Stop self-talking, that’s the basis of so much anxiety and all dread, which is always worse than just doing the thing, more suffering by trying to avoid the original suffering. Stupid brain.
Let your body get up and go do the thing without your mind fucking it up. It’s called “behavioral activation” and it even works.
This is called being an adult.
You grow up. That’s what you do. You realize your actions have consequences and you decide you don’t want to face the negative consequences of bad habits.
Making it through life is mostly forcing yourself to do things you don’t wanna do.
Don’t focus on the task, focus on step one in accomplishing the task and do that as it’s probably small
E.g
put on my running shoes and clothes instead of thinking of going for a run
Log on to the server instead of debugging the application logs
Pick up the weight instead of doing 3 sets
Focusing on the small first step instead of the daunting big task makes it easier to get started
Yep that’s how I make myself workout. I don’t have to work out, I just have to step inside the gym. I’m allowed to leave right after (I never do).
Bravo
I have to do it anyway and if i have to do it tommorow, i’m stressed till then, so better do it now, so i have free time tommorow.
Dumb as hell but I tell myself “nothin’ to it but to do it”, and then I do the thing. Like ripping it off like a bandaid.
Yup. Very similar. I quiet the voice in my head saying “I’m too tired” or whatever with “ignore it and just get to it”.
I’ve got a similar mantra - “it’s not hard, I just have to do it”. And then when it’s done I follow up with a “see, not hard, just had to actually do it”
That’s similar to a technique that is counting 3 2 1 and simply get up and do it
Cleaning only works when I start the moment I get home from work. Otherwise I’m too spent to do anything meaningful.
That’s what has been working for me as of lately. When I get home, first thing is do the deed. Then I can rest.
I clean when my apartment is dirty.
ADHD medication
Before this it was anger
I used fear/anxiety. Adderall works much better, and I have greatly reduced blood pressure.
Yell: “Shut the fuck up and just do it, you whiny little shit. Your opinion ain’t worth fuck all”, really loudly.
That usually gets me started and once started, the task is less daunting.
Yeah the “talk yourself into” phrasing of the question suggests to me that there is some rationalizing or excuse making going on. If so, I agree the correct response to that part of the brain is “STFU!” and just do it. Do not accept that behavior from your brain, shut that shit right down.
Find a way to make it easier to do. I wanted to eat healthier, I started ordering meal kits so I can cook healthy meals more easily. I wanted to exercise more, I bought an exercise bike and use it while watching TV and movies
I don’t like purposeless exercise. So all my exercise has a purpose. I garden, do yard work, bike to work, paddle for pleasure. Life doest have to be suffering, just need to find what motivates you.
That is another good way to make exercise easier. Having a goal besides the exercise
this is great advice and I try to follow it too, but it’s worth noting that all the examples you gave cost a fair amount of money
I got the bike cheap through Facebook marketplace. Even if you do spend a lot of money on it, at least you only have to spend it once. In the long run, if you use it long enough, it’s cheaper than a gym membership.
Buying meal kits is an ongoing expense but so is any type of food
fair enough, I do agree that depending on what you’re solving the cost can very much be worth it
I will often incentivize myself. Give myself a little treat afterward.
Sometimes it’s the other way around. Sometimes I’ll let myself have a treat in exchange for doing something I don’t really wanna do, like a chore I’ve been putting off.
Oh, but that would be a bribe. Now you’re stuck mulling over this new ethical conundrum of accepting the bribe or not.
The job gets done and I get a treat. I don’t have a moral quandary with that.
Most of the time the activity doesn’t actually take much time. The older I get, the faster time seems to pass and I have awareness of this fast-time-passing. So instead of avoiding the thing for hours, I just do it instead and am actually fully done with the activity in usually less than an hour. After that you can pat yourself on the back saying that you’re an adult and you took care of an adult responsibility, but truly you are self-aware enough to know you were one tiny breath away from skipping it to do something time-wasting or irresponsible instead. For one more day you get to live the illusion you’re and adult and you can take care of your adult responsibilities.
If you do this more often than not, you actually are an adult and actually do take care of your adult responsibilities on regular basis.
You mean like cutting down on pancake consumption?
I dont - I need to be pushed. My wife is really supportive and great for that. For health, just visiting a doctor is enough to scare me straight
Basically a three step process.
1.) Ingest caffeine.
2.) Put on Highway Star by Deep Purple. Big headphones to drown out distractions.
3.) Take a couple breaths to focus, then buckle in for the ride
For my part, I did the good things for a year and felt really really good. Then I stopped doing them during COVID and felt really really bad.
It’s much easier now to do the good thing because I know what’s at the end of the tunnel.
