Thread 33784881

By hard, I mean things that take a tremendous amount of motivation or courage to do I.e. Consistently going to the gym and not losing motivation after 2 weeks or not fucking up your presentation in front of the executive committee?

Is there a trick? Do people enjoy doing hard shit or do they just cope with it to achieve their goals?

>>33784881 (OP)
play dark souls and don't give up when a boss is hard
play sudoku and go for harder difficulties
clean your house, really clean

They tend to have a "I rather be uncomfortable for (insert time to do task) than forever" mentality. Even house cleaners use that trick.

>>33784881 (OP)
Enjoyment is a meme, I just skip it and do the thing anyway 'cause I've designated it as an objective.
Sure, enjoyment is nice but it's not a priority.

>>33784881 (OP)
I shitpost on 4chan a lot. It was hard, but now it's fine.

>>33784881 (OP)
Using the 80:20 rule helps a lot - I do the minimum necessary to get most of the benefit, for goals that have a steep diminishing return. I also lean into my natural talents; for example, I easily study. I also tend to do "hard" stuff that I do actually enjoy somewhat, such as running in the evening when there's hardly anyone or any traffi around and it's just me exerting myself amidst trees and gardens. Lastly, it helps a lot to have a strong goal with benefits that you can (and should) bask in before they arrive.

>>33784881 (OP)
Wut? Go gym very easy.
>walk, cycle, drive to gym
>open door
>sit down on machine
>reps
>repeat
>go home
What is difficult? Being a bitch? Yeah it do be like that.

>>33784881 (OP)
>find hard thing
>acquire enough skill to accomplish hard thing
>feel godlike after accomplishing

no one likes doing hard things anon cmon
people enjoy what the hard things bring (success)

The trick is to get through adaptation phase and gather some level of skill. When it stops being actively hard is when it becomes fun. No one enjoys doing presentations though. Regarding gym, you need around 2 months to get really used to it and for your body to crave some exercise. Start from goals, focus on them and give yourself time. After awhile you will adapt and can do it just for enjoyment.
Any other tricks dont work by the way, you really cannot fool your limbic system in that regard. It will always resist hardship.

>>33784881 (OP)
you dont enjoy them, you just do them anyway

i hate the fucking gym, and i hate walking, and i hate running. i still do all that shit anyway

>>33784881 (OP)
>Consistently going to the gym and not losing motivation after 2 weeks
you don't act on motivation, you act on discipline

this whole board is obsessed with motivation as a magic solution. it's fickle and intermittent, even for the most productive and luckiest people, and a worthless quantity to rely on

you do it regardless and if motivation happens to show up that's just a benefit

>>33784881 (OP)
Well, you can't, obviously. What you need to do is trick your brain into thinking it's not such a big deal. Don't ever think "I need to go to the gym regularly." Instead think "Maybe I'll go today. Maybe I won't even use any of the machines, maybe I'll just surreptitiously check out some /fit women. Better dress for it, so I don't get busted...". Then, when you're actually there, think "Well, I've come all this way now, haven't I? Seems dumb not to at least do a few bench presses." And then think "Well, that wasn't so bad, maybe I'll try some others." But never, in your head, commit to going more than once.

Rather than going for a run, think of it as as a chance to listen to some audio books in peace.

If you have a huge project to do, never let yourself think about the whole project. Instead think "Well, I could work for 25 minutes, couldn't I? Then I'll take a break. Maybe I'll do a little more after that, but probably not." Do 25 minutes. Stop. Get up, walk around, stretch, etc. for 5 minutes. Then think "You know what, maybe I could actually do another 25 minutes. Definitely not committing to more than that, though." Do another 25; stop for 5. Then think "Eh, that actually wasn't actually quite as bad as I was expecting, maybe I could manage another 25?" And so on - don't ever commit to doing any more than 25 minutes.
>inb4 Pomodoro
Yes, but that's not the point.

For a presentation, don't think of it as a presentation, think of it as a stage performance: do it in character, don't be you while you're doing it.

You can find plenty of other ways of fooling yourself if you try.