Why is it so hard to change?
I have noticed that people really don't change. Even when they have habits that are completely boneheaded, and realize it, they still don't change. You can look at someone and wonder: man, this guy is really annoying, lazy, rude, (insert other negative aspect), why the hell doesn't he try to change?
The issue is not whether or not they realize what they're doing is wrong. It is just that it's simply damn hard to change. But then you look at yourself and you realize that it's exactly the same for you. And I'm not talking about major personality overhauls here, but just minor things that you tell yourself you want to do but never get around to doing. For example, you may resolve that you want to go to the gym more often. Now this is very simple, it's no big deal, and you really have no good reason NOT to do it. But for some reason you just don't do it. To gather up the motivation to start doing it takes a mighty effort on your part. Why is that? Why is this such a big deal? I think the human brain is wired in such a way that any change in routine, however small, takes a lot of effort and conscious decision. Maybe this is because the brain naturally takes the conservative position of "don't change it if it's working". Obviously, you've been alive and doing reasonably well so far, so please don't do anything different. Strangely enough, this applies to doing things that are indisputably GOOD for you. Such things as a better job offer, or other similar opportunities for change. If there is ANY element of risk at all, people tend to gravitate towards maintaining the status quo. I know countless self-motivational books have probably been written about this, but I still think it's a strange fact of life.
I have thought about this a bit more, and concluded that for life to be enjoyable you have to keep yourself in a perpetual state of uncertainty of thought. What this means is that you are ALWAYS open to doing anything, and have absolutely no hang-ups about anything. This will make things a lot easier I think, compared to the alternative, which is trying to motivate yourself again every time something new comes along, which is just TOO HARD. Better not to form any set opinions or habits. And anyway, I've found that very few activities are not enjoyable, if you do it wholeheartedly. So I'm going to start trying to reach a state of mind where I'm always open to doing anything, damn the consequences.
The issue is not whether or not they realize what they're doing is wrong. It is just that it's simply damn hard to change. But then you look at yourself and you realize that it's exactly the same for you. And I'm not talking about major personality overhauls here, but just minor things that you tell yourself you want to do but never get around to doing. For example, you may resolve that you want to go to the gym more often. Now this is very simple, it's no big deal, and you really have no good reason NOT to do it. But for some reason you just don't do it. To gather up the motivation to start doing it takes a mighty effort on your part. Why is that? Why is this such a big deal? I think the human brain is wired in such a way that any change in routine, however small, takes a lot of effort and conscious decision. Maybe this is because the brain naturally takes the conservative position of "don't change it if it's working". Obviously, you've been alive and doing reasonably well so far, so please don't do anything different. Strangely enough, this applies to doing things that are indisputably GOOD for you. Such things as a better job offer, or other similar opportunities for change. If there is ANY element of risk at all, people tend to gravitate towards maintaining the status quo. I know countless self-motivational books have probably been written about this, but I still think it's a strange fact of life.
I have thought about this a bit more, and concluded that for life to be enjoyable you have to keep yourself in a perpetual state of uncertainty of thought. What this means is that you are ALWAYS open to doing anything, and have absolutely no hang-ups about anything. This will make things a lot easier I think, compared to the alternative, which is trying to motivate yourself again every time something new comes along, which is just TOO HARD. Better not to form any set opinions or habits. And anyway, I've found that very few activities are not enjoyable, if you do it wholeheartedly. So I'm going to start trying to reach a state of mind where I'm always open to doing anything, damn the consequences.
posted by Winang at 7:42 PM
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