Prometheus Worley

@Viking Have you considered, maybe what you're experiencing has a biochemical /physiological basis? Some of the symptoms you've described sound like you may be experiencing some form of "Adrenal Exhaustion", or perhaps you simply have very low Dopamine levels, or a Serotonin /Dopamine imbalance. Either one of these conditions can be caused by numerous factors such as: 1) Age, Diet, Lifestyle, Hormonal Output or hormonal imbalance, 2) Career, Stress Levels, Medical History, 3) Genetic History /predisposition, etc. Do you suffer with SAD? (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Do you live in a region where it gets dark early /has limited hours of Sunlight? When is the last time you've a basic overall health check up or annual physical? Have you ever been treated for and /or taken medications for Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, Depression, etc..? Are you currently taking any medications and/ or using nutritional /herbal supplements? (sometimes medications and supplements have side effects that severely effect Serotonin and Dopamine levels. (Remember- Dopamine levels strongly influence our levels of motivation) Sometimes simply changing your diet and eating foods that boost brain levels of Dopamine, can quickly do the trick. And your levels of motivation begin to gradually increase. Or even using a sunlamp /light therapy to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms..if you have them. I'm not a doctor, and by no means a psychologist /psychiatrist, but I do have years of medical & patient care training. Many many questions come to mind when reading your post. I'm pretty sure any Doctor, Physican's Assistant, or Nurse Practitioner, would ask you the same questions and many more, to try to vector in on your current issue, to see if perhaps your symptoms have a biological basis. A certain amount of depression, lethargy, and general "do nothing" feeling is quite normal for everyone, at certain points during lives. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'd suggest first, seeing /seeking medical intervention to try to find out if your condition is medically oriented. if it's not, then I'd suggest proceeding with more of a psychological /consciousness awakening type approach. If you discover that professional therapy maybe need , by all means I'd say give it a try.... Also, I definitely agree with what Preetom and Genghis Khan mentioned earlier, about trying something new, different, active, and exciting. Remember what Lao-Tzu said..."The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step"....it maybe that you simply need to change your surroundings, and begin to incorporate a more active lifestyle as well as fun and exciting, inspiring /adventurous people within your circle of friends... Which ever way you choose to go about it, i'd say don't worry too much. Sometimes bouts of this type of "do nothing" /"Not wanting to do anything" happens to all of us. The good thing to know is that it will eventually pass...:-) A good book I'd recommend for you to read as your going through this is: 1) Peaks and Valleys: Making Good And Bad Times Work For You--At Work And In Life (by Spencer Johnson M.D.) (Some of the information is dated, but it really has excellent insight in understanding the low times we all feel and experience during various times in our life).

