How to Beat Procrastination Like It Owes You Money

Summary

This video script delves into the psychology of inaction and the power of environmental manipulation to foster behavior change. It emphasizes that willpower is less crucial than setting up an environment that makes desired actions inevitable. The speaker introduces the concept of self-incentivization, using the story of Jiwon to illustrate how small actions can trigger significant progress towards goals. The script also highlights the importance of recognizing failure as a stepping stone to success, advocating for the joy of the pursuit rather than the achievement itself.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Inaction is often rooted in emotion, not a lack of knowledge or understanding of what needs to be done.
• 🐾 Training your mind to want to do good things for yourself is akin to training a pet, and it's achievable with the right approach.
• 🎯 Having a clear major goal in mind is crucial when trying to change behavior and make progress.
• 🌟 The most significant factor influencing behavior change is the environment, not willpower or motivation.
• 🏋️‍♂️ To emulate success like David Goggins, one should manipulate their environment to make success inevitable.
• 🍎 If you want to change a behavior, like eating healthier or waking up early, set up your environment to support that change.
• 💰 Creating incentives for yourself through rewards and punishments can be a powerful tool to influence your actions.
• 🤔 Overthinking can lead to inaction; sometimes, you need to force yourself to take the first step to overcome the inertia.
• 📝 The 'Do Something' principle suggests that taking any small action can lead to a chain reaction of further actions and progress.
• 🏃‍♀️ Action is the precursor to motivation, not the result of it, which means you have to start moving to feel motivated.
• 🎉 Celebrating accomplishments is important, but be careful not to let the celebration hinder further progress.
• 🤝 Social pressure can be used positively to motivate action and help achieve goals.
• 🔄 Failure is a part of the process and should be seen as a step forward, not a setback.
• 🚀 The process of pursuing goals is more important than the goals themselves; it's the journey that brings fulfillment.

Q & A

What is the main reason behind inaction, according to the script?

The main reason behind inaction is not a lack of knowledge but a lack of desire or emotion to do it.

What strategy is suggested for overcoming procrastination?

The strategy suggested is to master manipulating your own emotions and to trick your mind into wanting to do things that are good for you.

What is identified as the most important factor in determining behavior change?

The most important factor in determining behavior change is the environment.

How can one use their environment to achieve a desired change?

One can use their environment by setting it up in a way that makes the desired change inevitable, such as removing junk food from the fridge or setting multiple alarm clocks.

What role do incentives play in influencing behavior?

Incentives create rewards and punishments for behaviors, motivating individuals to take the desired actions.

What is the 'Do Something' principle?

The 'Do Something' principle suggests that taking any small action, no matter how minor, can help break the cycle of inaction and generate motivation.

How did the 'Do Something' principle help Jiwon in the script?

The 'Do Something' principle helped Jiwon by getting her to take small, basic actions towards her goal, which eventually led to significant progress, such as building a website and sourcing products.

What is the significance of social pressure in achieving goals?

Social pressure can be leveraged to motivate oneself to achieve goals by seeking approval from others and creating a sense of accountability.

How did the collaboration with Jiwon benefit the speaker?

The collaboration with Jiwon benefited the speaker by providing motivation to pursue a personal dream of creating a documentary-style video about Korean culture and mental health.

What is the final message about failure in the script?

The final message is that failure moves us forward by providing valuable lessons and experiences, and the journey itself is more important than the actual achievement of the goals.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Mastering Emotions for Action

This paragraph discusses the psychological aspect of inaction, attributing it to emotions rather than a lack of knowledge. It suggests that procrastination and unhealthy habits stem from a lack of motivation due to emotional states. The speaker proposes that by manipulating one's emotions, similar to training a dog, one can trick the mind into pursuing actions that are beneficial. The video promises to provide tools to tackle significant life goals and emphasizes the importance of having a clear goal in mind while watching. It also hints at the surprising primary factor influencing behavior change, which is not willpower or discipline, but the environment. The paragraph concludes with a humorous anecdote about David Goggins, a well-known motivational figure, to illustrate the point.

05:01

🛠️ Environment and Incentives for Behavior Change

The second paragraph delves into the concept that the environment is the most critical factor for behavior change, contrary to popular belief that attributes it to willpower or discipline. The speaker uses humor to express disappointment with this fact, as it shatters the romanticized idea of self-motivation. The paragraph provides practical examples of how to manipulate one's environment to facilitate desired behavior, such as clearing out unhealthy food or setting multiple alarms to wake up early. It introduces Jiwon, a fan of the speaker who has struggled to start her own business despite leaving her job months ago. The speaker offers to help Jiwon by creating a high-pressure situation that forces her to take action, illustrating the effectiveness of environmental manipulation and self-imposed incentives.

10:01

🏃‍♀️ The Do Something Principle and Social Influence

This paragraph introduces the 'Do Something' principle, which posits that action begets motivation rather than the other way around. It suggests taking the smallest possible steps to initiate progress towards a goal, using the example of writing a book title in a Word document or reaching out to an old friend. The speaker recounts Jiwon's story, showing how small actions and self-created incentives led to significant progress in her business venture. The narrative highlights the power of social pressure as a motivational tool, as Jiwon's proposal to the speaker to travel to Korea together if she sells her products demonstrates. The paragraph concludes with the speaker's personal experience of being motivated by Jiwon's actions, emphasizing the reciprocal nature of motivation and the concept of motivation karma.

