Akrasia Effect.....Weakness of Will

Akrasia Effect.....Weakness of will


Human beings have been procrastinating for centuries, we Don’t Follow Through on What We Set Out to Do and What to Do About It.

But the question is "Why Do We Act Against Our Better Judgment?"

Akrasia–so nice to have a word to describe a very complex set of assumptions, decisions, personal biases and biological influences which sometimes help to make my life a little miserable.
I guess this is where self-forgiveness and the concept of trying again come into play, to counteract the effects of same.

A central problem of our minds is that we know so much in theory about how we should behave but engage so little with our knowledge in our day-to-day conduct. One possible cause could be "Time Inconsistency", our mind values immediate rewards than future ones. Present self really likes instant gratification, not long term payoff.

Our knowledge is both embedded within us and yet is ineffective for us. To succeed at something, at some point one needs to find the ability to be disciplined and take action instead of becoming distracted and doing what's easy. Success in nearly every field requires us to ignore doing something easier (delaying gratification) in favor of doing something harder.

Aristotle coined the term "Enkrateia" as the antonym of "Akrasia". While "Akrasia" refers to our tendency to fall victim to procrastination, "Enkrateia" means to be “in power over oneself.” Designing our future actions, reducing the friction of starting good behaviors, and using implementation intentions are simple steps that one can take to make it easier to live a life of "Enkrateia" rather than one of "Akrasia".

Comments

  1. Unknown30 December 2017 at 10:08

    There is a concious mind and unconcious mind...
    Consious mind is very alert...itz like to react in the way the others would like you...itz hw u want to project yourself in feont of others...

    Unconcious mind is like a child...itz what u want to be...it doesn't thinks about society or other people...it ur life n hw u want to live it...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Work,as a Positive Distraction

Image
Work ,as a Positive Distraction The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”  John D Rockefeller III, Philanthropist. This quote has kept us going on in our life . It has helped me stay focused. We read many stories in newspapers, on the Internet, watch on TV or get to know when talking to others. But we never give a thought that we might experience this someday , I guess we are humans living on hope and optimism. Future is unpredictable , no one knows what it has in store for us. Personally & Professionally. I thought to myself –  I can’t prevent adversities or tragedies coming my way, but what I  can do is accept reality, handle situation(s) with maturity and move forward in life. So ,   go around and check on how others manage such personal tragedies. Easier said tha...
Read more

Be Yourself ………. :) :)

Image
Be Yourself ………. :) :)   Every once and again, the enormity of the realisation that amongst the billions of planets in this infinite universe, we are the only known planet to have life, and that too so many varieties simply boggles my mind.I cannot believe that we were put on this amazing planet to be ordinary. How can it be possible that we were given bodies, emotions, opportunity, senses, intelligence, both IQ and EQ, colour, talent, humour, mediums of expression... and all of this just to lead ordinary lives, have ordinary thoughts, or to amble through life with ordinary relationships??? Our lives are like a train journey.  Imagine it as a black line on a white canvas. There is a starting destination which is birth and the final stop which is death, and in between a bunch of “common to the majority” stations like school, job, marriage, kids, grandchildren along the way. Your friends, family and spouse are the passengers on board your train, ...
Read more

#I_Have_Learnt.....

I've learnt that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.  I've learnt that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note.  I've learnt that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.  I've learnt that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.  I've learnt that hotel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.  I've learnt that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.  I've learnt that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.  I've learnt that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."  I've learnt that life sometimes gives you...
Read more