How do you make yourself read a difficult book?
I keep meaning to read economics papers or arduous philosophy tomes but I rarely manage to get through them. Usually I lose focus rapidly and I go back to reading shitty fantasy.
Is there any way besides willpower, or a way to increase willpower and concentration?
Here's a tip: stop being an idiot.
>>7806574
Well sorry for trying to better myself. Any real advice? Please?
>>7806594
take breaks and don't stop
you have to force yourself through them
>>7806540
You have to find it interesting and thus want to read it
Concentration is a muscle most youths have never bothered to train. Better start forcing it now.
I'd suggest reading with white noise. It satiates the stimulus need and can allow you to stay on task for larger stretches. But you need to work at it. There is no magic pill.
Practice.
It gets easier the more you do it and stops being a chore (unless it's a really, really boring topic).
It's a bit of a meme, but there's some truth to people growing up with smartphones/the internet having short attention spans, as we are barraged with information and keep flicking between multiples things constantly. But you can train yourself to focus for extended periods on one thing.
>>7806540
>and I go back to reading shitty fantasy
Stop the fantasy shit most of them are glorified page turners. Actually challenge yourself and challenge yourself consistently: that is how you grow.
For me discipline is something applied to life in general, it does not work if you attempt to apply it to a single thing. If you have no sleep schedule, you masturbate to pornography, abuse substances, have an internet addiction, don't eat well and such, of course you are a mess. A mess that is untrained at even the simplest forms of self-control. It's not reasonable to expect such a shapeless blob of a human being to be able to engage meaningfully with great philosophical works written by great people with great effort. A piece of shit person wouldn't expect to be able to play ball with Kobe Bryant, but a lot of the time a piece of shit will consider himself good enough to square up to Kant or Hegel. Which is a mistake, of course.
Start whipping yourself into shape as a general human being, anon.
>>7806893
>pornography
How is that contrary to discipline?
>>7806921
Instant artificial gratification. You basically turn into one of those mice who has a dopamine shot button in his cage.
>>7807021
get ready for the hordes of subhuman redditors to attack you demanding scientific proof that dopamine exists
I've seen multiple times when confronted with how harmful their lifestyle actually is the redditor tends to lash out in anger
There's really no reason to read philosophy besides the very basics
>Have an interest in the subject
If there is brilliant insight that amazes you in something badly or archaically written, it can still be worth it to slog through. Hard to fake this though.
>Try to remember your interest in learning in general
Working out isn't fun either, at least not for most people. When you're working out you mostly tolerate it and try to remember how great your ass will look in six months. Focus on the long term.
>Break it up into smaller segments
Read a chapter at a time instead of trying to sit and read 300 straight pages.
>Go to a university library and browse around for good annotated versions, introductions, etc., or use Google (things like Sparknotes, Wikipedia, the Internet/Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy)
Everything is easier to recognise and get your bearings in when someone already explained it for you in simplified terms first. Be careful not to get the "Standard Reading" too much burned into your brain, and keep an eye on the actual primary text, but aside from that it never hurts to read secondary literature. I once read a 500-page book on Ranke's philosophy, then a 300 page book on Ranke's influence, and I honestly never understood Ranke so well as when earlier today I was reading an almost completely unrelated book, and the author summarised Ranke's philosophy in two paragraphs as a tangential thing.
>>7806540
How old are you?
>>7807036
A lot of people are very defensive about it, yes. I think a lot of people apply a strict divide between putting a substance in their body that creates a response and committing a behaviour that creates a response, while the latter can be at least as powerful as the former. In gambling addiction this is already generally accepted for example, I think things like pornography addiction will follow in some time.
If you speak to other young men who are more reasonably disposed you often get the idea that a lot of them are aware of the great role pornography plays in their daily lives and how they realise that there's something not right about that though.
>>7807080
I'm old as shit. 24.
>>7807037
Ya kinda this to be dead honest. The best ideas in a lot of the humanities are best appreciated in the 101 tier stuff. Going deeper than that can be a matter of diminishing returns.
>>7807084
For me it's not an addiction to pornography that seems to be an adherence to my overall attention span, but the internet in general.
I have thought many times to commit PC suicide and throw my fucking computer out of the window and just start living my life like so many other people did before PCs existed, no matter how useful they can be. Maybe I could occasionally visit a library or an internet cafe to get some important things done, but I wouldn't have my own.
Right now I don't think I have the willpower for it though, im 21, extremely depressed, lonely, and I am pretty sure I have some type of ADHD. Just like every other 21 year old I guess.
I really want to start being a man and throw away all hedonism and start actually learning a real craft, but I am just so goddamn easily distracted and easily depressed.
I am hoping something just snaps in my mind and I start actually doing these things without hesitation, maybe my brain still isn't fully developed yet.
>>7807130
Yeah, that's rough shit. I use my computer to medicate loneliness and depression too, so it's kind of indispensable. Luckily I don't have a smartphone or laptop, so at least I'm not on those all fucking day, but when I get home I just melt into watching 5 straight episodes of One Punch Man, listening to Opie and Anthony reruns to simulate companionship, and refreshing /lit/ sixty thousand times.
You're on the right track though. Start now, man. Just starting is 80% of the battle. What ends up happening is that you "wait until you can really commit to [some form of self-improvement or self-education]," thinking that will be a few months, and then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun.
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same, in a relative way, but you're older, shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.
Neuroplasticity kicks in around 25. Be very afraid.
>>7807141
>Neuroplasticity kicks in around 25
Source?
