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Building PowerWake Up and Take Massive Action! (self.TheRedPill)

submitted by 1dondraper

Original post was taken down due to harsh title. Significantly edited and updated.


Preface


Many of you need a wake-up-call. A slap in the face. A bucket of cold water. To snap out of this fucking phase of laziness and procrastination. To light a fucking fire under your asses.

TRP and the Internet offers all the advice you could ever need on how to get your life together. You have the sidebar, you have books, you have the advice of other people, and you even know yourself what the fuck you have to do. But you don't know how the fuck to take action. You know how to swim, but you're too fucking scared to dive in the deep end.

So here I am to explain to you clearly why the fuck you aren’t taking action towards your goals. And how to fix it.


Introduction


You always know what you need to do. If you could only follow it, you’d start seeing results. There’s no debate there. If you take action and systematically work towards your goals, you’re going to see progress. That’s just how life works.

Succeeding in most areas of life isn’t actually that difficult. 90% of success is showing up. If you can maintain a clear head and do what you need to do, work consistently towards your goals, and make steady progress, success isn't that hard to come by.

But people just aren’t willing to put in the work. Why? We’re too ugly. We’re too tired. We’re too lazy. We fear failure. We’d rather sit back and click through Netflix to watch a show we don’t even enjoy. We’d rather play another game of Fortnite and waste away our precious time here on a meaningless game. We’d rather sleep another two hours. We’d rather watch that hot pornstar get fucked by a BBC and then jack off.

Don’t lie. It’s what you do. But in reality, it’s what all of society does.

But just because everyone else does it doesn’t mean that you should. Stop living like the rest of the sheep out there and reclaim your independence. Start respecting yourself. Take responsibility for your own life. And don’t live your life like one of the many mindless drones out there indoctrinated into society, pawns to corporations and business, wasting your finite existence on a hodgepodge of meaningless and unfulfilling technological stimulation.


The Vice of Self-Improvement


Most guys here live in a perpetual state of over-analysis. You read a hundred posts on Reddit, you read a couple more articles with click-bait titles, you read a couple self-help books, you watch Youtube videos, and you keep pretending like you’re taking massive action. Every once in a while, you feel like you have a fucking epiphany, and this makes you feel as if you’re learning and moving forward. When in reality, you’re stagnating and making zero progress.

“Self-improvement is masturbation.” You can thank our lord and savior Tyler Durden for this underrated piece of gold. You’re pretending to yourself that you're making progress without actually changing anything. Instead of being a pathetic, miserable fuck who does nothing, you're just a pathetic, miserable fuck who reads feel-good self-help bullshit, goes to the gym, and repeats affirmations to himself in the mirror.

In other words, stop covering yourself in layer after layer of fake pretenses, motives, and qualities. Stop searching endlessly for that next epiphany, and for that next piece of meaningless, external motivation.

Look within. Ask yourself what you truly want, what you truly desire out of life, and how the fuck you are truly going to change.

Don’t “improve” your current self. Change who you are.


The Plague of Inaction


I’ll take a wild guess and throw this out there—if you could list 10 things you could do right now to move towards your goals, you could easily rattle them off.

You all know what the fuck you should be doing. You all know you should ask that girl out, study fucking harder, hit the gym, open that business… you know you need to fucking do it. You know you it’d be good for you and you know it’s the right thing—but you don’t fucking do it!

You just sit around in a haze of useless procrastination and perpetual laziness, telling yourself you’re going to do that fucking thing tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes. You’ve woke up late, you’re feeling like shit, and something else came up. And so you put it off until tomorrow. And so on.

A few weeks or months later you look back and you realize that all that valuable fucking time has passed and is never coming back. And you’re no closer to your goals.

And the more this happens, the more you rationalize to yourself that nothing good will ever come of actually taking action, the more you decide to devolve into escapism, the more you condition yourself to accept defeat, and the more you fall deeper and deeper into a bottomless pit of defeatism.

You tell yourself that there’s no point in trying anyway. You never feel like doing anything. All you want to do is saturate your empty mind with a bunch of stimulating, pixelated nonsense and try to distract yourself away from your valueless existence through video games, porn, TV, and the endless stream of distractions at your fingertips.

We have a psychological term for that—“learned helplessness.” In a famous experiment, scientists gave electrical shocks to two groups of dogs—one that could stop the shocks by pressing a lever and one that couldn’t. Later, when given the chance to escape by jumping over a small barrier, the ones who had been able to press the lever immediately escaped. The group of dogs who had no lever just lay down on the floor and whined as they were being shocked.

The same effect is one of the major causes of depression. You repeatedly fail, learn that you’ll always be a failure, and struggle without escape. And when you’re actually presented with the chance to take action and change your life, you’d rather just stay defeated and mire in your own misery.

You’re probably realizing right now that everything I’m saying applies to you. And I’m going to tell you how to break free from this self-imposed prison.


Fear of Failure


If you were 100% guaranteed to succeed if you asked that girl out, started your business, and started lifting regularly, would you hesitate to go ahead with your goals? Absolutely not. You’d immediately do it.

You’re afraid to commit. You don’t want to tell yourself you’re going to quit porn and video games. You don’t want to commit to starting a new life. You don’t want to commit to breaking free from your endless cycle of procrastination. You don’t want to commit to anything.

Why? Because you’re afraid of failure. You don’t want to try and fail. What’s the point of trying anyway if you’re probably going to fail? Right?

Let me tell you something. You’re going to fucking die. You’ve only got one life. Every second you waste living below your potential is never coming back. Ever. You’re the youngest you ever will be right now. Think about that for a second.

