The biggest killer for motivation isn't laziness. In fact, if you have motivation, difficult tasks won't stop you. The biggest killer for motivation and drive is illusion.
When I mean by illusion, I mean a scenario where a person isn't looking at themselves anymore. They aren't contented to get just what they deserve. They want something more that they imagine others have.
Here are some examples:
-
You are in a nerdy environment studying CS. You heard many stories online about how people your age are dating and having parties and seemingly enjoying your lives and you are still a single virgin without any relationships. You may desperately want to date, but you are still hesitant, or the environment doesn't allow it. The illusion kills your drive.
-
You are studying CS. You heard that your neighbor or someone online is studying liberal arts and having fun everyday. You think it is not fair and your family isn't necessary poorer than them. You think you also like liberal arts and have a big soul. You begin to hate your classes. The illusion kills your drive again.
I am not saying it's only CS or the protagonist may have a perfect mental health in the scenarios above. I am just saying, that even in problematic scenarios, more than often, illusion is not a healthy coping method.
Now, here are some "low-class" joys
- Fast food/bulk eating
- Sex
- Alcohol
- TikTok/shorts
- Doomscrolling social media
- Smoking
- (Most) Gaming
Common traits of these activities are
- If you never had enough, for example, you were always hungry in your childhood or you never had a mobile phone, it dominates all of your brain.
- But if you have enough (hedonism), it becomes incredibly boring and soulless.
- So you must eat, but as long as you have food, it becomes a routine task.
There are some other functions we take for default, such as hearing, seeing, walking, literacy, etc. A person with a disability would think this is all that life took away from them, and just how joyful they would be if they have the ability. But actually, a normal person hardly ever feels the privilege.
So let's stop using our brain for illusion and instead use it to find a way out!