Great post! Thank you for your wonderful posts.Like you I’ve wasted many good hours on self help and yes action is the language of Gods. But there is also a deeper question we need to ask of ourselves when seeking change. That is why do I want to change and who is the old self and what do I want the new self to be! We need deeper excavations that make us commit to change.
Quite easily the most humbling article (this along with the first one) I’ve ever read, and highlights perfectly the cycle I’ve been stuck in the last 2 years. Thank you thank you thank you
I felt a little attacked and dismissed for no reason in this article. I guess I understand that this article is meant for the people that did nothing with all of the information conveyed but I think it might’ve been nice to acknowledge or encourage those who did in fact change(for more than 2 days). Although I guess encouraging us would discourage us by rewarding us before we actually achieved anything we are working towards….anyways…In the last few articles you posted, you said many things that literally did change my life. For example, I finally understood why my brain wouldn’t change when I told myself daily mantras. I didn’t understand the purpose of telling myself “I am a productive person” if it literally didn’t change anything. But your articles made something click in my head that made me do things. It helped me reduce my screen time from 7 to 2 hours (still working on decreasing more). And maybe I’ll stop in a week…or maybe I won’t because all of these changes have immensely improved my lifestyle. I guess I was just mad this article pointed fingers at me as if I hadn’t done any progress, I found it very hard to ignore it and continue reading. But at the same time I wanted to experience that discomfort, to know that there are still things I’m holding off on improving or changing. I guess in the end I just wanted to let you know that the small percentage of us who actually changed upon reading those articles exist!! It’s been hard!!
For years now, I've usually gotten stuck in the thinking cycle, and when I finally made it out —it was just to get stuck in the planning cycle. The few times I made it out of the planning cycle and actually made it to the acting cycle, I usually give up a month in. I'm glad I found this Substack post, can't wait to see how this turns out in real life.
This is a a wonderful piece. I’m new to Substack and this is the first thing I’ve read. I came here thinking “this HAS to be better than doomscrolling TikTok or Instagram.” Albeit - my content appetite is still the same across all platforms and I constantly consume productivity, fitness and self improvement content. I typically pride myself in this.
This was a hard talking to I needed and I’m glad it’s my 1st read. It brought up all kinds of emotions, especially the thought process..”well should I just delete everything?” It made me ponder on my actual consumption to execution ratio. The truth is.. I did change and the content was helpful but it only changed when I decided today, the next day and the day after that I am doing the thing. The motivation can be golden for moving forward but it didn’t change me - I did and that’s something to truly be proud of.
And you're exactly right. The dopamine spike of "I'll start tomorrow" is very real, and very dangerous.
When we think “I’ll start tomorrow,” the reward (new identity, better health) is in the future and discounted, but the effort is discounted even more.
That imbalance creates a nice, soothing spike that resolves the inner conflict: Tomorrow, I will.
But when the alarm actually goes off, the reward is still in the future and the bill of effort is now due. There is no way for a spike to occur.
You can’t generate a “tomorrow” spike in the present because dopamine can’t motivate an action until the action itself provides evidence.
The only way through is a bit of willpower at first... enough to give the brain receipts. With repetition, dopamine shifts backward and motivation becomes built in.
This is the point at which you feel energised when your alarm goes off, and the secret to all those successful individuals who seem to have so much motivation.
I’ve actually consumed a lot of motivation/ self improvement contents and felt confused anyway, like I didn’t get the whole picture but your post is brutally honest, raw and straight forward. Thank you for posting.
I started reading your articles this year after seeing someone taking about “The forbidden Knowledge about how Brian actually works”, and I must say that have been the one of the best things that I did this year.
(English isn’t my mother language, so I apologize if any language mistake appears)
I just wanted to say that I’ve been in love with everything related to the brain and neuroscience for a long time, and your articles are being incredibly helpful to understand,but also to learn about it. The article - specifically- explained a lot about what I’ve been doing in all my vacation time. Planning, watching videos, reading…but no productivity at all. And as a consequence it’s making me think about what I can change now.
So honestly I just wanted for you to know how helpful you’re with your writing and thanks for writing about a theme ( the brain) that can be hard to understand, but you make it easier to do it. Thanks.
This piece turned the light on in a cold room. You perfectly captured the trap of the illusion of progress, where planning feels like work but is actually just a hiding place. Rare to find writing that doesn't just describe the problem but actually lights the fire to fix it. Powerful work.
I usually get stuck in the “planning” cycle and don’t end up acting because I already got all the dopamine. Thank you for explaining it so clearly!
Alright, time to get off the app and actually do the thing I said I’d do today (this time acting, not planning the action). Thanks for the reminder!