If you keep allowing this pathetic fear of failure to control you, you’re going to live out a sad, depressing, miserable existence for the rest of your days. And you’ll be buried six feet under and everybody will be glad you’re finally fucking gone.

So, what do you do?

Make a goddamn fucking decision. Silence the voices of self-doubt and avoidance rationalization, and just do it. Commit to the decision. Write it in a journal. Tell a friend for accountability. Change your fucking environment.

Stop rationalizing, stop watching motivational Youtube videos, stop reading Reddit posts, and stop passively wasting your time waiting for that time to come when everything suddenly changes and you realize it’s time to start taking action. That time will never come. Ever.

Tell all those inner voices to shut the fuck up and just make the FUCKING DECISION!

Start small and spiral upwards. Turn the shower cold for 30 seconds. And then a minute. And then go full fucking Bond and don’t turn it warm. Talk to one stranger a day. And then two. And so on. Go in small incremental steps that will exponentially push you further forwards.

The more you push yourself and actually see yourself making progress, the more you will want to continue. It’s a positive feedback loop, but this time it’s in the right direction!

If you don’t take action, you’re already a failure. Let your fear of failure propel you forward. Recognize it and accept it. And proceed the fuck on regardless.


Comfort Zone/Fearing Discomfort


Yeah, it’s fucking easy to wake up at noon each day, throw a pack of instant noodles on the stove, and sit back and binge ten episodes of Breaking Bad every day. Yeah, it’s fucking easy to just sit home, play Call of Duty, and avoid the gym.

It’s all you’ve ever done. And will do, if you keep living this way.

Your brain literally rewires itself to continue your habits, ways of life, and normal routines if you repeat them over long periods of time.

What you do, you become. And what you are, you do. It’s a positive feedback loop that spirals in whichever direction you choose. If you continue to act like a fucking buffoon, you will become one. Just like we say here that you shouldn’t look at what girls say, but at what they do—you are what you do, not what you say.

You tell yourself you’re going to start a Fortune 500 company, but you can’t even get out of the bed in the morning. You tell yourself you’re going to be fucking Casanova but you can’t approach that pretty girl at Starbucks drinking her fucking vanilla Frappucino. Stop deluding yourself and face reality.

So, what do you do?

Train yourself to appreciate discomfort. “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

You’ll never get anywhere in life if you do whatever you feel like doing. Love the discomfort and embrace the thrill. The pain of regret is worse than the pain of discipline. And ironically, putting yourself through discomfort will make your life miles better than you could ever imagined it to be.

How can you train yourself? Take cold showers every morning. Sleep on the floor with nothing but a blanket and a pillow. Dance in public. Intentionally force yourself to take risks.

Facing your fears head-on and pushing through discomfort is the fastest and most effective way to self-mastery.

Rewire your brain to be excited for new challenges. “The beast that bears you fastest to perfection is suffering.” - Meister Eckhart

Successful people love discomfort. They embrace the challenges. Without it, they would have nothing to live for. It’s what keeps them going.

Your “comfort” zone isn’t really “comfortable.” It’s just a place of stagnant procrastination and lack of progress where you just sit around, rotting internally and corrupting your potential. You only choose to stay in it because your fear of the unknown overwhelms your current discomfort.

No progress in life ever comes without pain and suffering. None.


Procrastination


The average person wastes 8-10 hours a day. Video games, Netflix, mindless browsing, cheap dopamine hits, etc. It doesn’t really matter. All procrastination comes from the same root cause—thinking that you have more time.

When you have a paper due in an hour, you’ll fucking finish it. If the bar is closing in ten minutes, you’re going to have ask the girl back to your place. If you have a terminal illness and have just days to live, you’re not going to be fucking watching TV or doing any of the other bullshit that we fill our lives up with.

When there is a deadline, you’ll get it done. Apply Parkinson’s law to dramatically increase productivity in your life:

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

In other words, however much time you get to complete a task will be how much time you take to actually finish it. If you are given three weeks to finish a process paper, you’ll likely procrastinate the first two and half weeks and finish it on the last few days. If you are given two hours, you’ll fucking crank it out. It’s just how we work.

You think you have tomorrow. You always do. And how often do you actually do what you told yourself you were going to do when the day comes?

“The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what is in Fortune's control and abandoning what lies in yours.” - Seneca, the great Stoic philosopher

You don’t have the future. So stop expecting to do things in the future and stop looking forward. You only have today. Don’t fall into the trap of telling yourself that you’ll have time later. When that time actually comes, you’ve likely forgotten all about that goal and you’re even busier.

So what do you do?

Write down your fucking goals. I can’t overemphasize this. Writing your goals down has been scientifically proven to dramatically increase the chances that you meet them. Articulate them, describe them in fine detail, and journal about them frequently. Every morning.

Create positive feedback and accountability. Write out a checklist. Nothing will feel better than taking your pen and drawing a line crossing out the goal you’ve just accomplished. Nothing will feel better than having a checklist completely crossed off at the end of the day. And then taking the paper, crumpling it into a ball, and tossing it in the trashcan like Kobe in his prime.

Set a time limit. You don’t have infinite time available to you. How you allocate the finite expanse allocated to you is significant beyond measure. Force yourself to meet the goal by a deadline. Set a date. Whether it’s a few days, weeks, or months from now, set a date. A specific date. Don’t make it unrealistic. But don’t be lenient on yourself either. If you’re not serious about meeting your goals, you never will.


Wake Up to Reality


Consider this scenario for a second: “Imagine for a second that you have a senior thesis paper due at midnight tonight. It’s five o’clock in the afternoon, and you have thirty more pages to write. You’re sitting at your desk, exhausted, tired, and absolutely spent. You’re coming off an all-nighter and all you want to do is hop in bed. Bags of Doritos and chips are strewn across the floor around you. Seven more hours, you think! How the hell am I going to fucking get through this?

