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The psychology of people who dream big but do nothing

Explores why people procrastinate, framing it as a cognitive distortion, introducing a 'fundamental law' of cost, rewards and ability, and offering practical techniques to defeat procrastination.

Key Takeaways

  • Procrastination stems mainly from distorted perceptions of cost, reward and ability rather than laziness.
  • Motivation can be increased by making tasks smaller, boosting perceived ability and making rewards vivid.
  • Breaking big goals into small steps, like focusing on one meal instead of a stadium of food, makes action feel manageable.
  • Language such as 'I can't' reinforces helplessness and should be replaced with more accurate, empowering statements.
  • Starting with even two minutes of activity can overcome inertia and reduce guilt-driven avoidance.

What the video covers

  • Procrastination is framed not as laziness but as a distorted perception of reality, a cognitive distortion that makes inaction seem rational.
  • The 'lion made of cardboard' analogy illustrates how a false perception of threat causes the brain to pause pursuit of rewards.
  • The 'fundamental law of procrastination' states that behavior depends on cost, rewards and ability, with action guaranteed when cost is low, rewards high and the task within ability.
  • Motivation is presented as the inverse of procrastination: rewards times ability divided by cost.
  • The equation is subjective, relying on perceived cost, perceived rewards and perceived ability rather than objective values.
  • Distortion of the self, such as believing one can't succeed, creates learned helplessness that makes doing nothing feel smart.
  • Feelings of discomfort are real but do not necessarily reflect the actual difficulty or outcome of a task.
  • Famous examples of repeated rejection, such as Harry Potter's manuscript and Colonel Sanders' KFC, are used to reframe failure as a normal part of success.
  • Reducing tasks to tiny first steps, such as the two-minute rule, lowers perceived cost and builds momentum.
  • Eliminating the phrase 'I can't' and replacing it with more accurate language is recommended, along with a technique for guilt-stricken procrastinators.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Introduction and Video Overview
  2. 01:55Why We Procrastinate: Evolution and the Scale
  3. 02:55The Fundamental Law of Procrastination
  4. 03:34What Motivation Really Is
  5. 04:56Subjective Perception and Cognitive Distortions
  6. 05:34Distortion of the Self and Helplessness
  7. 06:56Feelings, Rejection and Reframing Failure
  8. 09:32Practical Techniques to Defeat Procrastination

Answers

Questions about this video

What is the 'fundamental law of procrastination' described in the video?

The video proposes that behavior can be explained by cost, rewards and ability, with action becoming likely when cost is low, rewards are high and the task is within one's ability. The speaker notes that these variables are actually perceived subjectively.

Why does the speaker say procrastination is not laziness?

The speaker argues that procrastination comes from a distorted view of reality, a cognitive distortion, rather than a lack of caring. Like not eating while believing a steak is guarded by a lion, people avoid action because they misperceive the situation.

What two words does the video say to remove from your vocabulary?

