Thread by @Shane___Martin

What if you could control your motivation?

Let’s talk about Mimesis.

What is it and how can we leverage it to reach our goals & accelerate our success.

Thread 👇

Memesis is a concept coined by French philosopher René Girard & popularized in the book ‘Wanting’ by Luke Burgis.

In this thread we’ll…

1. Break down the core concepts behind mimesis

2. Explain how it can help us build more lasting motivation

But first, a disclaimer.

This is not a book about how to be more productive.

And I can’t entirely say that the author would agree with the application I’m proposing in this thread.

None the less, I couldn’t help but think about how these ideas might contribute to those of us looking to accomplish more.

That said, I highly recommend you read the book and draw your own insights.

Okay, let’s get into it

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As entrepreneurs, we know motivation is vital for achieving our goals.

With it, our journey feels almost seamless.

Without?

Better buckle up for a bumpy ride.

The truth is, motivation can be tricky to find (and even harder to keep).

But, if we understand how mimesis influences our deepest desires, our motivation may be more manageable than we think.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this thread:

⁃The Origin of Desire
⁃Needs v. Wants
⁃Imitation & Modeling
⁃Mimetic Rivalry
⁃Positive Flywheel Effect
⁃Mimesis & Motivation

1: Origin of Desire

Why do we want what we want?

Well, it turns out that most of our desires actually don’t come from within us at all.

They’re not generated magically out of thin air.

They’re not even entirely our own.

According to Gerard, our wants are actually shaped through our relationships with other people.

Through mimicry and imitation, our desires are designed from the outside in.

To grasp this, consider the difference between needs and wants.

2. Needs v Wants

Needs appear automatically.

If you’re drowning in a pool, it’s immediately apparent that you ‘need’ air.

But our ‘wants’ don’t work that way.

Instead of being compelled by some internal biological indicators, our desires are signaled through external cues.

And this process happens almost subconsciously.

So where do those cues come from, exactly?

3. Imitation & Models

Models are quite literally everywhere.

They can be celebrities and public figures, or —more secretly— peers, colleagues, & friends.

But here’s the thing.

Even though we’re constantly on the look out for models to imitate, we rarely acknowledge it.

The truth is, it’s uncomfortable to admit that our deepest desires are largely not our own.

And that’s a problem…

4. Memetic Rivalry

Gerard noted that when our wants are the same as “their” wants — competition is imminent.

This is especially true with localized models (ie, the models closest to your life).

You’ve heard of “keeping up with the Joneses”?

Say hello to mimetic rivalry.

Sometimes these rivalries can work in reverse, too.

Rather than aiming to mimic, we strive to rebel.

Ex: Imagine your colleague gets a Tesla & suddenly you find yourself browsing r/classiccars.

This new desire is still the result of mimesis, it’s just happening in reverse.

5. Positive Flywheel Effect

But mimicking our models isn’t all bad.

Burgis tells us that there are positive cycles of mimesis, too.

(This is where things become compelling for those of us looking to design motivation.)

What is “inspiration” after all?

What if reading @SahilBloom’s threads inspire you to become more thoughtful?

Or maybe you’re compelled to be more honest because you repeatedly see Dax bare his soul on @ArmchairExpPod.

These are examples of mimesis creating positive change.

Note: we’re not intentionally copying the behaviors of our models, per se.

Rather, allowing them to be in our ecosystem has a “rubbing off” effect.

And when we begin to embody these qualities, we become positive models for others, too.

That’s the flywheel effect.

6. Mimesis & Motivation

So what does this all mean for our motivation?

Given what we’ve learned about mimesis, we might deduce that
the strength of our motivation may be dependent on the quality & volume of our models.

So what if we changed our approach entirely?

Instead of blindly glomming on to whatever models fall into our lap, we take a more proactive roll in curating their selection.

Yes, we weed out the bad or unhelpful.

But more crucially, we focus on finding the good.

What if we built a dream team of models?

Cherry picked a cabinet of people that reflect the outcomes and the qualities we most want?

And what if we spent time routinely surrounding ourselves by their thoughts, ideas and way of life?

Could these models help us create a more compelling vision for our own future?

Could they help us paint a picture of what life might be like on the other side?

Could they be a reliable, consistent source of inspiration that we can tap when the going gets tough?

I don’t have the answers.

But I do believe that there’s something worth paying attention to here.

Perhaps we should be using these models as a tool rather than being the passive recipients of their influence?

So what do you think?

How can we make mimesis work for us?

Working alone is hard.

For tweets on productivity & achievement frameworks for freelancers, indiehackers, and soloprenuers, follow me: @shane___martin

Upcoming Threads:

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Credit to the @awilkinson for the introduction to Burgis and Gerard’s work.

Check out his ep on @myfirstmilpod

If you learned anything interesting from this thread, a retweet would be greatly appreciated!

Linked it up below👇

Thanks for reading

https://twitter.com/Shane___Martin/status/1472255623802732547