But you do. Even though you’re feeling like absolute shit, you push forward. You only get one chance to finish this thesis paper, and if you don’t, you’re fucked, you’re going to fail, and your life will turn to shit. You won’t graduate college and everything will head downhill. So you finish it.

For the next six months after you graduate, you have your own personal goals to wake up at five every morning, lift four times a week, start your own business, and lose thirty pounds.

But of course, what the fuck happens? You fear failure. You fall back into your routines. You fall back into your comfort zone. Your behavioral addictions begin to control you. Six months pass, and instead of being closer to goals, you’re even farther away from achieving them then you were before.

As a result of your failures, you’re set forth on a downward spiral in which you get a shitty career, marry someone you hate, stay overweight, have a financial crisis, become mired in existential anxiety, and fall into depression. Your life has turned upside down, and you consider suicide. Everything falls down around you, all your friends and family leave you, and you try to drug yourself senseless to numb yourself to the pain. Eventually, you die of an overdose.”

Failure was not an option with the fucking thesis paper, was it? Failure is never an option when you have a job, is it? If your boss tells you to whip up a two-page report on the company’s financial status by tomorrow, you’re going to do it. If you have an opportunity to get a promotion, are you going to waste it?

So why the hell is failure an option with regards to your own goals? Why are the goals society imposes upon you more important than your own?!

Why does getting to class on time matter more to you than heading to the gym? Why does sitting in your little office cubicle in your 9-to-5 job matter more than getting your fucking life together? Why is an essay due date more important to you than living up to your own life potential?

So get off your ass and start moving!


The Final Frontier


This is how many weeks you get in your life. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to live to the ripe old age of one hundred.

Not many dots, is it? You might be an eight, a fourth, a third, or maybe even half of the way through that. But it doesn’t matter. This is all you get.

You don’t get to live another life. All you will ever see and think in this world is happening right before your eyes. And you’re just wasting it away.

Billions of years of random atomic collisions and lucky mutations have led to your very fucking existence, and you’re wasting it on critically-acclaimed TV shows and video games. It doesn’t matter if you believe in an afterlife or not—you know that this is all you will ever get, here.

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” - Charles Darwin

You’ll never be twenty years, five months, and three days, six hours, and two minutes old ever again. Every moment in our lifetimes is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. We’re the only organisms capable of understanding our own mortality and the value of our existence, and we do nothing about it.

None of you truly understand how fucking short your life is. How this is the only chance you’ll ever get to exist here. You only have one childhood. You only have one youth. You only have one chance to live your twenties. And your thirties. And so on. You only get to choose a career once. There are no second chances, no rewinds, and no redos.

You’re on a train hurtling in only one direction—towards the end of your life.

You think you “understand” that we’re all going to die, that you only get one life, and blah blah so on. Right? Fuck no. You don’t understand it one bit.

If you truly understood the fucking value of your own existence, the shortness of life, and have internalized and accepted your own mortality, you’d be living a completely different life than you are now.

Let your fear of death and your understanding of your ephemeral, finite existence here push you to greater heights than you could have ever fathomed. After all, it is the only chance you will get.

What do you have to lose?


Closing Thoughts


Hopefully I sparked a fucking fire within your minds. That's what you need. You need to absolutely obsessed with success. Or you will get nowhere.

If you think motivation doesn't last, is bullshit, and doesn't work, you're not motivating yourself properly. Stop buying into other people's opinions and think for yourself. Of course you’re not going to feel like working all the time. But that’s what motivation is for.

People understand motivation wrong.

Motivation isn’t always something that makes energy and vitality course through your veins. Motivation doesn't mean waking up in the morning, feeling on top of the world, and ready to crush anything in your path. Motivation doesn’t always make you want to fucking fight gorillas. It doesn’t make you want to climb fucking skyscrapers. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that you feel great.

Motivation is knowing that you have to do something no matter what the fucking cost, and then going ahead and doing it. Even if you're tired, cold, and depressed, you’ll do it. Nothing ever happens without motivation.

”Discipline” is just motivation when you’re feeling like shit. Motivation isn’t just a fickle emotion. It’s the knowledge, and drive, with the full force and strength of your being, that regardless of consequences, you must achieve something.

And life's fucking hard. Nobody is disagreeing with you. But it's time for you to stop letting life passively control you, and for you to become the master of yourself and fucking destroy life once-and-for-all.

You can complain all you want, play victim, and cry about how unlucky you are. About how shit the cards you were given in life are. Go ahead. But nothing will change, and you’ll go on living a pathetic life you are.

Man the fuck up, I say.

It’s all on you. Nobody will change your life except you. No book, no Internet article, no quote, no video, and no philosophy will help you change your life, unless you choose to.

You’re dying right now. Stop sleepwalking through life and wake the fuck up.

How long are you going to wait before you start living the life you’ve dreamt of?


[–]ramfex2167 points68 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Thankyou ! I was trying to find the original article to re read :) - definitely need this kick in the Ass

[–]DodgedAFew0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Should have a section on burning out. Enjoy life and improve at your pace!

[–]user_stoned 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

This is the first time I've read this and this shit hits hard and way too close to reality. I knew i had to take some action about my state of life but now i know it time. I wish an elder person sat me down and told this to my face.

[–]Stron2g33 points34 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This should be told to all high school and college students.

[–]UseForThrowAwayStuff 1 points [recovered]  (6 children) | Copy Link

what was the original title?