The video says to erase 'I can't' from your vocabulary. The speaker argues these words frame difficulties as permanent and reflect on self-worth, which reinforces procrastination.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:00
Speaker A
If you want a roadmap to cure your procrastination once and for all, this is the only video you will ever need. You'll learn why you actually procrastinate, the fundamental law of human behavior, what motivation actually is, and how to generate more of it on command. Two words you must erase from your vocabulary completely if you want to stop shooting yourself in the foot, and five practical techniques to finally defeat procrastination for good. If that sounds cool, let's get started.
00:15
Speaker A
command, two words you must erase from your vocabulary [music] completely if you want to stop shooting yourself in the foot, and five practical techniques to finally defeat procrastination for good. [music] If that sounds cool, let's get started. The
00:27
Speaker A
The reason why you procrastinate rests on one fundamental premise. It's not that you're lazy. You simply have a distorted view of the world, aka a cognitive distortion. Because there's a strong evolutionary pressure to do stuff: to eat when you're hungry, to mate when you're horny, to put on a nice warm fuzzy sweater when you're cold. Biologically, we are here today because our ancestors evolved the drive to seek better states for themselves, a drive honed over 80,000 generations, a complete unbroken reproductive chain to produce the pinnacle of human that is you today.
00:43
Speaker A
you're horny, to put on a nice warm fuzzy sweater when you're cold. Biologically, we are here today because our ancestors have evolved the drive to do to seek better states for ourselves. a drive honed over 80,000 generations, a complete unbroken
00:59
Speaker A
So if that's the case, why is procrastination such a crippling problem? It's because alongside that drive, you've also evolved what I call the scale. Let's say you're hungry. You see a juicy piece of steak sitting over there. Your brain wants to eat, but not at the expense of getting ripped apart, because guess what? Over there is also a lion. And so your brain puts a pause on that drive and knows to wait for something less costly. That's the scale working properly. Doing nothing suddenly makes sense. Now, technically, you're procrastinating on eating, but the decision to not eat is actually now smart.
01:14
Speaker A
see a juicy piece of steak sitting over there. Your brain wants to eat, but not at the expense of getting ripped apart because guess what? Over there's also a lion. And so your brain puts a pause on that drive and knows to wait for
01:27
Speaker A
But what if I told you that that lion sitting over there was actually just a cardboard cutout? All of a sudden, what was a smart move is now actually pretty silly. And yet, if you don't know the lion is made of cardboard, you'd still do what feels smart to you, which is to do nothing. But to everyone else, you look lazy. It looks like you don't care. Except, of course, you do care. You're starving. You're simply misperceiving reality. And that makes all the difference.
01:43
Speaker A
just a cardboard cutout? All of a sudden, what was a smart move is now actually pretty silly. And yet, if you don't know the line was made of cardboard, you'd still do what feels smart to you, which is to do nothing.
01:55
Speaker A
But the fix is simple, right? The moment you realize the lion is made of cardboard, your procrastination is going to vanish overnight. This is what I call the fundamental law of procrastination. It states that all human behavior can be explained by just three variables: cost divided by rewards times ability. If the cost is low, the rewards are high, and the action is within your ability, then the law states that the action will be guaranteed.
02:01
Speaker A
You're simply misperceiving reality. And that makes all the difference. But the fix is simple, right? The moment you realize the lion is made of cardboard, your procrastination is going to vanish overnight. This is what I call the fundamental law of procrastination. It
02:16
Speaker A
By the way, motivation is just the inversion of procrastination. It's rewards times ability divided by cost. So the more enticing the thing is, and the more capable you are of doing it or the easier it is to do, the more motivated you are to go and do it. It's basically an action probability success equation. The more likely it is that you think you will succeed in doing it, the more likely you will want to go and do it, right? So the higher the success rate, the higher the motivation, the more likely you're going to do it, and the lower the procrastination.
02:30
Speaker A
be guaranteed. By the way, motivation is just the inversion of procrastination. It's rewards times ability divided by cost. So the more enticing the thing is, the more capable you are of doing it or the easier it is to do, then the more
02:46
Speaker A
