this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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Interesting result. The truth is nobody knows where their motivation comes from and it's why telling someone to 'cheer up' is well understood to be ineffective. The minimum requirement is a desire to change and that must come from within, motivated by some mysterious and inscrutable process. We can tell ourselves that eating vegetables is the right thing to do but why would I choose them over that delicious piece of cake? First I need to get cancer and the diabeetus, then I will become enlightened.
I should also add that realising that I am not the author of my thoughts and not in control of my motivation and that I don't have free will in the way I originally conceived it, has been a great consolation. I remind myself of these axioms every day because somehow they get lost in the clamour of daily life. My happiness depends on it.