

The Willpower Paradox - mikecane
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-willpower-paradox

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perplexes
I've felt this when starting on challenging programming tasks. "I WILL DO
THIS" usually ends up with procrastination, or no real solutions coming to
mind. Gently nudging my mind into wondering about the problem, poking it,
thinking of ways to do it, thinking of ways to get out of doing it, then
finally a tipping point is reached and I hold on for the motivational ride. It
helps when you work for a company tolerant of this creative cycle, where
motivation for a particular problem or project may come from nowhere.

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wallflower
Original research paper: "Motivating Goal-Directed Behavior through
Introspective Self-Talk: The Role of the Interrogative Form of Simple Future
Tense"

[http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~dalbarra/pubs/Wll%20I%20I%20w...](http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~dalbarra/pubs/Wll%20I%20I%20will.pdf)

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pinchyfingers
Willfulness is the determination to implement my will, while willingness is
the faith to base my actions on possibility.

As I've taken definite steps towards entrepreneurship, I've been having an
emotional experience that feels like falling. Falling requires faith, but it
is much better than standing. When I'm on the ground I know what I've got, and
known outcomes are not compelling, but when I'm falling I don't know what
might be, and the sense of discovery keeps pulling me forward.

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erikstarck
This reminds me a lot about a blog post I wrote some weeks ago:
[http://blog.opportunitycloud.com/2010/05/07/the-cloud-or-
the...](http://blog.opportunitycloud.com/2010/05/07/the-cloud-or-the-ladder-
choosing-a-career-strategy/) The cloud or the ladder, it's two different ways
to view your career or even your life. I think most people on HN are clouders.

~~~
pinchyfingers
That is an interesting post. Your idea of an opportunity cloud is something
I've spent a lot of time thinking about. I even made a decision recently to
stay at my current job instead of taking a somewhat better job, because I
believe the opportunity potential is higher if I keep with what I am doing for
a while longer.

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roundsquare
How do I apply this in my life? I want to get into shape... doesn't that
already put me into the "I will" mode? How do I switch into the "Will I" mode?

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fhars
Pick an easily measurable quantity related to your goal (like weight or waist
circumference), measure it regularly and try to figure out how your behaviour
influences it. Will regular exercise reduce weigth? How do the changes in
weekly averages compare to the day-to-day (or even within the day) changes due
to the normal food processing of the body? How long will it take me to undo
the effect of thanksgiving with the family?

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RichardPrice
That is a cool article.

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Ardit20
Simplistic. Often in the real world both I will and will I are found together
at different parts of the activity.

~~~
jonsen
See Dijkstra's second rule:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1504402>