So if you want to generate more motivation on command, you basically have to manipulate these variables. Actually become more capable, provide more evidence to yourself that you can do it, or at least, perception-wise, make it easier. Make it smaller. Do the first couple of steps, five minutes, whatever it takes to create the perception that, yeah, I can do this. Or make the rewards more salient and more enticing. Visualize the outcome and remind yourself why you're doing this. Make the outcome come alive in your mind, as opposed to thinking, oh man, I'm going to screw this up massively. It's all about perspective. The more you can shift that perspective and train your mind to focus on the rewards as opposed to what it takes to get the rewards, the more you've shifted this equation massively in your favor. It's just a mind game.
02:58
Speaker A
rate, the higher the motivation, the more likely you're going to do it and the lower the procrastination. So if you want to generate more motivation on command, you basically have to manipulate these variables. Actually become more capable, provide more
03:11
Speaker A
Let's say $10 million is in a treasure chest. I'm going to give you the key. All you have to do is unlock it. There's no way anyone would procrastinate doing that, right? But now, let's say the money is 1,000 miles away. To get there, you have to work really hard, read a bunch of books, try a bunch of stuff, and build the key yourself. And oh yeah, we really don't know where this treasure chest is. You're going to have to find it yourself. All of a sudden, going down this path is much less interesting, right? Because there are always other paths, too. The cost of using your phone is negligible. It's right there next to you, definitely within your ability, and the reward is basically infinite, never-ending pleasure. No wonder it always wins.
03:23
Speaker A
rewards more salient, more enticing. Visualize the words and I'll remind myself why I'm doing this. I want to make the words come alive in my mind as opposed to the oh massively going to screw this up. Man, it's all about
03:34
Speaker A
But this equation rides on one major flaw. Did you notice it yet? It's not cost divided by rewards times ability. It's perceived cost divided by perceived rewards times perceived ability. In other words, it's all subjective. How tall the mountain is in front of you, how rewarding the thing is at the end of it, what you think you can do, handle, or stomach, it's all subjective.
03:46
Speaker A
say $10 million are in a treasure chest. I'm going to give the key to you. All you have to do is unlock it. There's no way anyone would procrastinate doing that, right? But now, let's say the money is 1,000 mi away. To get there,
03:59
Speaker A
To prove this, imagine a football stadium. Now, imagine every seat has a full meal sitting on it, and it's your job to eat every single one. You probably feel overwhelmed just looking at it, right? That's impossible, you'd say. Except you're already doing it. Over the course of your lifetime, you'll eat roughly that much food, a stadium's worth. It just never feels overwhelming because you only ever focus on the next meal. You never try to eat the entire stadium at once.
04:12
Speaker A
this path is much less interesting now, right? Because there are always other paths, too, right? The cost to use your phone is negligible. It's right there next to you, definitely within your ability. And the reward is basically infinite, neverending pleasure. No
04:26
Speaker A
And yet with everything else, we suddenly forget this. You look at the weight goal, the project, the book you want to write, not as the next step, but as the entire mountain all at once. Every headache, uncertainty, frustration, and problem gets piled on top, and your brain goes, "Nope, too much. I can't do this." Back to smoking crack and scrolling memes. That's the distortion.
04:42
Speaker A
all subjective. How tall the mountain is in front of you, how rewarding the thing is at the end of it, what you think you can do, handle or stomach, it's all subjective. To prove this, imagine a football stadium. Now, imagine every
04:55
Speaker A
Someone I coached kept procrastinating on paying her quarterly taxes. In her head, it had become this giant ordeal: email the accountant, admit she missed the deadline, deal with penalties, log into the IRS website, connect a bank account, watch a painful amount of money disappear. So she avoided it. But when you really think about it, the actual task was just sending one email, doing a few clicks, and paying the bill, maybe 15 minutes. The mountain was mostly in her head. Your brain reacts to the mountain it perceives, not the mountain that's actually there.
05:00
Speaker A
You probably feel overwhelmed just looking at it, right? That's impossible, you'd say. Except you're already doing it. Over the course of your lifetime, you'll eat roughly that much food, a stadium's worth. It just never feels overwhelming because you only ever focus
05:14
Speaker A
Before we dive into solutions, there's one more major distortion: the distortion of the self. You look at the mountain and think, "I can't do this. I'm too small." This belief creates helplessness. It's like playing a video game where none of the buttons work. If you believe the controller is broken, yeah, why keep playing? I'm not asking that person out, I'll just get rejected. Last time I talked to someone I like, they laughed at me, and I laughed at myself. Your brain has already decided you can't win, so doing nothing starts to feel smart. Let's just wait for the line to go away.
05:27
Speaker A
