Do you already do everything that you think you should?
I’d like to do more, but I think I’m probably fairly close to bumping up against my time/energy constraints. It’s rare for me to waste time when I’m energetic and high-morale.
Sometimes I have days of low morale where I don’t get much done, and don’t try to force myself to do things because I know my morale is low and I’ll likely fail. I’m experimenting with a few different strategies for cutting down on low-morale days.
Do you ever procrastinate?
I take breaks. I also sometimes let myself be distracted if I estimate that the time sucked up by the distraction won’t be worth the willpower of forcing myself to avoid it. (I’m experimenting with daily meditation to see if it can make those willpower costs lower, since that seems to have been the case in the past.)
Is there anything you don’t enjoy such that people who enjoy that thing have better lives than you, in your estimation?
Entertainment is the one case where your self-image model seems to fit fairly well: I avoid listening to Britney Spears, for instance, because I don’t want to be the sort of person who likes Britney Spears. (Realistically I think I could probably learn to enjoy it if I wanted to.) But that doesn’t seem like a big loss—there’s lots of music/movies/TV that’s compatible with my self-image already. Enjoying Britney Spears would mean either telling people I liked Britney Spears or keeping my interest covert and probably generating some sort of incidental feeling of insecurity related to this. Neither option appeals to me.
I’d like to have higher energy and better motivation (which might allow me to work on things with less willpower/energy expenditure), but those things seem to me to be more about trying out a wide variety of techniques and empirically determining what works.
Sometimes I have days of low morale where I don’t get much done, and don’t try to force myself to do things because I know my morale is low and I’ll likely fail. I’m experimenting with a few different strategies for cutting down on low-morale days…
I’d like to have … better motivation (which might allow me to work on things with less willpower/energy expenditure),
Morale, and reducing the need for willpower / conscious effort, are things I’ve had success with using self-image changes, e.g. inspired by Naruto :) So...
those things seem to me to be more about trying out a wide variety of techniques and empirically determining what works.
… I’d say paying close attention to how you see yourself and your place in the world during times of low morale is definitely worth experimenting with. I’d actually be quite surprised if there aren’t variables at play there which, if changed, would cause changes in your morale.
I avoid listening to Britney Spears, for instance, because I don’t want to be the sort of person who likes Britney Spears.
Hah! It’s funny you should mention that! Liking Britney Spears was one of the first intentional changes I made to myself at the time I mentioned in the post when I was 16 and trying to be self-image-free. It worked; I realized I naturally quite liked most of her hits, and I always perk up when her music comes on the radio. It’s nice not to have to hate it :)
I’d say paying close attention to how you see yourself and your place in the world during times of low morale is definitely worth experimenting with. I’d actually be quite surprised if there aren’t variables at play there which, if changed, would cause changes in your morale.
I’d like to do more, but I think I’m probably fairly close to bumping up against my time/energy constraints. It’s rare for me to waste time when I’m energetic and high-morale.
Sometimes I have days of low morale where I don’t get much done, and don’t try to force myself to do things because I know my morale is low and I’ll likely fail. I’m experimenting with a few different strategies for cutting down on low-morale days.
I take breaks. I also sometimes let myself be distracted if I estimate that the time sucked up by the distraction won’t be worth the willpower of forcing myself to avoid it. (I’m experimenting with daily meditation to see if it can make those willpower costs lower, since that seems to have been the case in the past.)
Entertainment is the one case where your self-image model seems to fit fairly well: I avoid listening to Britney Spears, for instance, because I don’t want to be the sort of person who likes Britney Spears. (Realistically I think I could probably learn to enjoy it if I wanted to.) But that doesn’t seem like a big loss—there’s lots of music/movies/TV that’s compatible with my self-image already. Enjoying Britney Spears would mean either telling people I liked Britney Spears or keeping my interest covert and probably generating some sort of incidental feeling of insecurity related to this. Neither option appeals to me.
I’d like to have higher energy and better motivation (which might allow me to work on things with less willpower/energy expenditure), but those things seem to me to be more about trying out a wide variety of techniques and empirically determining what works.
Morale, and reducing the need for willpower / conscious effort, are things I’ve had success with using self-image changes, e.g. inspired by Naruto :) So...
… I’d say paying close attention to how you see yourself and your place in the world during times of low morale is definitely worth experimenting with. I’d actually be quite surprised if there aren’t variables at play there which, if changed, would cause changes in your morale.
Hah! It’s funny you should mention that! Liking Britney Spears was one of the first intentional changes I made to myself at the time I mentioned in the post when I was 16 and trying to be self-image-free. It worked; I realized I naturally quite liked most of her hits, and I always perk up when her music comes on the radio. It’s nice not to have to hate it :)
Good insight, thanks.