@Pilgrim Love the question!!...makes me think of Nietzche's "Will to Power" axiom and his phenomenal book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". I do think that "strong will" you mention is first and foremost a direct result of environment, in regards to learning, let's say, how to motivate one self to adopt a particular beneficial behavioral trait or manifest a specific end goal. When it comes to biology, on a psychological and physiological level, that "strong will" may manifest itself in the form of "Fight or Flight" when we perceive something as being dangerous or a threat to our safety / well being. To this question I'd definitely say yes. In this instance ego is not a bad thing. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, over time, ego has gotten a bad rap. We all need a healthy balanced sense of ego. A certain amount of positive healthy ego is needed in many areas within our lives, as well as during various times throughout our lives. In various areas like relationships, career, personal goals were striving for, competitive endeavors, having a strong sense of self-confidence, self-esteem, and balanced ego is literally vital for our well being. Life can be extremely complicated and quite challenging. Many times unforseen events like job loss, financial bankruptcy, home loss, or even divorce, can throw your life in such a tailspin that, your sense of self as well as self-worth is utterly destroyed. Believe me when I say, from personal experience as well as from many others I have met in therapeutic support groups, a certain amount of ego is need initially to help you get back on your feet. Many may disagree with that statement, but I have found over the years, usually those who have been through such challenges and personal crisis, can truly understand where i'm coming from regarding needing help from your ego. I believe one the keys to achieving a well balanced ego as well as positively transforming both mind (neuro-plasticity) & body resides in engaging in a few of the following modalities:, 1) various types of therapy & techniques, 2) learning from life experiences, reading books, 3) constructing that exact type of environment that will help you facilitate achieving your specific goals, 4) attending lectures & events to try to understand ourselves better and where our beliefs and biases may arises from, 5) meditation, 6) a healthy progressive nutritional & fitness-oriented lifestyle, 7) a good core group of supportive friends and family, (people who accept you unconditionally) 8) a great best friend that you can honestly confide in and will tell you the truth even when you don't what to hear it, 9) learning when & how to remove yourself from negative influences and habits, 10) developing a healthy sense of patience with yourself and others, 11) Accepting and appreciating yourself for who and what you are, 12) Learning to forgive & love yourself, realizing that we all (everyone on this planet makes mistakes, falls down, makes a bad choice, does things that are absolutely crazy..Lol) 13) Knowing that you can develop resilience, and competency in any area of your life no matter what your present circumstance maybe. 14) Knowing that all things are temporary and change...life is peppered with both good times and bad times. 15) engaging in fun & challenging hobbies and activities that help you grow further along your desired goals, 16) having and nurturing a real sense of adventure throughout your life. 15) engaging in some international travel (learning to see the world through others perspective), and 16) overall continual life learning. Here are a few books that were recommended to me by friends, which helped alot: 1-Meditation In Action ( you can get this on Audible and Amazon) https://www.shambhala.com/meditation-in-action-1018.html 2- Willpower Doesn't Work (You can get this on Audible and Amazon as well) https://www.willpowerdoesntwork.com/book-bonus-giveaway 3- The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (Available on Amazon) 4-Blindspot (Available on Amazon) http://blindspot.fas.harvard.edu/

@Pilgrim I would have to say Yes....it is possible to alter this brain structure, within the context you described. But free will or environment can make a huge impact on what nature has given you from day 1. Nature and nurture (Biology & Environment) work in tandem in shaping who we start out as (at birth) and who we eventually develop into. I've worked literally with hundreds of patients and clients when I was both a Emergency Medical Specialist as well as a Personal Trainer, and have seen how biology (genetically predisposed disease pathology) placed somewhat serious limitations on clients (regarding their health and physical ability). I've also seen how a strategically supportive structured environment (continual physical fitness training, therapy, conscious & subconscious encouragement, lifestyle changes, nutritional, career, and environmental changes) had the power, not only to override predisposed genetic conditions, but also to completely change and enhance a clients personality and behavior. One could say that neural plasticity occurred within those key areas of their brains through the repetitive (environmental) use of those key factors I mentioned above. Each case was different. Some patients /clients, due to the biological as well as psychological state they were already in upon initial examination, only achieved moderate success in achieving their goals, some minimal. Overall, after successive continual physical training and psychological encouragement, I'd have to say their biology seemed to only play a small part in limiting what they did achieve. These examples are only from my personal experience , and what I have witnessed. Is it possible that nature (biology) controls a higher degree or puts limitations on what one could achieve? Of course. Trust me when I say, as much as I love to run, if I could run a mile in under 60 seconds I absolutely would everyday of the week...Lol.

