Motivation
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You are currently reading a thread in /r9k/ - ROBOT9001
You are currently reading a thread in /r9k/ - ROBOT9001
How does /r9k/ keep themselves motivated to do stuff? I'm pretty overweight and keep telling myself I need to get out and do stuff to lose weight, but when it comes to do I'd rather sit in and play vidya or something. What can I do to make myself actually get up and do something with myself? Pic unrelated
>>28739669
You'll never change unless you change yourself.
Do push-ups and sit-ups everyday.
Start with 5 each or something.
Then move up.
When you think you're ready, start going for small runs.
Gradually increase the distance each time.
You'll get used to it, and it'll feel like normal.
You feel like shit when running, but afterwards, I feel proud of myself that I actually did something.
That's how I do it, anyway.
>>28739740
How long have you been doing this for and have you noticed any noticeable changes? One of the worst things for me is not seeing the results that quickly so I just give up
>>28739816
I hate going outside, so it took me a while to first build up the courage to go for a run.
I've been going for runs regularly for almost a year.
The results do absolutely not show instantly. At first, running will be an annoyance, but anon, once you get fit, things will become easier.
You'll be strong and agile, and everything physical will be easier for you, not to mention, you'll have a better self image, if you're anything like me.
If you easily give up, then just try small things every day. It'll only take up like 5 minutes of your day but if you keep gradually increasing it, you'll notice a difference.
>>28739669
It takes 30 days to create a habit
Persistent to obtain, consistent to maintain.
You shouldn't have to be "motivated"; you get up and simply do on autopilot.
>>28739740
not him, but I've tried the "just do it anyway, even if it's a small step" thing. The problem is that I don't get the "proud of myself that I did it" part afterwards.
also never got it to be on autopilot like >>28739991 said, even after much longer than 30 days. I dreaded every second of it and it never got any easier to make myself do it. probably related to the above.
>>28740078
You think too much, that's all. The more brain power you invest into the consequences, feelings, results, future, worth, ect of an action, the less likely you are to act and the more likely that it'll be a chore.
Besides, whether or not you enjoy most things that aren't in the extremes is based on a state of mind. Try to lie to yourself and convince yourself that you really enjoy what you do, and you'll believe it eventually.
My logic was that "video games" are the same thing as hobbies, but with quicker yet less tangible results.
I sunk like 300 hours into Dark Souls 3 this past month and what do I have to show for it? Nothing at all; I can kill every single boss without getting hit, I learned the best matchups and strategies to deal with most weapons in PvP, I know where all the important items are. All of these are skills that I quickly obtained, but they don't give me any real tangible benefit.
If I sunk 300 hours into anything else, I'd probably just as decent in it. Hell, you can almost learn a language in 300 hours.
Why do you browse /r9k/, laze around in bed and daydream, read light novels/VNs, play games, ect? What's the difference between that and playing an instrument, learning how to program, learning a language, studying math, physics, getting a degree, working, ect? What makes one of these activities "fun" and another a chore?
Once I realized it's mostly just mindset, it was pretty easy to drop a bunch of hours into whatever I wished just like how I dropped thousands of hours into games.
Life is literally just a shitty RPG with shitty features
>>28740261
Games give you a short-term feeling of accomplishment, while hobbies and other activities are long-term. It's also not nearly as measurable with real life activities as there's no mile-stone except those you create for yourself, and you can only compare yourself with the world's best so you'll seem mediocre.
>>28740261
>Try to lie to yourself and convince yourself that you really enjoy what you do, and you'll believe it eventually.
I have tried this. More than once. It has never worked. I'm astonished that it does for anyone, actually, though it must for some people since I keep hearing it.
>>28740282
Also games are something that you enjoy the process of doing, not necessarily any end result. There might not even be an end result. In real life you don't enjoy the process of performing the tasks at all, it's just something you have to slog through for a long time to get to an end result. It's like an MMO where you have to grind all day, every day for years to get anywhere.
>>28739669
There are only two things that can motivate a male.
His dick and his stomach.
To be motivated to do some thing you must be either horny or hungry.
So keep your fridge empty, that way you will go out to the store and stop masturbating so you try to get girls
>>28739669
I wouldn't worry too much M
>>28740261
You're right in a sense. The thing is I get much more dopamine release and thus happiness from doing those instead of doing other stuff. How do I combat it?
>>28740287
I think for most people, they don't have to lie to themselves. They simply adjust their mindset and find out that the said activity isn't so bad. Maybe I simply don't understand because I hardly care about what I'm doing or anything at all. But for me, I feel like I can enjoy most of the things I attempt provided they don't cause me great physical pain or mental stress.
Working out, going to school, studying, learning aren't really different to me than browsing /r9k/ or playing games. The only reason why I sunk so many hours into DaS 3 recently was because I haven't played games in forever, so how much I enjoyed it was cranked up. But now it's dead to me; I have no reason to be consistent to maintain as it won't give me any real tangible benefit.