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (5 children) | Copy Link

“Wake the Fuck Up and Start Taking Massive Action”

[–]shayme9867 points68 points  (4 children) | Copy Link

Why was the title not allowedas is? Pussy moderators.

[–]pig-casso19 points20 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

I'm working on a browser extension which will fuckinate all of reddit's content. gotcha fam. no more pussy titles.

[–]basedmattnigga72 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I love the fuckination of anything.

[–]Fedor_Gavnyukov19 points20 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]AlemayehuEfe37 points38 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

It's as if my soul decided to write a letter to my brain. Thank you brother. I needed this

[–]Frenetic_Zetetic21 points22 points  (5 children) | Copy Link

Neuroplasticity changed my life.

[–]basedmattnigga71 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I’d love to hear of your experiences.

[–]Shredderick42010 points11 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This is golden. It should be on my fridge thank you!

[–]unjoined7 points8 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thank you man, beautiful post. Closing reddit now.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

The art of life is to do the least necessary to get a maximum of fulfilment. Doing nothing is not possible. Your brain is constantly working. In order to be creative you have to stop acting once in a while. We are not born to work our asses off. Mot for us and even less for vaginas. I refuse to define myself over my achievements. I don’t need it. Knowledge is more important than stuff. This is my stance. After working hard for 45 years (I already started at 6 in the business of my parents), I have enough. That’s the main reason I swallowed the red pill. To me women are work. That’s the main reason I don’t want one anymore. I fo not need organisations. I don’t need leaders. I need my freedom from the opinions of others. And from my own opinions as well. I’m sitting here in the sun. Watching people walk by. Thinking nothing. Just existing. I don’t care anymore. I did care for too long. No benefit. Only worries.

[–]1dongpal0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

What would you do different when you were 20 again with your free time? How would you've spent it?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I would focus more on one thing. I had 6 professions by the age of 25. I knew something of everything but not everything about one thing. I would become a blacksmith. Or something similar. Handicrafts and arts. Not computer science. I would not spend time on girls but on advancing in my abilities and try to be perfect in my profession. A bit like the Japanese handicraft pros. And I would definitely not start to smoke. :)

[–]1dongpal6 points7 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Jack of all trades, master of none. German Name. Likes Philosophy.

[x]ENTP

[–]PM_ME_UR_NIPS_GURL6 points7 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I needed this so bad. Thank you.

[–]phuastunt4 points5 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

Totally agree. So how successful are you now?

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

Far and away more than I’d have ever expected.

[–]phuastunt2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Specifically how far have you succeeded since then with these advices?

[–]NutmegPluto3 points4 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Goddamn I needed to hear this. My life has been thrown up in the air a bit, made so much progress over the past few years but found out I may be redundant in a week, plans of a holiday I had been looking forward to, the security of my current accommodation, plans to move abroad later in the year all fucked. I stopped lifting weights, I've barely been sleeping properly, not been reading, going out etc. I've been very conscious of the fact that I've suddenly become a massive bitch but for some reason I've just found it impossible to pull myself out of it. This has been a much-needed kick up the ass

[–]DanyelGamez2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This is truly a great text. Thank you

[–]baap_ko_mat_sikha2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Fuck. This is a gold post. Thanks OP

[–]midnightreider4 points5 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Waiting until the time is “right” is an absolute farce. You are waiting for some magical outside influence to push you to do something that can only be achieved through the influence of your own action.

Great post.

[–]suddenlysnowedinn6 points7 points  (5 children) | Copy Link

What a gut punch that was. I’m closer to 30 than I want to believe, have loose goals with no real will behind them, and have been waiting for the past decade for something to just “click.” Your post described me to a ‘t,’ and I’m frankly ashamed.

I’m sick of watching everyone I know move on with their lives, while I sit here wondering why the hell I can’t get it together. Fuck.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (4 children) | Copy Link

No point in being ashamed. It’s fine to regret your past, but realize that you were always responsible for your own fate and always will be.

Although you’re still young, time flies. Sooner than you expect, you’ll be 30—even 40. Crazy, huh? Be careful and live consciously. Godspeed.

[–]suddenlysnowedinn2 points3 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

It’s shocking just how quickly life starts to move as you age. I can’t imagine how someone would feel at 60. Everything feels like a blur for me now. Another thirty years won’t take long at all at this rate.

Perhaps it’s time to slow down, live more deliberately, and focus on the things that matter. Comparing myself to others has done me no favors to this point. It’d be lunacy to continue on in the same manner.

Like I said before, this was a bit of a gut-wrenching post. But I want to sincerely thank you for it. There aren’t enough people in the world who cut right to the core of an issue instead of focusing on extraneous bullshit.

Time to dig into Meditations and make some hard, life-altering decisions.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (2 children) | Copy Link

Tempus fugit. Time flies. You're living unconsciously, preoccupied with all sorts of things, and suddenly you wake up ten, twenty years down the line, and you think, what the fuck happened?!

Journal day-by-day. Live in the eternity of each moment. Live consciously. Don't let your life fall by you passively. Cut out all the extraneous bullshit and stop lying to yourself.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is fucking golden. Also read Seneca's On the Shortness of Life—great for putting time and mortality into perspective and how to make the most of your life.

Life's too short to care about anything other than what really matters. Nobody actually understands this. But the few people who do are living great lives far and away above mankind.

[–]suddenlysnowedinn1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Out of curiosity, what, in your opinion, really matters?

Thank you for the recommendation with Seneca. It was on my list, but it’s been moved to the top.

[–]BornToExpand2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Loved the post.

Although when you mentioned the sidebar, I went to check to review it a bit and it's gone, I know it's a bit off-topic, but why does it now say "Where is my sidebar?" instead of showing the old one?