J. Krisnamurti would be my #1 choice!!

Excellent topic iTommy!! What has worked for me over the past several years has been the continual nightly use of the following: 1. A simple Mp3 player (preferably one that has a loop feature and 40-60 hours of playback time). (For mine I simply use rechargeable batteries.) You can get a decent one on Amazon for about $25-$35 dollars. 2. A pair of Acoustic Sleephones (apprx. $99) from Amazon as well. (The wireless ones work excellently, but I also have a regular $39 wired pair for backup). 3. A good multi-layered Hemi-sync "Affirmation" audio track that runs apprx. 25-30mins. I have found the ones on Youtube on Rockstar Affirmations to be somewhat more effective over the last 6 months. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Z7iD1vx3KjsyCi145yqSw My nighttime ritual is simply, just before going to sleep I make sure the batteries in my player are fully charged and on the loop setting for the specific affirmation I want played. I make sure my sleephones are fully charged as well, cut on my player and simply drift off to sleep. To add to this I'll often visualize myself engaging in the desired affirmation activity over and over again as the affirmation recording is playing. I've found this really helps me literally begin to "feel" the emotions associated with that desired affirmation. Now I gotta be honest, wearing the headband as well as hearing the Affirmation track throughout the "entire night" (6-7hours), took a little getting used to (apprx. a week or two). but once I got used to it , it was smooth sailing. Trust me when I say, if you use this consistently you will definitely start seeing results. It might take a month or two, but you will start seeing results in little areas of life daily. I highly recommend choosing one specific affirmation track and sticking exclusively with it if you're serious about wanting that particular message to be implanted into your subconscious mind while sleeping. Hearing that specific message looped over and over, hundreds of thousands of times, over the course of a few months, your subconscious mind has no other choice but to accept it. Which in turn will start to affect, not only how you see your self, but your attitudes, self-confidence, self-belief, and everything else in your waking daily life. I cannot over emphasize the importance of sticking to the nightly routine....it will be a little uncomfortable at first, but If you're willing to go the distance, you'll definitely begin seeing "real" results. Combine this with some form of daily reaffirming positive self-talk, and iTommy you'll be amazed at how fast your self-confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance, etc...will improve. (A good book I'd recommend reading as well regarding this is: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles -by Steven Pressfield. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I've been engaging in this nightly routine literally for well over a decade and it has changed just about every aspect of my life supremely for the better!!! Within like the first 4 months of me doing this consistently everything, little by little, got better...my relationships, self-confidence, self-esteem, life perspective, social life, career opportunities...everything!!! Give it try.....believe me when I say, if you're willing to consistently stick with it for a few months...your life will never be the same again!!!

I have to agree with Shiva on this one. Having traveled all throughout Central America and numerous parts of South East Asia, the vast amounts of people and communities I encountered were indeed quite healthy. Compared to their Western counterparts I would definitely describe them as being in good shape. As Shiva stated, many of the people still make their living engaged in manual labor and their diets consists of traditional non-overly processed foods. The Western diet as well as the western sedentary mode of behavior, for the most part, has yet to gain a foothold in the cultural behavioral practices within many of these countries. As far as the West, I tend to think the under-exercised issue is a little more complex. So many factors play a part within our present society that actually encourage unhealthy eating practices and sedentary lifestyles. We're inundated on a daily basis with so many ads telling us to "eat this" or "buy that", that I think we tend forget the primary goal for the multi-billion dollar Food Industry as well as the consumer goods industry, which is profit first. With the secondary goal being "how to create continual life long customers" for their various brands. The health, fitness, and over all well being of the average consumer takes a back seat for many of these companies . Added to this Shakespearean comedy of errors, is the fact that we as a society have been falsely persuaded to seek "quick fixes", and have come to expect "spectacular results" with little or no effort required (i.e. Celebrity endorsed Plastic Surgery, Quick Fat Loss supplements, Accelerated Hormone Therapy programs, Big Pharmaceutical Companies promoting weight loss drugs, Genetically Modified Super-Foods, Spanex and contoured Shape-wear, etc.). When you really start to look at some of these influencing things you can begin to somewhat see, that the deck has truthfully been stacked against the average individual. It is no wonder why so many people feel insecure, depressed, and inadequate after being bombarded daily with so many of these product / services advertisements. Is this a complete justification for the masses of individuals who do not regularly engage in healthy exercise practices and healthy lifestyles??..no. It is however, like the layers of an onion, just some of the psychological influencing factors that have to be peeled back and examined, when considering why is it that so many within the West are under-exercised. Somewhere within this Faustian bargain that we have struck with technological advancement lies the seeds to our victory over quick fixes and complacency. I believe the first step begins with accountability and the principle called patience. For some reason we seem to have lost sight of this very crucial factor regarding life as a whole. We seem to be able to comprehend the concept of patience when it comes to things like Investing, Time and Rate of Return, when money is on the line. But when it comes to things like our health, the state of our fitness, and eating habits, we toss patience out the window. With the same due diligence we apply to researching the components that make up a potentially good firm to invest in, we should equally conduct a deep dive into "Why", as individual as well as society, we are not honestly striving for an overall healthier lifestyle. I definitely agree that we in the West are vastly under-exercised, but I think the reasons are somewhat varied as well as complex. Economics as well as industry driven consumerism appear to equally play a part in this downwardly spiraling negative health trend.