mountain all at once. Every headache, uncertainty, frustration, and problem gets piled on top. And your brain goes, "Nope, too much. I can't do this." Back to smoking crack and scrolling memes.
05:40
Speaker A
Except you don't realize you're sitting in a tank. You have a supercomputer brain, the most advanced biological machine in the entire universe. Not to mention, you have the entirety of human knowledge at your fingertips. That lion is no match for you. There's no problem you cannot solve. As long as it doesn't break the laws of physics, you can 100% do it. Thinking you can't is the distortion. It's like what they say: whether you think you can or think you can't, either way, you're right.
05:54
Speaker A
watch a painful amount of money disappear. So, she avoided it. But when you really think about it, the actual task was just sending one email, doing a few clicks, and paying the bill, maybe 15 minutes. The mountain was mostly in
06:06
Speaker A
Or maybe you have the opposite problem. Instead of seeing yourself as powerless, you see yourself as highly capable. You're used to winning. You've built an identity around it: smart, talented, successful. But this thing you want to do is something you've never done
06:19
Speaker A
You look at the mountain and think, "I can't do this. I'm too small." This belief creates helplessness. It's like playing a video game where none of the buttons work. If you believe the controller is broken, yeah, why keep
06:31
Speaker A
playing? I'm not asking that person out, I'll just get rejected. Last time I talked to someone I like, they laughed at me and I myself. Your brain has already decided you can't win. This doing nothing starts to feel smart.
06:43
Speaker A
Let's just wait for the line to go away. Except you don't realize uh you're sitting in a tank. I.e. you have a superco computer brain that is the most advanced biological machine in the entire universe. Not to mention, you
06:56
Speaker A
have the entirety of human knowledge at your fingertips. That lion is no match for you. There's no problem you cannot solve. As long as it doesn't break the laws of physics, you can 100% do it.
07:09
Speaker A
Thinking you can't is the distortion. It's like what they say, right? Whether you think you can't or think you can't, either way, you're right. Or maybe you have the opposite problem. Instead of seeing yourself as powerless, you see
07:20
Speaker A
yourself as highly capable. You're used to winning. You've built an identity around it. Being smart, talented, successful, but this thing you want to do is something you've never done before. And that's scary. Not because it's overwhelming, but because you're
07:34
Speaker A
too scared to fail. When they see me fumble, they'll laugh at me and realize I'm actually a fraud, and then I'll myself again. Or maybe you have a fear of success. I can't publish another video because, oh man, what if it does
07:47
Speaker A
get a lot of views? Wouldn't that be annoying? Having another great video would make everyone think I'm actually good. It would raise the bar. People start to think I actually know what I'm doing. And then when I do eventually
07:58
Speaker A
flop, because again I'm secretly an impostor who has no idea what he's doing, people are going to realize the truth that all my prior successes were just lucky breaks. Again, the smarter thing to do is to do nothing. This way,
08:11
Speaker A
I won't have to deal with the stress of my pants and having my actual true pathetic self revealed. Let me go get my crack and fire up those memes instead. Is that not silly, though? When you think about it, there's an excuse
08:24
Speaker A
for everything. You're either way too big or you're way too small. But who you think you are, what you think you can do, how hard the task is in front of you, they're all not real. They're all just stories you tell yourself, which
08:36
Speaker A
then generates these feelings, which then determines what you do. Sure, no one can deny your feelings. The pain of trying to do work when you don't feel like it is indeed real. But just because you're feeling the pain doesn't mean the
08:48
Speaker A
thing is actually that hard. Feelings are just a signal. Let's say a prank call tells you your mom's in the hospital and you suddenly feel like crap. Just because you feel like crap doesn't mean she's actually in the
08:59
Speaker A
hospital. But what if your entire world view was just based on a series of internal prank calls, voices in your head whispering poison, playing mind games with you, so severely altering your perception of reality that none of the actions you take remotely make any
09:14
Speaker A
sense anymore. That's the problem I'm trying to help you see here. The only way to cure procrastination is to fix it at the root, to disentangle fact from fiction and defeat these cognitive distortions once and for all. That's why
09:28
Speaker A
the first step is to use what I call the rule of distortion. By the way, I'm running a free 7-day cure your procrastination challenge. If you finish the challenge, you'll win a mystery prize. The rule of distortion says if
09:40
Speaker A
I'm procrastinating, that automatically means I am dealing with a cognitive distortion. Your mind is filled with them and it's your responsibility to dismantle them one by one. You think there's a line over there? Well, prove it to me. Point to real evidence. For
09:54
Speaker A
