My mind cannot do shit

[Lincisman]

I have noticed that the act of using the conscious deliberate effort towards the achievement of some goal is not sustainable. Willpower quickly wanes and in the end, I am left with no energy or motivation for the task that I want to do. Forcing myself to do the task, that I do not feel like doing (eg. homework) will inevitably lead to failure. It is like the pain of doing it is greater than any other factor. 

I also have read Psycho-Cybernetics and the authors' point is that to act differently  (instead of using willpower) one should change their subconscious mind since 95% of our actions and reactions are automatic and instinctual. As a practice, he recommends visualizing the desired result, and in this way actions towards the goal will be more effortless and automatic. What do I make of it? how do you solve this issue? (let's call it resistance to take effective action)

Funny thing: When I visualized myself talking to girls in a bar on and of for the whole week, at weekend I was just drawn to the city center to socialize. I joined a group where I could find wings. It was night and I went there by myself. I would never have done that in my right mind.

certainly, it's biology, man, and not some woowoo subconscious mind doing its' target seeking machinery stuff, right?

 

 

[JonasVE12]

Meditate and release aversion to tension based activities. That is going to let you achieve flow state easier with whatever you are doing. I can study for hours and hours nowadays and time just flies. All because meditation offers you a way to be at ease with the present moment in whatever form it presents itself. It can be sitting still, studying, reading, doing daily chores. You just flow with all of it because you have released your aversion to it through meditation. It is mostly thoughts and feelings that are causing the resistance. You can release those and be at peace. Do daily meditation in the morning and evening for an hour or so. 

Also most importantly, choose goals that resonate with you on a deeper feeling level. If you are choosing goals from the mind, be careful. Feel what you desire in your emotional centers and go for the most direct path to achieving that. And if you have done the goal setting right and are still experiencing resistance to the process to the point you feel like you can not do it anymore, then you have to seriously reconsider if it is an authentic goal... And if you are really sure it is, then you have to accept that tension is a part of the process. Some things will give you resistance. Your stories will come to the surface for why you can not do things anymore. You can choose not to be reactive to it. Choosing. That is key. 

Contemplate on your goal and decide if it is worth it. Then follow through and do not let your mind distract you. Tension brings resistance. And resistance makes you reactive and lets you quit. Be conscious of that. Changing your subconscious happens just like that. Through being conscious in the now and making choices based on what your highest desire is, independently on what you are feeling and thinking now.

And besides that, do all the basic stuff like exercising, healthy diet, visualization, walks in nature, movement stuff, socialization etc. All of that will also merge you more and more with the present moment. 

 

[Baum]

Hi nu pogodi,

maybe you don't actually want to do it. maybe you need to pay attention somewhere else first, fulfill something else instead?

[Yarco]

You need to train willpower like a muscle.

You can't go from 0 exercise to running a marathon without seriously injuring yourself. It's the same way with your brain, you can't go from doing nothing to working on something for 4 hours a day.

In terms of psycho-cybernetics, forget all the visualization and subconscious stuff for a minute. IMO the most important part of the book is that your mind acts like a thermostat. It has a specific range that it feels comfortable in, and it won't let you go above or below that.

But you can't just crank your thermostat up 10 degrees or your brain will freak out. You have to work at it slowly, maybe adding 15 minutes of an activity at a time, do that for a week and increase another 15 minutes. Slow and steady.

In a couple months, doing 2 hours of homework/study a night or whatever else will be your "new normal" and almost automatic.

Your mind has a thermostat for every area of your life. I have a specific amount of money in my bank account that I'm comfortable at, a weight when I step on the scale, etc etc... if I go too far in the positive direction I get complacent and lazy. If I go too far in the negative direction I freak out and work hard to get back where I want to be.