>>28740331
I feel that a lot of the daily tasks we do are things we enjoy the process of doing as well.
>>28740371
this is true in a sense but not completely. obviously mindlessly playing a game is easier, less demanding and less boring than studying math or programming.
>>28740343
>His dick and his stomach.
Do you honestly actually believe this?
>>28740437
I also hardly care about anything, (which, contrary to you it seems, means I hardly enjoy anything) but for me it means that whenever I'm doing something, I feel "Why am I doing this? Why does it matter? I'd rather be sitting and staring at a wall than doing this"
it's like I pay the unpleasantness tax associated with expending effort but don't get any reward in return, so doing anything is a chore. Sometimes I'll go long periods without doing things that I do (at least somewhat) enjoy, like playing video games, because it's just more work than sitting there.
>>28740495
I tried nosurf for three days.
>cleaned my room
>studied a lot more
>watched some TV
But in the end my fap addiction kind of ruined it and I had to watch some porn. Probably I have some dopamine irregularities
>>28740371
Seems like a fast way to a mental break down.
>>28740516
Yes.
Sexual desires and hunger are natural and primal urges that motivate a men
Motivate myself to do anything?
>wake up, lay in bed for 2 hours, 'till back hurts
>go play vidya
>sneak to kitchen
>sleep
i'm not motivated to do anything. i quit my job.
>>28740552
when I tried it I just slept a lot more
>>28739669
Attached image helped me a little, I really want to work more on my goals.
>>28740565
The thing is, I want to live without having a screen in front of me at least 6 hours a day. But I can't live without it. And it's hampering my self-improvement.
>>28739669
motivation is a meme. habit is a much stronger tool
>>28740371
I'm not too particularly sure about you, but how I did it was with a realization. I just realized that I didn't play games for fun or even for a challenge, but as simple escapism. I didn't enjoy playing games anymore after sinking so many hours into LoL, Starcraft, DotA 2,CS:GO, Tera, ect -- I was simply playing literally just to pass time and think about my life. I couldn't even remember the last time I felt joy or gotten excited about playing a game. At that point, I was getting in the mornings just to sign on some moba or mmo just to make the day pass without letting my thoughts stray.
I saturated myself so much in shit like games and 4chan that I grew to hate it.
>>28740495
Programming and low-level math(About the limits you need for an engineering degree) are both just like games, though. Programming even more so because you instantly get feedback as to whether you succeed or fail. As for math; that feeling when you struggle on a problem and try again and again until you succeed feels great.
It's an odd feeling, but when you're doing something not mindless and you know is going to have real tangible benefits, you get a greater sense of accomplishment. Even more so if it's difficult in the truest sense of word and you struggled to obtain it.
I think there just needs a balance between mentally taxing and challenging activities and mindless hobbies to pass time. If you can find balance between the two, you'll enjoy doing both much more.
>>28739669
for me what did it was hating myself over the course of 8-9 years till i got up and went to the gym. Been going there ever since.
The fear of becoming my old me again keeps me motivated + getting stronger and reaching my goal physique.
Also what helped was getting a bit equipment for a "home gym" to start off and avoid a commercial gym because of social anxiety. Also it builds the habit to lift, after a while it wasnt half as bad to go to a normal gym.
>>28740631
>I was simply playing literally just to pass time and think about my life.
This is me. But somebody pointed out I'm going for a mental breakdown once I take away my only form of escapism.
Escapism is good, but not to the likes we're used to, I guess.
>>28740539
When you hardly care about anything, everything kind of seems equal in your eyes. What difference is there to working out or sleeping in?
I think the difference between you and me is that I feel indifferent, while you think indifferent. I'm also extremely greedy, so I think of everything in terms of "time" and "waste" instead of unpleasantness and effort.
So it was only natural that I would eventually create a schedule that would minimize wasting time while allotting time for various activities so I don't simply run back into escapism.
I'm fairly dumb, so my thought process went like this
Playing games feels the same as studying
Playing games is a waste of time that method of escapism that I mindlessly do to waste time
I can do something that feels the same as playing games, but isn't wasting time
>>28739669
My uncle is my motivation.
>be last year
>uncle in town, comes over for dinner
>haven't seen him in 15+ years
>having a great time catching up
>mom and dad have to work early, go to bed
>we have a few beers and talk
>find out we're very similar
>he's a lifelong bachelor, socially awkward, basically an adult robot
>ask jim: "how come you never married? just never found the right girl? or..."
>silence
>look over, his lip is quivering
>"i.. i just never... i wasn't..."
>takes a minute to compose himself
>looking away from me, says: "with a girl around, i wouldn't have so many faffs n' laughs with my m-mates"
>he finishes his beer and heads to the guest room without another word
Basically, I came to the realization that there's no happy ending for an adult robot. If I don't want to turn out like him, I need to turn things around ASAP.