>>7807130
>>7807141
I'm on the same boat, im slightly older, and probably had a shittier life than you guys (orphan, ex drug user, living in a foreing third world country, had cancer a couple of years ago-hope it doesn't get back-)
The only things than actually helped me with procastination and depression were : Psychodelics, traumatic experiences, self help books/videos, good company. In order of influence.
The psychodelic 'change' lasts about 2 months then you go back to your old ways.
Having a schedule also helps. Self help books can also help, don't underastimate them, you'll be surprised, even if you consider yourself a pretentious intellectual.
Be also aware of pychologic homeostasis
>>7807190
Jesus anon. Glad you're past that shit.
And yeah, the smartest person I've ever met in my entire life, genius tier philosopher, is big into mindfulness/positive psychology. He likens it to the parable about the dudes describing the elephant as different parts, but all fundamentally describing the same elephant.
>>7807190
That sucks man
the one thing I will stick my neck out to say though is because you have lived a shittier life than most people here, you have a higher chance of being a mentally stronger person who knows about struggle and how to overcome it.
I am a amorphous blob of a human piece of shit like >>7806893 says, but I lack the life experience and perspective to bring myself to a higher mental state. I grew up in a cushy middle class family as a single child and got all the videogames I wanted. I am at least lucky enough that I didn't turn out as a redditor.
I think right now the biggest enemy is myself, I obviously want to break out of my shell but there is something so heavy weighing me down that I don't know how to explain.
>>7807228
>redditor
As if those guys are any worse, or much different from 4chan users.
>>7807238
but at least 4chan isn't a circlejerk and you receive some actual hard edged criticism if you say stupid shit.
4chan isn't the best place in the internet and full of idiots but I know it's introduced me to so many things that I wouldn't have discovered on my own otherwise.
>>7807266
>Hahahahahahahahaha
are you drunk right now Anon?
>>7807283
You're drunk! Hahahaha!
>>7806540
Strangely, I'd suggest meditation and not for any of the typical reasons one might think. You seem to have a willpower deficiency and the most memorable quote I can give you on the few books I've read on that subject would be:
"Being bad at meditation is great for self-control."
The more you're denying impulses the better, unless you want to sit here reading people bicker about whether wasting time here is as bad as reddit.
>>7807130
I feel ya. My attention span is beyond poor and funnily enough the only thing that curbs this is reading a book, but that doesn't help when I've desperately got to study and pay attention in class.
My life kinda crashed in summer 2014 when my best friend died, landed myself with an eating disorder and an obsession with calorie counting, and now alcoholic parents that are either all over eachother and going out or at eachother's necks. Never thought I'd have to call the police on my own parents but at least it gives me a push to study hard and get the fuck out of this house.
Instead of destroying your computer get your internet cancelled for a month or so so that you have to go to an internet cafe to go online. Get schedule, self help books, outside on walks now it's getting warmer/nicer. But start now. The more I think about getting better and living better the more I feel spurred on to do so.
>>7807353
List of books please?
>>7807384
https://wordery.com/the-willpower-instinct-how-self-control-works-why-it-matters-and-what-you-can-do-to-get-more-of-it-kelly-mcgonigal-9781583334386?currency=GBP>rck=S3ZEc1BTWmRUSVhDM3M5TlM2SFlaL0YrYWhVYlk2dUZVaThQYUZ2eStUM1l4ZTM4SzNHTGtVL1dGR0J1alY5eGtDemloSUZMSGpnUndUd0FkUWFheHc9PQ&gclid=CIqIxc2pvssCFQ2eGwodS_8OBA
The quote was from that book.
As for a list, various self-help ones from the library covering NLP, self hypnosis and motivation.
>>7807403
if i have to read (read: listen to the audiobook of) another stupid book that talks about that god damn "donut expirement" holy shit, i don't know how many bad self-help books that shit has spawned but ENOUGH ALREADY, if u want to help u self go download the Brian Tracy megapack torrent off whatever shitty public tracker u liek to use, then listen to "maximum achievement" and "eat that frog" then listen to whatever other shit seems relevant to ur interestes
>>7807403
>NLP
The balance of scientific evidence reveals NLP to be a largely discredited pseudoscience. Scientific reviews show it contains numerous factual errors,and fails to produce the results asserted.
>>7807414
>donut expirement
my fucking bad brah, i mean the marshmallow expirement, where they put a marshmallow in front of a little kid and tell him if he waits 15 minutes to eat it then he gets too marshmallows, then the researchers discovered that ppl who took the marshmallow and didn't wait for the second one grow up to be dropouts and rapists or something, how this is supposed to "self-help" you is never explained, other than u have to think longterm and not be a faggot who has to wack it every time he sees a hot ass on the internet (i guess)
>>7807219
Thanks man, also glad I'm past all that
>>7807228
If you are well off, I would suggest you to travel (alone or with a close friend) to some weird place without a smartphone or computer. Just unplug yourself from all that stuff.
If you live in an 'ok' area you can try going homeless for a couple of days (specially nice if you live near a beach). If you aren't ready to do that, just try to go outside more often in your free time.
If you are mentally 'stong' person and know yourself you can try doing drugs, but do some research first.
I'm suggesting this stuff because a lot of people just need a little help or poke in the right direction to achieve great stuff.
Unfortunately some people are born losers, I hope you are not one of them.
>>7807480
>some people are born losers
That makes no sense.
>>7807480
>Unfortunately some people are born losers, I hope you are not one of them.
there aren't any black ppl on lit don't worry
>>7807495
Why? I do believe some people even in the best conditions can't make positive changes in their lives, do not improve themselves no matter what, are too comfortable and scared of everything and ultimately die in resentment.
>>7807497
u mean
. >>7807497
I chuckled. This person gets it.
Drugs.
>>7807563
is that late era Samuel Beckett?