Right now your brain is setting the bar too low in multiple areas of your life. That's not a judgement, it's an evolutionary/survival thing to try and get by on doing as little as possible. But you can consciously crank it up.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Yarco

[Seth]

Be patient. Do not do more than you can handle at one time. If you are not meeting your behavior goals then make easier goals that you can actually accomplish. Once you are consistently successful with your goals it is time to make them a little harder.

[Lincisman]

13 hours ago, JonasVE12 said:

Also most importantly, choose goals that resonate with you on a deeper feeling level. If you are choosing goals from the mind, be careful.

This is precisely what I did not do. I chose to study computer science purely from the hard-minded calculation that I need some skill to survive and this is the one that is in demand and well paid (lets me live in a big city) etc. I thought of It as a stepping stone towards a more meaningful goal which is still vague but different from what I am pursuing right now.

[Lincisman]

14 hours ago, Baum said:

maybe you don't actually want to do it. maybe you need to pay attention somewhere else first, fulfill something else instead?

There is always some other desire that uses part of my mental resources even if it is very mild. But the need for relationships is far from a mild desire that I could just ignore.

[Lincisman]

13 hours ago, Yarco said:

You can't go from 0 exercise to running a marathon without seriously injuring yourself. It's the same way with your brain, you can't go from doing nothing to working on something for 4 hours a day.

I do not even attempt to work 4 hours. The thing is that I cannot even start to do the work (learning programming).  I suppose starting small is what you are saying -good idea (did not enter my mind before)  

[Lincisman]

13 hours ago, Yarco said:

MO the most important part of the book is that your mind acts like a thermostat. It has a specific range that it feels comfortable in, and it won't let you go above or below that.

There were other important and more nuanced points (ex. self-image, beliefs, how the mind is a goal-seeking mechanism works.)

So you say that my mind is not comfortable with doing the work. Hence I need to get used to mental strain gradually. Will it change my self-image? It has to if I were to keep it up.

self-image is the thermostat that you are talking about, I believe.

The author wrote that the self-image determines what I do and all of my actions must be consistent with that image (It is true based on my experience). The question is how do I change my self-image so that it does not subvert my efforts to do what I need to do?

[itachi uchiha]

learn to love the work or practice. too much love for practice can paralyze u and no love at all can make u hate the practice. there is a sweet spot of balance to how much u can love the practice or job. find it and do the practice or work with the correct  balance of love

when u  push yourself always push within 5 % outside your comfort zone.when u push within 5 % outside your comfort zone  , u will be in flow state , meaning u will be in a bliss when making the change. u will happy about pushing . if u do that then u will move form point a to point b without effort. means moving from over weight to 15 %body weight without effort. so always push within 5 % out of comfort zone and u will be happy and in deep bliss about u making the change

Edited February 13, 2022 by itachi uchiha

[JonasVE12]

7 hours ago, Lincisman said:

This is precisely what I did not do. I chose to study computer science purely from the hard-minded calculation that I need some skill to survive and this is the one that is in demand and well paid (lets me live in a big city) etc. I thought of It as a stepping stone towards a more meaningful goal which is still vague but different from what I am pursuing right now.

If you could choose a certain type of work/job/business, and you were not limited by anything, what would you choose?

Edited February 13, 2022 by JonasVE12

[Lincisman]

On 2/13/2022 at 5:47 PM, JonasVE12 said:

If you could choose a certain type of work/job/business, and you were not limited by anything, what would you choose?

For me the most meaningful thing is to understand  how the mind works and how to change it. 

[Baum]

49 minutes ago, Lincisman said:

For me the most meaningful thing is to understand  how the mind works and how to change it. 

is it the most joyful thing? could you do that wand lose track of time?

[Nahm]

All of the thoughts about the mind, are only the thoughts. 

All thoughts about self image, are only the thoughts. 

How it works and how to change it, are two more thoughts.

’Two more thoughts’, is another thought. 

https://www.actualityofbeing.com/awareness-of-thoughts

https://www.actualityofbeing.com/dreamboard-1

https://www.actualityofbeing.com/the-emotional-scale