Cannot Progress Past a Certain Point

[Perry]

It feels weird posting since I usually just lurk, but I really needed some insight/help on how to deal with this problem I've been having.

Basically I'll wake up one day and be productive. I will get chores done, try and be social/friendly with random people when I'm out, do some sort of workout, etc. The next day or 2 days will be the same, productive. However, after a few days or so I will wake up and not have the same motivation I had the previous days. Its like my brain just wants me to stop doing stuff and makes me lazy for the week or next few weeks and all the progress I made building confidence, staying fit, and be motivated is now gone. Now I'm back to square one. For the record, most days I'm usually a mix between motivated and unmotivated.

I will also get really, really into an activity for a week or so and then I will just stop doing it even if I enjoyed it or know it's good for me. For example, Ill be really into reading books for a week and then Ill just stop cold turkey for a few months. Or I will stretch every night for a week and then just stop.

I know its all based on my thoughts, but I don't know how to control them so that I can wake up and be productive and improve myself day after day after day without stopping. Its like after a certain amount of time, I revert to my old ways of not trying to improve. And no its not masturbation. I've have gone months before without masturbation (had sex though) and still have had this problem. I'm just to the point now where I'm out of ideas about what I should do.

 

[Gaucho]

You sound lazy and spoilt.

Toughen up.

Most people don't feel like going to their jobs a lot of days including those who 'love what they do. Nor athletes feel like training, no matter how much you love it, you have these days often! What do you do? You get up, put one foot infront of the other, and do it! The more of a routine you set, the easier it becomes, but you still have many of 'those' days and you just have to keep pushing on!

 

[r0cky]

When you dont control your thoughts, your thoughts end up controlling you. This is common with people nowadays because of many reasons, all of them associated with the advent of technology whcih provides instant gratification and discourages long term goals. The only way to solve this is by learning to control your thoughts, which is done by practicing meditation.
Try this. On the first day meditate 3 times. morning afternoon and night. Second day meditate 2 times. Then the rest of the days mediate once. Then every week choose one day to meditate twice. This is what I do.

 

[Gaucho]

Yes, meditation is brilliant, but takes a long time to master, just like anything else. Unfortunately, if your problem is sticking to anything, you will probably be useless at learning to meditate!

Rocky, you also make a good point about technology. It has come along way too fast for the human brain recently. People still have the brains of those 100 years ago when we were travelling around in horse and cart, yet now we are living in this fast paced, virtual world. At least those in the big cities are. Your brain is just overloaded with information and it has not evolved to this point yet. Society IMHO, has got way too far ahead of itself with mass production and marketing of technology and the mental illness out there is a product of this and it is only getting worse!

 

[Alle_Gory]

Maybe you have ADD and can't focus on something for a long time. Try changing your diet around, for a severe condition then seek medical help from a doctor.

Or it could be as simple as you're not rewarding yourself enough after. Do some work, take a rest doing something you like. Repeat until the work becomes a habit.

 

[Perry]

Gaucho - Thanks. I needed to hear that.

Rocky - I agree with you about the technology issue. Thats something that I have noticed for awhile now and can see many people around me with the same problems that you are talking about. I never really thought that I was one of those people until now. Today I had a productive day. I did not touch the computer today until about 5 minutes ago. I am gonna try and not d1ck around on the computer for hours doing pointless stuff and see how it affects my mood. I will start the meditation tomorrow. What exactly do you think about during meditation and how long do you do it for?

Alle_Gory - I've never thought of myself having ADD before. I just have a hard time sticking to good habits. I eat pretty clean (little to no processed food, I eat the rainbow of fruits and veggies and consume good protein sources). I actually have a reward system set in place. Today I had to pick fruit and clean up some shrubbery in the front yard. I told myself after I do those chores I can reward myself with some oranges.

 

[r0cky]

Gaucho - Thanks. I needed to hear that.

Rocky - I agree with you about the technology issue. Thats something that I have noticed for awhile now and can see many people around me with the same problems that you are talking about. I never really thought that I was one of those people until now. Today I had a productive day. I did not touch the computer today until about 5 minutes ago. I am gonna try and not d1ck around on the computer for hours doing pointless stuff and see how it affects my mood. I will start the meditation tomorrow. What exactly do you think about during meditation and how long do you do it for?

Alle_Gory - I've never thought of myself having ADD before. I just have a hard time sticking to good habits. I eat pretty clean (little to no processed food, I eat the rainbow of fruits and veggies and consume good protein sources). I actually have a reward system set in place. Today I had to pick fruit and clean up some shrubbery in the front yard. I told myself after I do those chores I can reward myself with some oranges.

During meditation my mind has no thoughts. All that you should focus is on your breath. At first, your mind will stop focusing on your breath and will drift into thinking, just become aware of your thoughts and go back to focusing on the breathing. Here is what I do, I count each breath I take starting from 100 backwards to 0, taking a really deep breath every 10 breaths. Once i get to 0, start again counting backwards from 30. When you're done just stay there for a few minutes. Being aware of your breathing. If you start thinking just become aware of your thoughts by saying to yourself in your mind "a thought" and go back to focusing on your breath.

You can also look up youtube videos on how to meditate for other forms of meditation.