[–]DietDonut2 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

After reading this post, I finally asked out the cute girl in my art class I had been sitting next to for the past semester. I got her number and she's down to hang out. Thank you.

[–]Chaddeus_Rex2 points3 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Question OP - I have found in my life that my capacity for work comes in waves. I will start off abiding by the tenents of this article (I have read others like it) but over time as I become tired, my capacity for work wanes until it reaches a low and I am incapable of doing anything other than watching movies, playing video games and going to the gym. Over time I recharge and resume my manic pace. How do I prevent such waxing and waning? How do I be more steady in my capacity? Where does rest figure into what you wrote? Even Seneca pointed out the necessity for rest.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (2 children) | Copy Link

You say you become "tired" over time—that's the one problem. In fact, the opposite should happen.

So let me ask you—do you see definite, visible progress through your work? Do you actually accomplish goals you've set for yourself? Are you working towards no definite end or are you setting micro-routines, establishing habits, and actually progressing forward?

Assuming you are, I agree, we all need time for rest. Seneca's right, we do need time for rest. If you're working yourself to death and over-exerting and over-straining yourself, take a day off a week, or maybe an hour a day, to just relax. Read a book, watch some comedy, drink a beer, whatever. Just relax. But don't waste that time off playing video games or falling back into your addictions. No behavioral addiction is healthy.

But the question is, why are you working so damn hard? Do you really become tired of your work? You shouldn't see what you have to do as "work," but as an opportunity to improve who you are, where you are in the world, and to take yourself to a new level of existence. The moment you classify it aversively as "work," you're immediately making it seem like something you don't want to do.

You have to ask yourself if this "work" you're doing is something you truly desire. What goals do you have? Is your "work" something you're deluding yourself into thinking is useful? Be very careful here.

Granted, if you are truly and genuinely aligned with your real goals and desires in life, we all need rest and time off. But be careful about "working" yourself too hard. Do you really need to take a break from doing what you love, what elevates your life, and makes your existence that much greater?

[–]Chaddeus_Rex0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

So let me ask you—do you see definite, visible progress through your work?

What do you mean by "visible" progress? I am studying for med school and write tests. Eventually I just get sick of writing them.

Are you working towards no definite end or are you setting micro-routines, establishing habits, and actually progressing forward?

I have a definite goal in mind that I have defined for myself. Like I said before, I establish new effective habits and follow them religiously until I get tired and stop following the habits and go back to my previous habits in a cycle. How do i make new habits permanent?

If you're working yourself to death and over-exerting and over-straining yourself,

Normally I will study for 4-6 hours everyday after class and then study the entire day on the weekends. I don't do anything fun (except for watching a movie once a week) the rest of the time.

But the question is, why are you working so damn hard?

Because i imagine that it is necessary for success and cant imagine doing it any differently.

You shouldn't see what you have to do as "work," but as an opportunity to improve who you are, where you are in the world, and to take yourself to a new level of existenc

Can this be said for tests though? Tests can determine or destroy ones future so picturing it any other way than work is not easy.

[–]AnteesAntaas15 points16 points  (7 children) | Copy Link

If reading this post gave you a burst of energy and/or caused a big mood shift, then there is something fundamentally wrong with how you think. Motivation should come from within, no book/article/quote/video/reddit post should be able to get you hyped up. At most it should serve as a reminder.

[–]CloudGuide11 points12 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I disagree. Believing that motivation solely comes from within or the self is wrong. It's anomic individualism. You create and set conditions but you are also conditioned. Books, objects, other entities, etc. should motivate you, and you should make sure you are setting these conditions strategically. Some of the biggest traps come from believing that motivation is all 'within'.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Why does it matter? Some people may have heard this shit for the first time. young men who get raised by women? those kind of men are the ones emerging here.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (4 children) | Copy Link

Well-put. If you continue to depend on short bursts of emotion and your constantly shifting mood to make decisions, you’ll never succeed.

You must fully internalize the ideas here, understand its practicality, and know that despite whatever mood or emotion you may be feeling at the moment, you have to do it.

There’s nothing wrong with feeling a short burst of emotion after reading something like this, but as long as you rely on it, you’re doing it wrong.

[–]TwoOctavesDown1 point2 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Can you gain control of your mood? Or do you power through whatever you feel?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

You should probably read up on what stoicism is and why you need it

[–]pridebrah1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

You can't control feelings from arriving, but you can control your response to them, and that is the key.

"You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair"

Things like Stoicism and even Christianity are founded on the principle of mastering your response to feelings and situations. You are in control. No one can make you mad, sad, defeated etc. Your mind controls it all via your response and your choices.

With that said, also realize that you're a human being and 100% mastery is never going to occur, but you can make massive strides training your mind properly.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Original post was taken down due to harsh title? Butt hurt?

This post is badass, nice one mate. made me rethink my bitchy moods, time to fucking live

[–]bobdenton04512 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

3600 words and only 51 fucks? Weak. Good post though.

[–]kasper1386 points7 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Or just take Adderall like the author clearly did(does).

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I think generally it's called passionate writing.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

This is great stuff. Really makes me want to quit my stable, well-paying but boring job and mix it up. Not sure i appreciated the knock on Fortnite, but I understand the purpose behind it.

[–]Razerer921 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

dude!! this is the best post ive ever read here on TRP. I need to take fuckin action and stop lying to myself that everything is going to change tomorrow. thanks for taking the time to write all this for buffons like me!

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

A lot of guys, including myself, needed to hear this, and I appreciate the "kick in the ass" tone of the post. That said, when it comes to framing how we envision our own transformation, I think it's important to accept our past. I often think of one of my favorite Nietzsche quotes:

To redeem the past and to transform every ‘It was’ into an ‘I willed it thus!’ – that alone I call redemption!