example, let's say you think you're a loser. Sure, you've screwed up your fair share of things, but how many screw-ups does it take to become a loser? Two, four? Is there some greed upon number?
10:05
Speaker A
Hey, Johnny, you have four screw-ups in your life. That's okay for now, but be careful. One more screw- up and I'm going to have to put a big fat loser stamp on your forehead. Or maybe it's the number of screw-ups to number of
10:16
Speaker A
wins. But Harry Potter was rejected by publishers 12 times before success. Colonel Sanders faced over 1,000 rejections before creating KFC. Michael Jordan missed more shots than he sunk.
10:29
Speaker A
This is his direct quote. I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. Can you believe
10:42
Speaker A
it? Michael Jordan, the biggest loser ever. Look at this dude trying to cheer himself up. Or maybe a real loser is actually someone who's not willing to lose. Oh, that should be on a motivational poster or a t-shirt or
10:53
Speaker A
something. Point is, trying to force a meaningless label onto yourself is another distortion. So, what do you do?
11:00
Speaker A
There's actually many solutions. First is what I call the 5-minute cardboard lion test. Basically, take 5 minutes and go poke the line and prove to yourself it's actually made of cardboard. Take the thing you're most procrastinating.
11:12
Speaker A
Predict from 0 to 10 how difficult you think it will be and how satisfied you think you'll be to do it. Then just spend 5 minutes doing it nine times out of 10. You'll find your predictions are going to be way off. Actual difficulty
11:25
Speaker A
is going to be much lower while actual satisfaction is going to be much higher.
11:29
Speaker A
And if it isn't, then just stop at the 5minute mark. No harm, no foul. But if it isn't, then just keep on going. For example, let's say you've been wanting to code for a really long time, but you
11:38
Speaker A
haven't started. You tell me it's going to be overwhelming, boring even. You won't have the time nor the patience for it. I say it's a cognitive distortion, but you don't believe me. Okay, no problem. Go test it and prove me wrong.
11:50
Speaker A
Be a scientist. Set a timer for 5 minutes and go learn some code. Just read the first page or do one exercise.
11:57
Speaker A
99% of the time, what you'll find is that it wasn't actually all that bad.
12:01
Speaker A
And when you realize you did just learn something in 5 minutes, you'll actually feel pretty good, too. This is also when you do a technique called a self-endorsement. It's where you encourage yourself to make it more likely you do it again the next time. I
12:14
Speaker A
physically pat myself on the back and say, "That was freaking awesome. I just crushed it." But you have to do it with real genuine feeling and love. It's like you're training a puppy or a kid. I mean, I'm in the middle of training my
12:25
Speaker A
kid for potty training. And of course, we make a huge deal when my kid poops in the potty. Yay! You did it. That's so awesome. So cool. And then the cute kid wants to do more the next time. That's
12:36
Speaker A
the whole point. Because what do most people do? They don't in the toilet. They on themselves. You good for nothing piece of crap. This isn't good enough. You didn't do it perfectly. That didn't count. You're a freaking idiot. I mean, come on. Who's
12:48
Speaker A
going to get motivated by self-t talk like that? Cheering for yourself is going to feel weird at first, but over time, just like anything, you'll start to feel a lot better, a lot more motivated. Speaking of which, if you're
12:59
Speaker A
actually trying to learn how to code, I have something that literally does all the above for you. It's called Kotti.
13:04
Speaker A
This video's kind sponsor. It's like Dualingo, but for coding. Choose among 30 coding languages. Do simple bite-size exercises that take just minutes each.
13:13
Speaker A
Though simple, in a few minutes, I guarantee you will learn something. You'll get plenty of practice to solidify it. From quizzes to hands-on exercises, too. So basically, if you want to learn how to code, and you've been procrastinating a whole bunch,
13:26
Speaker A
Kotti was built literally for you. It makes it incredibly fun, easy, and weirdly addicting, too. Kotti just told me someone surpassed me on the leaderboard. That's annoying. I sort of want to do another exercise to make sure I don't fall behind. Anyway, check it
13:39
Speaker A
out. Kotti also covers other subjects, too, like math, science. I mean, what do you have to lose? It's literally free.
13:46
Speaker A
Link in the description. Second technique is what I call a dread sprint. Once you've poked enough cardboard lines and convince yourself what I'm telling you is indeed true. The fastest way to stop procrastination is to not even acknowledge what your brain is telling
13:59
Speaker A
you. Don't let the dread build up. Whatever task you need to do, just do it. The moment the thought lands in your head, take action. Don't let your brain start talking yourself out of it. In other words, the moment you see the
14:11
Speaker A
steak, run towards it and start eating. Don't waste time scanning the area for lions. Third is to use the three columns technique. For example, let's say you're procrastinating on making music. Take out a piece of paper and write out three
14:24
Speaker A
