I'm a highly consistent person. I'm sure many of us here are. I guess I agree that some base level of motivation is necessary but it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem. Motivation is controlled by the dopamine pathway in the brain. If you have no motivation, and you don't do anything, your dopamine pathway will remain in a weak state, and you will not gain motivation.
You need a higher level motivation (ie: I want to achieve X). And then you have to be driven by that factor far more than the day to day motivational factors (ie: I crave Y).
Turning up the volume on the higher level motivation and turning down the volume on the cravings requires discipline. But it's also a feedback loop. Once you train your dopamine cycle, you will feel more rewarded by things that move you toward your higher level goals. And you won't experience as strong of cravings.
Once you train your dopamine cycle, you will feel more rewarded by things that move you toward your higher level goals. And you won't experience as strong of cravings.
But don’t neglect the Passion Paradox (great book).
High motivation for a higher goal can be a trap. You still get tired. Now you have a situation where you are highly motivated with no gas in the tank. Because there’s no energy to do the thing, but lots of motivation, the motivation starts looking for distraction. You find yourself doing and getting nowt done.
It is difficult in those moments to realize what’s happening and stop. The correct action is to walk away and rest. But you’re full of motivation! You want to stay and do.
Rest doesn’t hit the dopamine rewards. So you don’t. And then you spiral into more and more busywork. A waste.
For all us procrastinators, this would be a good explanation for why the closer we get to the deadline, the higher gear we're able to achieve. This would be a great spin on Tim Urban's explanation of procrastination (which is also a fantastic explanation).
As a mild procrastinator who used to be a severe procrastinator, I think the higher gear comes from the fear of consequences (e.g. missing the deadline). The closer you get to missing the deadline, the more the adrenal system activates & pumps adrenaline and cortisol. The work isn’t rewarding in this mode, but you do it because you are afraid of compromising your goal.
The opposite mode is what your parent describes, where “the work is the reward” because you feel good about the work you are putting in towards the goal. In this pathway, the adrenal system is producing dopamine.
Your parents’ theory on training could help partly explain why adults are more commonly able to find satisfaction in the effort.
Edit: Watched Ted; my thoughts are basically redundant, but I’ll leave it here. Thank you for sharing that.
Comments
I'm a highly consistent person. I'm sure many of us here are. I guess I agree that some base level of motivation is necessary but it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem. Motivation is controlled by the dopamine pathway in the brain. If you have no motivation, and you don't do anything, your dopamine pathway will remain in a weak state, and you will not gain motivation.
You need a higher level motivation (ie: I want to achieve X). And then you have to be driven by that factor far more than the day to day motivational factors (ie: I crave Y).
Turning up the volume on the higher level motivation and turning down the volume on the cravings requires discipline. But it's also a feedback loop. Once you train your dopamine cycle, you will feel more rewarded by things that move you toward your higher level goals. And you won't experience as strong of cravings.
But don’t neglect the Passion Paradox (great book).
High motivation for a higher goal can be a trap. You still get tired. Now you have a situation where you are highly motivated with no gas in the tank. Because there’s no energy to do the thing, but lots of motivation, the motivation starts looking for distraction. You find yourself doing and getting nowt done.
It is difficult in those moments to realize what’s happening and stop. The correct action is to walk away and rest. But you’re full of motivation! You want to stay and do.
Rest doesn’t hit the dopamine rewards. So you don’t. And then you spiral into more and more busywork. A waste.
thanks for the vocab word! "nowt", from "naught", meaning "nothing" (clear enough from context...)
For all us procrastinators, this would be a good explanation for why the closer we get to the deadline, the higher gear we're able to achieve. This would be a great spin on Tim Urban's explanation of procrastination (which is also a fantastic explanation).
As a mild procrastinator who used to be a severe procrastinator, I think the higher gear comes from the fear of consequences (e.g. missing the deadline). The closer you get to missing the deadline, the more the adrenal system activates & pumps adrenaline and cortisol. The work isn’t rewarding in this mode, but you do it because you are afraid of compromising your goal.
The opposite mode is what your parent describes, where “the work is the reward” because you feel good about the work you are putting in towards the goal. In this pathway, the adrenal system is producing dopamine.
Your parents’ theory on training could help partly explain why adults are more commonly able to find satisfaction in the effort.
Edit: Watched Ted; my thoughts are basically redundant, but I’ll leave it here. Thank you for sharing that.
Here's the legendary Tim Urban TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_mas...