Great post! Thank you for your wonderful posts.Like you I’ve wasted many good hours on self help and yes action is the language of Gods. But there is also a deeper question we need to ask of ourselves when seeking change. That is why do I want to change and who is the old self and what do I want the new self to be! We need deeper excavations that make us commit to change.
Quite easily the most humbling article (this along with the first one) I’ve ever read, and highlights perfectly the cycle I’ve been stuck in the last 2 years. Thank you thank you thank you
Unfortunately, life involves many periods of doing things you don't want to do. That's where satisfaction is born. Got to get it done.
I felt a little attacked and dismissed for no reason in this article. I guess I understand that this article is meant for the people that did nothing with all of the information conveyed but I think it might’ve been nice to acknowledge or encourage those who did in fact change(for more than 2 days). Although I guess encouraging us would discourage us by rewarding us before we actually achieved anything we are working towards….anyways…In the last few articles you posted, you said many things that literally did change my life. For example, I finally understood why my brain wouldn’t change when I told myself daily mantras. I didn’t understand the purpose of telling myself “I am a productive person” if it literally didn’t change anything. But your articles made something click in my head that made me do things. It helped me reduce my screen time from 7 to 2 hours (still working on decreasing more). And maybe I’ll stop in a week…or maybe I won’t because all of these changes have immensely improved my lifestyle. I guess I was just mad this article pointed fingers at me as if I hadn’t done any progress, I found it very hard to ignore it and continue reading. But at the same time I wanted to experience that discomfort, to know that there are still things I’m holding off on improving or changing. I guess in the end I just wanted to let you know that the small percentage of us who actually changed upon reading those articles exist!! It’s been hard!!
For years now, I've usually gotten stuck in the thinking cycle, and when I finally made it out —it was just to get stuck in the planning cycle. The few times I made it out of the planning cycle and actually made it to the acting cycle, I usually give up a month in. I'm glad I found this Substack post, can't wait to see how this turns out in real life.
This is a a wonderful piece. I’m new to Substack and this is the first thing I’ve read. I came here thinking “this HAS to be better than doomscrolling TikTok or Instagram.” Albeit - my content appetite is still the same across all platforms and I constantly consume productivity, fitness and self improvement content. I typically pride myself in this.
This was a hard talking to I needed and I’m glad it’s my 1st read. It brought up all kinds of emotions, especially the thought process..”well should I just delete everything?” It made me ponder on my actual consumption to execution ratio. The truth is.. I did change and the content was helpful but it only changed when I decided today, the next day and the day after that I am doing the thing. The motivation can be golden for moving forward but it didn’t change me - I did and that’s something to truly be proud of.
Great article.
And you're exactly right. The dopamine spike of "I'll start tomorrow" is very real, and very dangerous.
When we think “I’ll start tomorrow,” the reward (new identity, better health) is in the future and discounted, but the effort is discounted even more.
That imbalance creates a nice, soothing spike that resolves the inner conflict: Tomorrow, I will.
But when the alarm actually goes off, the reward is still in the future and the bill of effort is now due. There is no way for a spike to occur.
You can’t generate a “tomorrow” spike in the present because dopamine can’t motivate an action until the action itself provides evidence.
The only way through is a bit of willpower at first... enough to give the brain receipts. With repetition, dopamine shifts backward and motivation becomes built in.
This is the point at which you feel energised when your alarm goes off, and the secret to all those successful individuals who seem to have so much motivation.
They weren't born with it. They cultivated it.
very well said
How's this not viral is beyond me.
You are writing love letter to us. Thank you for your love <3
I’ve actually consumed a lot of motivation/ self improvement contents and felt confused anyway, like I didn’t get the whole picture but your post is brutally honest, raw and straight forward. Thank you for posting.
U fucking nailed it!
This article described me perfectly..
Hey Ixcarus !
I started reading your articles this year after seeing someone taking about “The forbidden Knowledge about how Brian actually works”, and I must say that have been the one of the best things that I did this year.
(English isn’t my mother language, so I apologize if any language mistake appears)
I just wanted to say that I’ve been in love with everything related to the brain and neuroscience for a long time, and your articles are being incredibly helpful to understand,but also to learn about it. The article - specifically- explained a lot about what I’ve been doing in all my vacation time. Planning, watching videos, reading…but no productivity at all. And as a consequence it’s making me think about what I can change now.
So honestly I just wanted for you to know how helpful you’re with your writing and thanks for writing about a theme ( the brain) that can be hard to understand, but you make it easier to do it. Thanks.
This piece turned the light on in a cold room. You perfectly captured the trap of the illusion of progress, where planning feels like work but is actually just a hiding place. Rare to find writing that doesn't just describe the problem but actually lights the fire to fix it. Powerful work.
The self-identity loves thinking in progress. Now you don’t have to show up in your messy life now as it is.