Go Hack Yourself

Conjure motivation and enthusiasm from apathy. Quick tricks to short circuit mental barriers of slack and hunger.

Observe the Illusory Nature of Resistance

We all share moments where we can’t jumpstart our bodies and minds to action. This morning I was struck with powerful urge to just “sit” after waking up. Instead of pursuing desired activities (writing, walking, then coding), I could feel the pull to take a nap, or stare at the empty living room and space out.

I’m a huge fan of a well earned siesta, but for crying out loud, it was 8am and I’d only been up a couple of hours. As I sat frozen on the couch I put all of my attention on the source of slack. Do you know what I perceived?

Nothing.

It was a beautiful emptiness.
No ambition, no hunger, no desire.
Just blissful calm.

But the slack had no identifiable boundaries. There was literally nothing I could relate to the apathy, so I got up and moved. Without a foundation or connection to the rest of self, apathy has such a weak gravity. It’s little surprise that there’s nothing behind the curtain of slack. Maybe one day, when I have conquered the urgency of value chasing, I’ll return to visit the beautiful emptiness. I might learn something from such a restful state.

Hunger

Here’s one beast that anyone who over eats, or has addictions can relate to. This is above and beyond normal hunger associated with requiring sustenance. The nature of Hunger is endless. No matter how much we consume, the hunger returns a few hours later. The cravings for food, entertainment, information, or attention all fall into the category of this inexhaustible Hunger.

In my short time on Earth I’ve lived with a mighty Hunger for food and Thirst for beverages. Never satisfied, I construct massive iced coffees to feed my caffeine Hunger. Years ago I drank too much (booze), and blazed through almost a decade of smoking sweet clove cigarettes.

The nature of craving a desired substance is another illusory state of mind. Focus your will and attention well and you will recognize the disconnect between the Hunger and self. We are not our Hunger.

We chase a desired substance because of a future imagined state of satisfaction. Looking further, you can see that the future satisfaction erodes and is replaced by Hunger once again. The satisfaction isn’t real or lasting. The desired satisfaction state is over exagerated by our predictive mind. It’s just another illusion. The truth is that most forms of Hunger are merely distractions.

Disclaimer: this fortune cookie wisdom brought to you by a gentleman who just downed a big iced coffee and an egg sandwich :)

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  • http://lmframework.com/blog/about David Semeria

    Nice post Mark. Generally, when I have moments like this I just check my bank account online, and that generally does the trick!

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks Dave! Financial motivation to create and move is most effective. I'm a creature of comforts, and do so enjoy a cumfy home and snacks. I've been blessed with so much already, and good ole Hunger just keeps me looking for more value opportunities to draw my attention.

    I was just thinking about LM today while out walking. I was mentally constructing a personalized web layout browser where any user can visually customize how they view web sites or even create their own aggregates with optimal filters.

    Yeah I know I'm dreaming, but my instinct is the static state of “this is how you will view my web information” will become a thing of the past as each user becomes the master of their own view.

    Tools like LM Framework can help make that a reality.

  • http://lmframework.com/blog/about David Semeria

    Thanks for the shout Mark :)

    In the future, users will have a lot more control over what they see, and how it's laid out. The idea isn't at all radical – just think about Microsoft Excel, for example.

    One of the most interesting upshots of user-controlled layouts is wondering where the banner ads will go…..

  • http://lmframework.com/blog/about David Semeria

    Nice post Mark. Generally, when I have moments like this I just check my bank account online, and that generally does the trick!

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks Dave! Financial motivation to create and move is most effective. I'm a creature of comforts, and do so enjoy a cumfy home and snacks. I've been blessed with so much already, and good ole Hunger just keeps me looking for more value opportunities to draw my attention.

    I was just thinking about LM today while out walking. I was mentally constructing a personalized web layout browser where any user can visually customize how they view web sites or even create their own aggregates with optimal filters.

    Yeah I know I'm dreaming, but my instinct is the static state of “this is how you will view my web information” will become a thing of the past as each user becomes the master of their own view.

    Tools like LM Framework can help make that a reality.

  • http://lmframework.com/blog/about David Semeria

    Thanks for the shout Mark :)

    In the future, users will have a lot more control over what they see, and how it's laid out. The idea isn't at all radical – just think about Microsoft Excel, for example.

    One of the most interesting upshots of user-controlled layouts is wondering where the banner ads will go…..

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