Monday, November 29, 2010

In general the more I do something the more I want to do it.  And the less I do something the less committed I become to doing it anymore.  This works for lots of things... writing, for example.  And running.  Eating popcorn and drinking wine.  Sex.  The more I do these things the more I want to do them.  I wonder what that is?  Is that OCD?  Or am I just forgetful?  The things that become my focus overtake other things that become utterly neglected.  I think and behave in repetitive patterns.  When I break a pattern it is difficult to start it up again.  This observation is borne of the fact that I am struggling to write anything lately, here, or there, or anywhere.  (I think it proves that my brain is probably about 85% lizard.)



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8 comments:

glnroz said...

If the hinge gets rusty, the gate opens less easily,,,

Jerry said...

I think it shows that when you are inspired, you go all out. When your lazy, you go all out.

I can identify with this.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Another argument for the veracity of "use it or lose it." I think we are inert beings, which is why the path of least resistance is to continue doing, or not doing, what we were before. (If that makes sense.)

mischief said...

I agree with all three of these observations.

secret agent woman said...

I suspect that only holds true for things that bring you pleasure in some way. I doubt, for instance, hat the more you stubbed your toe, the more you'd want to start deliberately stubbing your toe. And whenever you repeat a behavior, you are reinforcing the neural pathways that are laid down and associating them with positive feelings or sensations. The more that association gets reinforced, the more you will seek to recreate it.

Here's my question - does knowing the science behind it take away form the mystery or just make the whole phenomenon more interesting?

mischief said...

Knowing the science behind it does nothing to dull the intrigue. I love psychology... am nearly finished my M.Applied Psych, and gearing up for PhD... I remain utterly fascinated and understanding how it works just makes me more interested in figuring out why, and why there are exceptions to the rules. Thanks for the question. A good one.

Murr Brewster said...

I don't do artwork all the time, and when I undertake a project, I must spend the first 60% of the total time walking away from it. I can't seem to trust myself to figure out the problems of composition (etc.) that inevitably come up, and I avoid the whole thing in case I fail. Then I finally force myself to pay attention, and once I buckle down, everything's a breeze and I wonder what the problem had been.

So maybe you just keep trying to avoid that first 60% of the time where you're running in circles.

Oh great--even I don't know exactly what I just said.

mischief said...

I'm reading it and rereading it and I think it makes more sense each time. Like most good thoughts, it takes time to resonate. Well done.