So far I've applied to a community college for next September in a web design program. I'm also going to the gym, if I'm still awake at 5AM (my sleeping pattern is totally fucked btw) then I go when the gym first opens and no ones there. Eating healthier, although still nowhere near what I should be. Once I lose 20-30lbs, I want to get some nice pictures taken and start pursuing girls on OKC, POF & Tinder.
>>28740741
Fuck that came out terribly; I have finals on Monday and Wednesday so I'm currently doing problems while writing this.
>Playing games is a method of escapism that gives me no tangible benefit
>Since playing games doesn't feel any different from any other form of escapism, I'll simply move to another activity that's similar but isn't "wasting time"
I do feel like I'm missing the forest for the trees, though. The endgame should be not relying on escapism at all and improving yourself to eventually face the world, just not moving to a form of running away that's simply "productive" to your worth as a human being.
>>28739669
stop eating so much, weight loss is 95% calorie restriction. you can do it while sitting in playing vidya. don't be a fat ass and only drink water and snack on celery
>>28740741
>I think the difference between you and me is that I feel indifferent, while you think indifferent.
>"time" and "waste" instead of unpleasantness and effort.
probably pretty accurate. I'm pretty much the opposite of greedy. I remember when I was in grade school, my parents sat me down and said they wanted to pay me an allowance, for which I'd have to do the dishes and take out the garbage. I thought for a minute and replied "well.. there's really nothing I can think of that I want to buy, so I don't really need the money. I'd rather not have to wash the dishes." My mom was completely blindsided, and told me years later that she expected me to bargain for more money or different chores, but that she was dumbfounded that anyone would say nah, I just don't want the money badly enough to do any work.
>>28739669
I had this problem. A few weeks ago I started working out in my home and eating less. I hung a couple of pictures of people I idolize in my room with my exercise stuff and if I feel like giving up before my 45 minute workout is over I look at the pictures and think of how disappointed they would be if I quit.
I know it probably has something to do with inner convictions but that has really helped me form the habit of working out every day. Still working on going from a terrible overindulgence for a diet to something healthier, but it's coming along. Lost 15 pounds in the last 3 weeks.
>>28740861
Maybe you can change, people are much more malleable than we'd like to believe. Living without joy in effort must certainly be an ironic existence, though.
What's your purpose for obtaining a healthy weight, by the way?
>>28739669
Motivation isn't what you want to rely on to achieve long term goals. You want discipline.
Motivation is fickle and fleeting and relies on external stimulus. Discipline is more a character trait that keeps on going no matter if you're 'motivated' or not.
You need to cultivate discipline. You'll need willpower and planning to do this and a small spark of initial motivation can help to get the ball rolling. You need to latch onto that motivation and go out and DO. You need to make a plan for how you're going to accomplish something next time you don't feel motivated (remove distractions from your study area, don't buy any junk food, arrange to go to the gym with a friend/acquaintance so you feel obligated, etc.).
After a while, this planning and forcing yourself to do beneficial shit even when you don't want to do it will become second nature and you'll be someone with discipline.
>>28740976
how do you mean, "ironic"?
>What's your purpose for obtaining a healthy weight, by the way?
was always either attracting women or removing condescension or disapproval from others.
you'll be totally unsurprised to find out that I gave up and gained the weight back
>>28741070
Pedantic drivel on the difference between living and existing, I guess.
Effort is a fundamental part of living, after all. If you would rather be doing nothing all the time than something, then it would seem that you want to exist yet not live.
If you want to lose weight easily, you could just change your diet instead. Starving yourself may be unhealthy, but it works wonders. If eating takes unnecessary effort, just don't eat as often. Just make sure you don't take it too far and accidentally die of malnutrition.
>>28739669
You're fat because of your shit diet, not your lack of activity. You can't outrun your fork. Fix your diet if you want to lose weight, and go to the gym if you want to build muscle.
What's the point of trying with anything if you're ugly? I can't motivate myself to even leave the house because I'm so repulsive
>>28739669
All right OP, your fucked because of your outlook, it makes you not want to actively do things, not really sure how you solve that, people are trying to sell you their outlooks in this thread.
But be careful you can't just adopt someones outlook on life, and while it seems second nature to them, it might just be incredible hard for you and lead to you regressing deeper in your ways after you fail to adopt their life.
Just be careful and take some of the stuff written here with a grain of salt. Some of these guys sound like their happen to enjoy what their doing or are heading for a mental break down fast.
>>28741284
You have to be circus-freak tier ugly to be completely unsalvageable.
You probably look fine or meh and are just depressed with poor self esteem.
>>28741284
no matter how ugly you are from birth (except for handicapped ugly, like being born without a nose or some shit) everybody can make himself at least a 6/10 with exercise, haircut and skincare
go to the dentist if your teeth are fucked up
>>28739669
I developed the warrior spirit. I get off only with fighting, I don't need women anymore, because they can't be beaten :)
>>28741361
yes they can, it's hard but possible.
