
You’re Not Lazy, Bored, or Unmotivated - tkt
https://forge.medium.com/youre-not-lazy-bored-or-unmotivated-35891b1f3376
======
DecayingOrganic
Poorly written, factually incorrect, written to give the reader a small short-
term motivational boost, soon to be diminished by the reality.

It goes as far as to suggest that laziness, boredom and the particulars of the
sort do not exist.

Such big claims are supported by anecdotal stories, and occasional quotes from
psychology professors, all convoluted in order to do say one thing: just do
it.

~~~
mnsc
> And my specific advice is only going to work for a tiny fraction of people
> who happen to be in the right place at the right time and for whom it will
> click immediately.

It clicked for me. Gave me a new take on the very things I struggle with right
now. Why did you write your comment? What did you want to give me, the reader?

~~~
goldenkey
He isn't giving you a anything except for his own experience with the article.
And I agree. Witticisms don't do anything to help these very real
neurochemical issues...

~~~
amelius
> to help these very real neurochemical issues...

Smart people are always quick to blame neurochemistry and easily dismiss
problems at a higher level, even though there is so much evidence that
chemistry is only part of the equation. Perhaps the increase in mental issues
we see over the last decades is due to people thinking "it must be because of
molecules", resulting in patients not making fundamental changes to their
lives, and doctors continuing to "hack" the brain with drugs.

~~~
joaomacp
Our scientifically-centered world has its disadvantages. That is one of them.

Relevant song:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpoEPcmOK4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpoEPcmOK4)

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klagermkii
Why be so crudely reductionist as to take problems of laziness, boredom and
lack of motivation and try to simplify it down to Fear?

Is the idea that we have a whole arsenal of tools already for successfully
dealing with Fear, and if we can just bend all our other problems into the
shape of Fear we can apply some existing techniques?

In my experience this doesn't work for me, and the mental model just doesn't
fit.

If everything comes down to a mental cost-benefit analysis, I think fear
situations are ones where the cost can seem massively over-inflated and
getting over that initial hurdle with "Just Do It" can help re-tune the
estimation so that the cost doesn't seem as bad.

The problem for Lazy, Bored and Unmotivated is on the benefit side of the
analysis, where even if the cost isn't that high, I will feel that the long-
term payoff is not worth it. That isn't helped by "Just Do It", because there
isn't an inaccurate cost to be corrected, and I won't get the rush of
motivation of "oh this isn't so bad" that comes from the cost correcting
itself in an anxiety-type situation.

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donbox
[https://outline.com/3jMWxb](https://outline.com/3jMWxb) Just in case you are
asked to upgrade to read.

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Scarblac
Of course I can be bored.

I want to work at the company I work for -- it has a great culture based on a
lot of trust and openness, the people are fun, we make tech choices that I
agree with, we work on things I think are important, it's important that I am
here because I know all our systems and can immediately spot code problems on
more junior programmers' screens when they ask for help, the company is
financially sound and it pays well.

It's just that my actual work is often too easy because I have done similar
things too many times, and thus I get bored.

That's nothing to do with fear and I still want to have this job.

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sakisv
Haven't read the article, but my initial reaction to the tile was: "and if you
are that's fine".

To elaborate a bit more not just for anyone reading it, but also for me:

You don't HAVE to be not lazy, not bored or motivated. No one is all of these
all the time and setting the expectation to be is both unrealistic and not
helpful.

It's fine to be lazy (many tools came from people automating their work
because they were lazy)

It's fine to be bored (I don't know about you, but for me when I had the
luxury to be bored back in school or univeristy, my imagination was running
wild and I was in my most creative mode)

It's fine to be unmotivated (Not everything needs motivation to happen. I
never have motivation to do laundry or to go shopping. For things that do need
motivation to happen like going every day to work, you can just wait. Either
you'll get motivation or you won't, in which case you look for something else)

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johnday
Poor. I know for a fact why I'm not doing more. I know why I haven't jet-
setted off to Silicon Valley and started a dozen start-ups. And it's not
because I'm scared. It's because I'm contented.

Sure, my current position pays a whopping $18k/year. Sure, I'm spinning the
wheels until something more interesting blocks my path. But I don't care about
this because I am happy anyway.

I could do so much more, but I don't need to, so I won't. The suggestion that
this is done out of fear seems like a juvenile attempt to classify life as
some kind of game where one is expected to aim for a high score.

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kstenerud
Some people might be afraid.

Some people might feel intimidated and defeated by these brutal "motivational"
posts that tell you how unfulfilled your life is if you're not at least X%
"productive".

Some people might have better things to do.

Some people might understand that your psyche is not a machine, and goes
through cycles conducive to "productivity" or not.

Some might understand that this whole "productivity" thing is a cargo cult
that keeps you toiling away your best years on the hope for a distant future
where the universe will somehow realize the favor it owes you.

Life owes you nothing. Your only hedge against it is friends and family,
people and relationships. That's how we survived millions of years, and that's
how all of the rich folks of today got to where they are: people and
relationships.

Don't be the horse.

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Tade0
_You’re not bored. You’re terrified of being alone with yourself in your own
head._

How common is this?

Because I do get "lazy"(whatever that means), bored and unmotivated but at the
same time I love being alone with my own thoughts.

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lexapro
Lazy writing, boring article.

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psv1
_\- Just do it.

\- I can't. Otherwise I would have done it already. This is impossible for me
at this point.

\- Just do it. _

Great stuff here...

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r34
"Yes, you are lonley..." is too much to infer from that I have internet
connection ;)

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TrackerFF
The "just do it" strategy doesn't seem to bond well with ADD/ADHD.

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ashwinaj
> You’re not unmotivated. You’re not lazy. You’re not bored. You are afraid.

Well put. Being afraid of failure is the root cause.

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macns
TL;DR: You're afraid. A great read!

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bedobi
Sigh