Everything we've done was our decision. Sure, there were external forces-- our environment, our genes, bad parenting, whatever. But we made those choices. All the good things, all the bad things, they are all inevitably intertwined to result in the point where we are today to choose again and again until we're dead.

I see a lot of regret and anger on this sub. Towards women, ourselves, society, whatever. But in the end how we chose to deal with those things is finished and part of ourselves, our history. We can't take out that wasted time and replace it with starting a killer app that made us millions. But there is a kind of resolve in knowing that the choice we didn't make was still what we wanted, and realizing this amplifies our decisions in the future.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

Beautiful Nietzsche quote. Another one of his great ideas is Amor Fati—to love one’s fate. To not wish anything were different in one’s past, present, or future. To embrace all that is life.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

It is one of my favorite ideas because it takes such an incredible strength of character to not only recognize your own flaws but to embrace them as part of reaching your true self.

[–]recursoinominado1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Fucking loved it, exactly what I needed. I am heading to the library to do what the fuck I need to do and was procrastinating.

[–]h6d1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I love this post thanks so much op

[–]a_desert_creature1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Goddamn thank you for this. I needed it badly

[–]crespo_modesto1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

You only get to choose a career once.

This I don't thing is true. People from being non-tech to learning programming and getting much better opportunities.

Yeah I suffer from knowing the path to change and not taking action. Then time passes, why hasn't my life changed? For me it's learning frameworks so I can get hired. Or take on a second job at a shit wage and hopefully be able to buy a car before next winter. Choice of time. If you're actually good you can get hired remotely.

[–]theseeker241 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This is essential side bar material.

[–]AmateurPhotographer1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thank you! This is exactly what I needed to hear today! Motivating me to get off my ass and stop telling myself its okay that I am being lazy because I am great. No, I will be great if I get out there and do shit! Much appreciated man!

[–]MasochisticFool1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Great post, a good reminder to stop burying myself in self help stuff and actually put what i learn into practice

[–]delayedufo 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

Two weeks ago I was watching a very anticipated show with my friends, we smoked a joint together like we do on most weekends.

All the time I can pretend I feel fine, but when I'm high, if I'm not absolutely okay with myself, I don't have a good time, actually quite the opposite, I start hearing that voice in my head telling me why the fuck I skipped gym on Friday, or why I spend so much time gaming instead of studying, or why instead of improving my game I stay in my comfort zone.

That day I realized how I was fucking up my life, in that inebriated state I finally realized I needed to do something right away.

Next day, reflecting on how bad I felt and thinking how I can make that big step to change my life, I sold my expensive gaming computer and invested the money it right away, while buying a cheap ebook.

Gaming for me was a big, if not the biggest distraction, and now it's gone, I've replaced it with reading.

Right now I'm getting back on track thanks to that, I found reading to be a great and addictive hobby that also clears my mind.

Now I'm focusing more on my career, my studies, and lifting, which was and is the cornerstone of my improvement.

As an addendum, when I met the buyer of my computer, he was basically me before stumbling with this place 4 years ago, a guy struggling to make eye contact, with terrible social skills, no grooming, in poor shape and with a bad posture, spending hour after hour in an endless loophole. It was like passing the curse.

And by no means I intend to promote the use of weed because of this experience, since weed itself is also a big waste of time. And for that, even if I'm a light user, reducing it's use to certain social meetings only is now part of my goal.

It's odd, weed making me smoke less, it reminds me where I found The Red Pill in the first place, in 4chan, one of the biggest cesspools of porn and degeneracy on the internet.

Great post.

[–]ArielBro1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Probably half of the people who read it will still do nothing and keep reading posts

just lol

[–]Huertthescholastic1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This deserves much more attention. Great article, so many important and strong points.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I’m printing this post out and reading it everyday when I wake up.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I feel like this was written about me. I'll let this be the last feel-good article I read until real action is taken.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

It continues to astound me how wildly talented a surprising majority of people are at not taking effective action.

P.S. OP: should you really be writing this article or actually doing what you've been postponing by writing it??

P.P.S. Note to self: should I even be posting this reply to begin with or am I stalling as well SHIT???!

[–]cwarfox1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

The reality in this post is exceptionally accurate. Thanks for the post.

[–]Perceval71 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thank you. I was needing this. Saving this post, should I need it again. I even sent it to a friend, hope he reads it. This is the kind of thing that everyone needs to read, at least sometimes! Well, at least I already overcame porn (been doing nofap for some months now), but I am capable of so much more than I do!

After this, I'll probably be out of Reddit for today...

[–]pridebrah1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Amazing post that should be taken in, dwelled on, and re-read repeatedly in the midst of taking consistent action.

[–]ADeadDawg1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I Lol'd at sleeping on the floor.. One Blanket, One pillow, One life to live!

[–]Perceval71 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

So, it's been a while since my other comment... Just thought I'd update and say that almost immediately after reading this I had a big energy peak, like I haven't had in months. I have to vent it with some music, while I sat down, writing a list of objectives for the next month. I doubt I'll complete them all, but it's doable and now I can easily look at them whenever I need. Although I had been advised more than once to do something like this, this is actually the first time I actually did. I've had enough.

I also made a gym schedule for every morning of the week! I'm seriously thinking of going back! (I quit it a while ago, after I started doing historical fencing.) I probably won't be able to go every day, at least in the beginning, but now I have no excuse.

Well, saying this, I'm off to take my first cold ahower in a while, and then I'm going to study.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

It's a first step nonetheless. Well-done.

