talk-end-of-procrastination/slides/outcomes.md

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Outcomes

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Daily meaningful activities

using skills you already have

gets you into flow.

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Flow frequently brings outcomes:

  • emotional outcomes (makes us happy)
  • material outcomes (fruits of our labour)

Outcomes keep us going.

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But sometimes...

we get derailed by bad mood

  • by negative events or emotions around us
  • due to our own failing
  • by recalling a negative past

and lose our flow.

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Negativity captures our attention

more than positivity.

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So we stay down

due to the negative feedback loop:

Negativity and pessimism reinforce themselves.

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We need emotional stability to keep us going.


Hamster in a box

 

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Hamster in a box

  • when put in a box with a lid, it will try to jump out
  • and after a day or two it will give up and never try again
  • even once the lid is removed

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Learned helplessness

[Martin Seligman]

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Baby Elephant Syndrome


Hamster Procrastination Cycle

  1. Do nothing
  2. Have regrets
  3. Doubt yourself
  4. Feel helpless
  5. GOTO 1

How to break out?


Time Perspectives

[Philip Zimbardo]

  • positive past
  • negative past
  • present
  • future

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Focusing on

  • positive past
  • negative past
  • present
  • future

results in a hamster, depressions.

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Refocusing on

  • positive past
  • negative past
  • present
  • future

breaks out of the hamster.


Positive Cycle of Flow

  1. Do meaningful actions
  2. Feel good
  3. Growing skills
  4. Believe in yourself
  5. GOTO 1

How to orient yourself towards the future?

Personal Vision


How to perceive your past positively?

Choice of attitude


We are free to choose our reaction to events.

[Viktor Frankl]

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We choose how we interpret our past.


TOOL: Choice of attitude

(originally named Inner-game; not related to Timothy Gallwey's work)

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Interpreting seemingly negative events

as neutral or even positive.

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Event → 😟/😐/😀

Default:

Failure → 😟

Choice:

Failure → 😐/😀

Micro-habit that can be trained.

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My switched attitudes

  1. Calming down my expectation of perfect social interactions
    • "This went well, we both enjoyed the chat."
  2. Burying past failures
    • "At least I learned to do something new!"

TOOL: Three Good Things

[Martin Seligman] (Learned Optimism)

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At the end of every day,

think about 3 things

that went well for you.

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Why?

Increases positive emotions, hope and optimism.

Strengthens your focus on positive past.

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My Good Things?

Done daily during dinner as a family.

  1. chatted with my coworkers over coffee
  2. resolved one bug
  3. finally gave my talk on procrastination