people have a disposition to. You can't adopt a prevention focus if you are promotion inclined. Maybe you, personally, work better with tasks requiring a promotion focus. (2) The technique you mention does not contradict the author. I agree with you though that often tricking your mind into starting something works wonders. You can't ignore that having a process is tremendous help. Murakami describes his writing process as an extremely rigid daily routine: he wakes up at 4 a.m. every day and writes for five to six hours, exercises in the early afternoon, and then reads or listens to music before his 9 p.m. bed time. Murakami adds: “I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.” (3) Have you tried writing down your if-then plans? Because there's a huge difference in outcome between saying you will do something and writing down you will do something. Writing makes you commit. It keeps the unconscious mind away from sabotaging your decision. If you're wondering why 3% of Harvard graduates make ten times more than the remaining 97% combined it's because they didn't just think of their plans but instead wrote them down. http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/why-3-of-harvard-mbas-make-ten-times-as-much-as-the-other-97-combined http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/why-3-of-harvard-...
- acoustic 13y agoRegarding your last point, the Harvard goals study doesn't actually exist: http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/fact-or-fiction-the-truth-about-the-harvard-written-goal-study http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/fact-or-fiction-t...
- datawander 13y agoThanks @acoustic, it's always nice to see bunk-busting. Just looking at the quote makes the statistic sounds hard to believe. Did the story include drop-outs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg?
- read 13y agoThanks. The Harvard goals study doesn't exist. After hearing of this myth, Gail Matthews at Dominican University tried to perform the goals study: http://www.dominican.edu/academics/ahss/undergraduate-programs-1/psych/faculty/fulltime/gailmatthews/researchsummary2.pdf http://www.dominican.edu/academics/ahss/undergraduate-progra... The conclusion: writing one’s goal enhances goal achievement. You are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. It's curious how HN users found nothing positive in my comment above and chose to downvote it. It must have seemed my intention was to mislead people.