Fully internalize the ideas here and be careful not to superficially motivate yourself through "emotional" means. Emotions and energy can be extremely beneficial at times if used correctly, but by no means should it be the catalyst for action.

Meditate on these concepts. Think about them every second of the day. And don't let up. Good luck.

[–]Perceval70 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Emotions and energy can be extremely beneficial at times if used correctly, but by no means should it be the catalyst for action.

I know. Because you will inevitably feel down and tired sometimes, and then, I won't take action, if I let rhem be the only things pushing me forward...

Meditate

Well, that's one more thing to add to the list: regular meditation. I almost forgot! This will definitely help me manage my emotions.

Thank you for the advice :)

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Everything applies to me, I am moving into a better situation today and plan on using the change of location to better myself.

[–]StonedFoxx931 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I really needed this!! I'm struggling with exactly all of this. Been thinking about these things and want to make a change.

Appreciate you!

[–]Nickbarc1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Dude.. I had only heard bad things about this thread and came to check it out.. and this fucked me up. I felt like someone was calling me out on my bullshit that I hide from everyone but myself.

I'm about to turn 34 and went back to school a few years ago, I go to Harvard for economics and you'd think I've got a plan? I dont, I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm racking up debt with no idea what I actually wanna do and I procrastinate all day and tell myself I can't make a change because I work full time and go to school full time but deep down I know I'm being a piece of shit.

Man idk i feel sick about reading this because I feel exposed.

[–]Science4Lawlz1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Bravo! I needed to see this, it gives me a chance to redirect my actions and be more focused. Thank you sir.

[–]Haaaj11 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Woah I need to put my phone down and clean my room

[–]beasy07152 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

One of the greatest post I’ve ever seen !

[–]celloist1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Nice, hecking good post man! Was hoping to see you post again( hope the automod does not take it down this time)

[–]moltenw1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

I'm improving, and trying to change my self to something I never was, which is awesome.

That said, is it bad that I don't really have a fear of death? Like, it's just something that'll happen and there's no point worrying about it since you can't escape it.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

No, you don’t have to fear death. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. But by affirming life, death and mortality in itself is aversive. As long as you truly understand the value of your own existence and the miracle by which you are still living, you’re gold.

[–]moltenw0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

As long as you truly understand the value of your own existence and the miracle by which you are still living, you’re gold.

Trying to get there. Hope it comes with time. I'm only 19 but I'm already seeing improvement.

Good day to you, my guy.

[–]redisthetruth0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Excellent post.

I find most of us need to stop thinking so much and analyzing.

Just do it.

[–]LoneWolf15570 points1 point  (3 children) | Copy Link

Do you have any advice to offer on lacking motivation in the gym? I've been going for 10 weeks but motivation and progress are staring to fade

[–]DetectiveJohnKimbel0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Start doing as many reps as you possibly can on every exercise, or change up your routine to make every workout different. Just know you are still making progress every day even if it isn’t showing directly

[–]youngchappa 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

If I train hard for 10 weeks I see results. Like train 4-5 times per week with diet on point. That's enough motivation for me to keep going - results.

And on the daily I feel better from the dopamine release, so that's a bonus.

But 10 weeks is also nothing. You will see huge results from 6 months to a year if you train and diet hard.

[–]LoneWolf15570 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

2 days after psoting thus I started seeing results again they just stopped for a little while

[–]Oppressions0 points1 point  (6 children) | Copy Link

What if your lack of action is existential. What if you don't see a point to anything? I'm not talking general depression but a real inability to see any purpose in anything a person could possibly do, think, or feel. Being unable to distract oneself from the void with a "mission" can be a bitch especially when you've completed most of the things that were meant to fulfill you.

[–]5arge0 points1 point  (5 children) | Copy Link

What if you don't see a point to anything? I'm not talking general depression but a real inability to see any purpose in anything a person could possibly do, think, or feel.

That is, in fact, general depression.

[–]Oppressions0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

It's really not, but if you insist then what is the solution in your opinion? Meds and therapy?

[–]5arge0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

It is. You are in denial. My suggestion: stop being in denial and face your issues.

[–]Oppressions0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

That's the problem though, I don't really have any issues except for not seeing a point to any and everything we can possibly do. Everything on the checklist for a meaningful life is checked off yet I still don't "get it".

[–]PlumbumGus0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

Thanks Dr.5arge, where did you go to med school again and how well do you know your patient, I'm just asking because you seem like such an expert. Please continue to enlighten the world, you magnificent specimen of male virility.

Big fat /s if it wasn't obvious.

[–]5arge0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

As your doctor, I would suggest that you take your meds.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

This post in 3-minute video form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Vp7fTgQ3g

[–]pilipinonguci110 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

Check out grant cardone. Similar thought process to you

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

Another commenter said that I sounded like Grant Cardone. Do you mind elaborating on why you say we have similar thought processes?

[–]pilipinonguci110 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Grant Cardone is a salesman with a lot of followers on Youtube, and he provides a lot of motivational videos and training videos for salespeople. He pretty much says exactly what you say. "Take massive action" is a phrase that he uses pretty often in his books. Another phrase he uses often is "if you're not first you're last" and "be obsessed or be average".

He advocates for taking action, even if you're not sure of what action to take, because a lot of action is better than no action at all.

Just thought both of you had a similar thought process and maybe you were inspired by his videos or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JVi3q71ScI

Here's a video of his where he talks about taking massive action

[–]dontbethatguynow 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

So if you're disciplined does that mean you don't need motivation, since it is implied?

