It’s all about "survivalism".
We all try to make conscious decisions based on the amount
of knowledge that we have on the current world. Whether religious reaction, an
atheist reaction, a fear-based reaction, a compassionate reaction, we are all
trying to make the best decision to survive or thrive. Generally, it boils down
to; how can this decision (or lack of)
will hurt us the less in the short term? The cumulative short term decisions
that we make every day then equate what we were able to achieve.
Few people amongst us are able to ignore short term pains
and simply move along without regard of the complications. They just move
forward. These people are either wonderfully accomplished humans or
psychopaths. You can easily recognize them. They create new exciting content
every day. They have lives stamped with their names only – no one else’s. They
see opportunities beyond most and are able to bet on it. In short, they crush
it.
My theory is that they depend on those daily actions to
move forward.
Here is a question; Can
we use "survivalism" to improve our current life?
Situation: For example, an unmotivated person who lives in a
comfortable manner without much effort. There is no short-term motivation for
him to actually make any considerable effort to advance in life. That person
has a lot of potential to achieve great things. He knows that he is not working
hard enough and wants to do more but lacks the fire.
Hypothesis: We are capable of motivating someone to do more by psychologically
linking his survival with the development of an ambitious project. Through
mental conditioning, redirecting short-term thinking to what will happen if no
effort is done immediately; we can create a mental environment that would force
him to start creating.
The problem that I see here is, is
the induced motivation internal or external? This is important since we know
that internal motivation is a much more powerful tool than relying on outside
forces to achieve something. Does the motivation rely on the fear of nothing
happening and losing this secure setting or it is based on self-achievement?
Fear is a poor servant. Valuing "the self" is a better yardstick. But
it cannot be that bad. I really think that these wonderful people that are "crushing
it" need to use "survivalism" to get things done though not at a
superficial level but as something completely ingrained from potentially frequent
negative reinforcements (i.e. being in a difficult life position, poverty, being
told young that you will amount to nothing and contradicting the establishment,
etc…)
What about the rest of us? I do
not have a clear answer if ever there is one. What I immediately think for a
solution to help us use survivalism as a tool, is to frequently reflect (intrinsic)
on the idea of failure if no action is done.
"What you see is what you get" so making reminders (external) of those potential painful moments and you will most likely avoid them.
"What you see is what you get" so making reminders (external) of those potential painful moments and you will most likely avoid them.
But that is just a theory.