columns. First columns where you write out your thoughts. This piece of music has be great, but I don't feel creative today, so why bother working on it? I don't want to publish something I'm not proud of. People might laugh at me or
14:36
Speaker A
worse, no one will listen and then I'll be embarrassed. Second column is where you write out the distortions. First distortion is called all or nothing thinking. The music must either be amazing or it's garbage. And you must either invest enormous effort or none at
14:50
Speaker A
all. There's no middle ground. Because you can't produce something great today, you conclude that any time spent working on it is worthless. What about a rough draft, a promising chord progression, or even discovering what doesn't work.
15:02
Speaker A
These are all valuable forms of progress that you've completely written off. Second distortion is thinking it has to be great. It has to be. You've turned a nice thing to have into an annoying demand, creating pressure and resentment
15:14
Speaker A
towards the very thing you wanted to enjoy. Combined with all or nothing thinking, you've basically established an impossible grading system. Greatness is the only passing grade and everything else is failure. Who's going to get motivated by that? Third distortion is
15:28
Speaker A
using emotional reasoning. You don't feel creative, so you assume you can't create. But feelings aren't reliable measurements of ability. In fact, creativity often emerges through the act of working, not before it. By requiring inspiration before you even begin,
15:44
Speaker A
you've created a self-fulfilling trap. You don't work because you don't feel creative, and you never discover what you could have created because you don't work. Fourth distortion is thinking you can predict the future. You're predicting that people either laugh at
15:57
Speaker A
your music or ignore it entirely. Once again, all or nothing thinking eliminates the middle ground, including the very plausible possibility that a modest number of people will quietly enjoy what you've made. You're also catastrophizing the consequences, treating potential embarrassment as
16:12
Speaker A
something unbearable, permanent, and a reflection on your worth as a person. I can't are the two words you must get rid of from your vocabulary. It sounds innocuous, simple. We all say it. I can't do this. I can't do that. But did
16:26
Speaker A
you know this is a very dangerous word that damages you long term? It really means that hey, I don't have the capacity to do so. You're trying to use the words to excuse yourself in the moment from whatever it is that you
16:40
Speaker A
don't want to do, which feels nice in the moment, but long term it reduces what you can do because it's almost like a hypnotic suggestion. You say it too many times and your brain starts to actually believe you. Oh yeah, I can't
16:53
Speaker A
actually do this. I don't have the ability to do so. But that's not true.
16:58
Speaker A
That's just a cognitive distortion. What you actually mean is you won't you won't do it because it feels too hard or you won't do it because the rewards don't feel like it's good enough. But these things are all again cognitive
17:11
Speaker A
distortions too. But the danger is you give yourself an excuse that feels good in the moment, but then makes it so that next time you are even less likely to do it because now you've reduced your ability to do so. And that sucks. But
17:25
Speaker A
what about I don't want to publish music I'm not proud of. That's not necessarily a distortion. It's a perfectly reasonable standard. The problem is that you're applying a standard about publishing to the entirely separate act of creating. These are two separate
17:39
Speaker A
decisions. whether to create today and whether to publish later. By confusing the two, you've let the fear of judgment stop you from even starting. You don't need to lower your standards for what you publish. You just need to stop using
17:51
Speaker A
those standards as a reason not to start, not to create. Right? [snorts] Fourth technique is for the really bad procrastinators. If your entire day is wasted and you're stewing in guilt and remorse, this is how you get out of it.
18:04
Speaker A
I call this the worst day of your life method. The idea is simple. Stop trying to build your perfect day. Start with the day you're already doing. Think about one of your worst procrastinating days. Maybe you stayed up doom scrolling
18:16
Speaker A
until 5:00 a.m., woke up at 1:00 p.m. Stayed in bed until 2:00, scrolled from 3:00 to 5:00, played video games, took a nap, smoked some doobies, watched YouTube, whatever it was. Because phase one is where you write down that day
18:28
Speaker A
hour by hour. If you normally get out of bed at 2:00 p.m., put 2 p.m. on the schedule. Write it down. If you normally game from 4:00 to 5:00, schedule gaming from 4:00 to 5:00. If you normally doom
18:39
Speaker A
scroll for 2 hours, schedule the doom scrolling, too. Put it all down in your book, your calendar, or whatever for the next few days. Your only goal is to follow that schedule. Which should be absurdly easy because it's literally
18:51
Speaker A
what you're doing anyway. But something funny happens when you tell yourself, "Hey, this is the plan." And then you do it because regardless of what the plan is, realizing you can follow through is strangely empowering. And then the game