[–]thestarboyy0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

come on man you cant say " You are reading self help and saying BS Affirmations"

And then say this "Write down your fucking goals"

Its basically the same thing. Please dont downplay the power of your mind

[–]midgetpooooo0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Yeah, you can still do all that and not get what you want. I'm trying to land my first job, but reaching out to people and applying for hundreds of places, and hearing back from a few, and then not getting those, and repeating this for months isn't exactly uplifting. It's still luck. I'm making my own luck by actually applying and reaching out, but it's all just waiting to hear back from the universe at that point, nothing within my control.

[–]ThrowsSharksAtBirds0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

The Procrastination paragraph hit me very hard below the belt because it is true. Yet somehow most of the people, including myself keep doing it. Example: had to study for a certification exam, took me two attempts to pass. The first time I didn't take it serious or lacked the will to learn: "Got plenty of time, I will manage it. Will study tomorrow." No surprise to say that I failed the exam. And failed it quite hard. Second attempt I fired afterburners from the start and kept them on until the end. Stopped any time-wasting activities and setup a learning schedule as if it was high school again. Focussed on one thing: Pass it. Be obsessed with the success I need to achieve. And with the second attempt I passed it with a very good score.

[–]clavabot0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

You wrote out my life story word for word. A deep rooted desire to avoid the fear of failure, and so you engage in self-sabotage. All these feeling of low self work 'you don't deserve it' etc I need to break them all down.

Thanks Don

Thank you so much Anon

RemindMe! 8 hours "Never Forget"

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

The irony is most people will read this, nod their heads, tell themselves how true it is, get pumped up for an hour, and then return to their hazy, dazed, subpar existences, and then repeat this cycle ad nauseam.

[–]Jack92010 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

This was the gift I was looking for

[–]ImportantMechanic-5 points-4 points  (5 children) | Copy Link

The actual twist of your post would be that, given that you know the type of people you wrote it for, their issue isn't that they're not writing down their goals or have no accountability buddy. They do, but they misinterpret low effort with actual effort needed.

It's like me confusing "walk to the sack of flour" with "carry the sack of flour uphill" and instead just stand there.

If they haven't taken action until now odds are they'll never will be. And much like the downvoted comment here will be lost as just another generic shitter number 14545623 or whatever, who consider themselves "smart", "capable" and "enough" and just blame life for being born poor/black/short or whatever, until the end of their lives. Not everyone's meant to be a winner.

Ironically your post is the type of masturbation you condemn but okay. Keep pasting those "famous people quotes" and see if anyone will change. I'll be getting pop-corn.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

What did you accomplish today?

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

super shitty reply on a post that was genuinely helpful

[–]dimmy6662 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Sure, 99.9% of people reading this post who needed to read it won't take action.

It's likely that the author is just glad to help the 0.01%.

[–]subthrowaway321-1 points0 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Ok, Grant Cardone. If anyone cares, this is basically a copy and paste from one of his books. He's a real estate guy and has sales training programs he sells. One of his catch phrases is, take massive action. I believe it was in his book called 10x. Which, basically says, if you want to be successful, take massive action and do whatever you're doing, and multiply it by ten. So, if you are in sales and normally write ten emails a day. You will want to shoot for 100 emails a day. Even if you don't hit your goal, you will be a lot further along simply by taking that much action.

Sell or be sold my friends!

[–]PlumbumGus-1 points0 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

You claim that people are sheep and easily indoctrinated by "Society", well what the hell are you doing here? Because if this article isn't indoctrination into a hostile sort of "Society" then I don't know what is. Alienation and isolation are common traits of a macroscopic civilized society, by reacting to that alienation with downright sexism it only exacerbates the problem. It's ok to be alienated, it's ok to be isolated, just keep busy, create something, create leviathians- don't fall down a hole of self victimization. You'd be surprised how naturally people come to be attracted (not just women, people) to you when you offer something other than despair and victimization.

[–]xRedStaRx-1 points0 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

I stopped reading after Fear of Failure.

You're getting contradictory. I appreciated the philosophy of the vice of self-improvement, then you go ahead and do what every youtube motivation video does. Not that temporary motivation is bad per se, people turmed around their lives before by subtle influences, but the former was getting onto something different, beyond the scope of the usual dopamine treadmill most successful people feed on. Success is subjective, arguably, but I would infer it as the capacity, and ability, to fully express oneself, even for a serial killer doing what he loves most with passion and intricacy.

Also, let us not cross the fine border between TRP school of thought and neuroscience, as difficult as it is with regards to seperatimg neuroscience from anything admittedly, for we quickly sink away from free will and slant towards determinism. We can only address the issue through maximizing one's physical and mental health.

[–]1dondraper 1 points [recovered]  (2 children) | Copy Link

The whole post contains practical, actionable advice (especially the latter half), and you seem to have again fallen for society's definition of "motivation." Go ahead and read the whole post again before commenting.

On another note, I am crossing no border. I am simply stating facts. There is no implication about free will and determinism here.

[–]xRedStaRx0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

Practical, actionable advice is the problem. Then you haven't caught up on what I said earlier. I have not fallen for society's definition of motivation. Motivation is the most basic human drive required to survive whether triggered through punishment or reward. Survival here generally follows a hierarchy of needs, beginning with food, sex, validation, and pain. You do not need motivation, nor the completion of your hierarchy to be successful or content. It is simply a measure of purpose, one that is not needed, but intrinsically desired, sometimes to pathological levels. Notice that I use wants and needs interchangeably, for they fall on a spectrum and very much relative.

You are most certainly crossing that border with learned helplessness.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Why are you guys having a discussion on the internet instead of taking action RIGHT NOW?:)

[–]Smidest 1 points [recovered]  (1 child) | Copy Link

How much time did you waste writing all that bullshit

You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.

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