Thread by @prerationalist

the optimal amount of self-coercion is zero 😊

but what if you have something you "really need to do"?

there might be a way forward that doesn't involve "forcing" or "tricking" or "willpower" or "self-incentives"

here are some (non-coercive) ideas to get un-stuck:

1/

surrender & see

just REALLY committing to "I won't do it unless I wholeheartedly want to"

this doesn't always work, but often for me (more often than I thought!) the resistance immediately disappears after this promise

if it doesn't work immediately, try some more things:

2/

imagine yourself doing the thing in detail, to convince your gut it is indeed possible!

(sometimes gut thinks something is impossible when it actually is possible. but other times gut is RIGHT, so try to *convince* it like this, instead of *coercing* it)

3/

imagine having already done the thing & the benefits you would get, to convince your gut this is a worthy task!

(sometimes gut is not convinced something is really important b/c some indirection. but again, sometimes gut is RIGHT that it's unimportant, so convince > coerce)

4/

embrace your fear!

instead of *burying* the part of you that is afraid, keep it at your right hand. "these instincts are important for keeping us safe—thank you for your service!"

success here is when your gut is still _afraid_, but no longer RESISTING the task

5/

build self-trust

this one is long-term, but if you consistently don't coerce action when your gut disagrees, it can grow to *trust* your "executive function voice" and may *voluntarily* agree to do things it would normally resist (b/c it *trusts* you to "know better")