19:02
Speaker A
is on. Every day you simply change one tiny thing. Instead of doom scrolling for 60 minutes, scroll for 59. Spend the last minute closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. That's it. When you actually stop at minute 59, you get
19:15
Speaker A
another tiny psychological win. You think to yourself, "Holy crap, I did exactly what I said I would do." Again, maybe I can do this. Tomorrow, you stop at 58 minutes. Eventually, that 2minut window grows into something larger where
19:29
Speaker A
you can do more than just a few deep breaths. Maybe that's two minutes of reading exercising cleaning writing anything. I mean, it's just two minutes.
19:37
Speaker A
Why not, right? Then we take it one step further. Phase two. Everything you're already doing for pleasure becomes your vice budget. If your worst day contained 12 hours of scrolling, gaming, smoking, whatever, fine. You have 12 hours to
19:50
Speaker A
work with. Don't eliminate it. Redistribute it. Take 5 minutes of that scrolling and put one minute of reading in front of it. 1 minute of reading earns you 5 minutes of guilt-free scrolling. Then 2 minutes of reading earns you 10 minutes of guilt-free
20:04
Speaker A
scrolling. 5 minutes of reading, 25 minutes of scrolling. You see what's happening? You're going to consume those rewards anyway. Now you're just rearranging them. So they actually power something useful. And over time, something interesting happens. More and more of the day shifts from pleasure
20:19
Speaker A
type activities to mastery type activities. I would even label this on the schedule you're making for yourself.
20:24
Speaker A
MNP. M NP eventually you may even get to the point where there's more mastery activities than pleasure. All the while the distorted voices in your head start to break down. The natural drive you've always had starts to come back online.
20:39
Speaker A
Fifth technique now exposure therapy. This is for those who procrastinate because you're too scared to fail. You can either do what I did and fail spectacularly and get it over with or you can just micro dose it. So after
20:52
Speaker A
graduating Harvard, I thought I was this hot shot, right? thinking I'd be a shoe in for medical school, I backpacked Asia while applying to a bunch of schools and end up getting rejected from every single one. Did it feel embarrassing to
21:03
Speaker A
be rejected? Sure. But the bigger shocker was the fact that no one gave a crap. No one was like, "Ooh, look at that idiot. He's so dumb." Cuz I realized I wasn't even important enough to be on other people's minds to begin
21:16
Speaker A
with. And that one fact alone was incredibly freeing. But if you want to micro dose it, because that sounds scary, that's okay. Seek rejection in tiny little ways. Intentionally blemish your so-called perfect record and purposefully put yourself in situations
21:31
Speaker A
where you don't look good. Can't [snorts] sing? Great. Let's get up on that stage and do some karaoke. Let people laugh. Scared to launch your business or post your first video? Post anyway. Worst case scenario is no one
21:42
Speaker A
watches. And they do. In either scenario, in 5 minutes, they'll literally never think about you ever again. If you're paralyzed by perfectionism, you don't yet realize just how little time other people spend thinking about you. Not realizing this
21:55
Speaker A
is the distortion. And each time you chip away at your own ego with these tiny little moments of embarrassment, fear, anxiety, celebrate because it means you're getting closer to the truth. Have you heard of Plato's cave before? In Plato's cave, prisoners are
22:10
Speaker A
chained inside since birth. In the darkness, lit by fire behind them, they see shadows dance across the wall because shadows are all they've ever known. They mistake them for reality.
22:20
Speaker A
But then one day, a prisoner escapes. For the first time, he sees the sun. He realizes the shadows weren't reality at all. Just distorted projections of something much bigger. So, he comes back to tell everyone. They tell him he's
22:32
Speaker A
full of What do you mean? The shadows are literally in front of me. Are you telling me not to believe my own eyes? I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life
22:41
Speaker A
staring at shadows. I want to know what the world actually looks like, how it actually works, what I'm actually capable of. I want to open every door I can and have every adventure possible.
22:51
Speaker A
Don't you deserve that, too? There are entire experiences, relationships, accomplishments, entire versions of your life sitting right outside the cave. The biggest tragedy of your life would be to never experience them because you were too afraid to even leave. Because the
23:06
Speaker A
truth is simple. There are no guards in this cave. The chains are your own beliefs. The prison is your own perception. And when you do realize that and leave, I sincerely can't wait to meet the person you become. If you want
23:19
Speaker A
another epic mindset shift to help you truly end procrastination once and for all, check this other video next. I'll see you there.
Topics:procrastinationmotivationproductivitycognitive distortionself-improvementhabit buildingpsychologygoal settingself-helpmindset

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