🚀 Embracing Failure as a Step Forward

The final paragraph focuses on the importance of recognizing failure as a learning opportunity and a step towards progress. It revisits Jiwon's story, acknowledging that she did not sell all her goods or find a pop-up shop location as initially planned. However, the paragraph emphasizes that the actions she took during this period were more valuable than the inaction of the previous 11 months. The speaker advises that the pursuit of goals is more important than the goals themselves, as it is the action and the journey that provide fulfillment. The conversation between Jiwon and the speaker concludes with Jiwon reflecting on her learning from the experience and advising her past self to take action without fear of failure.

Keywords

💡Emotion

Emotion refers to the complex psychological state that arises from one's physiological and cognitive responses to a particular stimulus or event. In the video, it is suggested that emotions are often the root cause of inaction, as people procrastinate or make unhealthy choices due to their emotional state rather than a lack of knowledge. The video emphasizes the importance of mastering one's emotions to overcome procrastination and make positive changes.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions, often due to a lack of motivation or a tendency to choose more pleasurable activities over less enjoyable ones. The video script discusses how procrastination is not a result of not knowing what to do, but rather a lack of feeling inclined to do it, highlighting the role of emotions in this behavior.

💡Environment

Environment, in the context of the video, refers to the external factors and surroundings that can influence one's behavior and choices. The video argues that the environment is the most significant factor in determining behavior change, suggesting that setting up an environment that supports desired behaviors can make those behaviors inevitable.

💡Incentives

Incentives are rewards or punishments that motivate individuals to take certain actions. The video discusses the power of creating personal incentives to influence one's behavior, such as setting up rewards for completing tasks or establishing consequences for not taking action.

💡Action

Action, as presented in the video, is the act of taking steps towards a goal or objective. The video emphasizes that taking action is not just the result of motivation but is, in fact, the cause of it. It encourages viewers to start with small actions that can lead to larger accomplishments.

💡Do Something Principle

The 'Do Something Principle' is a concept introduced in the video that suggests taking any action, no matter how small, can help overcome inaction and lead to progress. The video illustrates this principle by suggesting that starting with simple tasks can spur further action and motivation.

💡Social Pressure

Social pressure is the influence that others can have on an individual's behavior, often due to a desire for approval or conformity. The video script explores how social pressure can be used positively to motivate action, by leveraging the desire for social acceptance and support.

💡Failure

Failure, in the context of the video, is not viewed as a negative outcome but rather as a learning opportunity and a step forward. The video encourages the viewer to recognize that failure can provide valuable insights and should not be seen as the end of the journey but as part of the process.

💡Motivation

Motivation is the internal drive or desire that prompts individuals to take action towards a goal. The video discusses how motivation is often seen as the precursor to action, but it argues that action itself can be the catalyst for motivation, creating a cycle of progress.

💡Goal

A goal is a desired outcome or objective that an individual aims to achieve. The video script emphasizes the importance of setting and pursuing goals, but it also points out that the process of working towards those goals—the action and movement—is more important than the goals themselves.

Highlights

Inaction is often rooted in emotion rather than a lack of knowledge.

Procrastination and unhealthy behaviors are driven by a lack of care rather than a lack of understanding.

Mastering emotions is key to taking action and can be achieved by tricking the mind into wanting to do good things.

The subconscious can be trained similar to training a dog, suggesting a methodical approach to behavior change.

The video promises to provide tools for attacking life's biggest goals by the end.

Behavior change is primarily influenced by the environment, not just willpower or discipline.

Creating an environment that makes desired changes inevitable is a powerful strategy for behavior modification.

Setting up incentives and rewards for oneself can significantly influence the mind and behavior.

Smart, educated people may struggle with taking action due to their ability to find excuses.

A simple choice between physical exhaustion and settling on a plan of action can be a catalyst for progress.

Overthinking can be a luxury that prevents action; making the pain of inaction greater can spur movement.

The 'Do Something' principle suggests that any small action can lead to a chain reaction of further actions.

Action is the cause of motivation, not the result, which is a counterintuitive but effective approach to productivity.

Starting with the smallest possible action towards a goal can initiate a larger process of achievement.

Celebrating accomplishments is crucial, but it should not prevent further progress or victories.

Social pressure can be used positively to achieve goals by leveraging the desire for approval and companionship.

Motivating others can indirectly motivate oneself, creating a reciprocal cycle of inspiration.

Failure should be seen as a learning opportunity that moves us forward rather than a setback.

The process of chasing goals is more important than the goals themselves for personal growth and satisfaction.

Transcripts

- Every problem of inaction

is ultimately a problem of emotion.

You procrastinate not because you don't know what to do,

but because you don't feel like doing it.

You eat garbage and stay up all night

because you don't care in that moment that it's bad for you.

The trick then is to master manipulating your own emotions,

and it turns out it's actually not that hard to do this.

You can trick your mind

into wanting to do things that are good for you.

It's like you train the subconscious

the same way you train a dog to stop shitting on the carpet.

By the end of this video,

you'll have the tools necessary

to start attacking your life's biggest goals.

Now, a quick note.

This video will be best if you have a major goal in mind

as you watch.

So take a second and think of a major action

that you want to implement into your life,

and then get the fuck ready.

When it comes to behavior change,

the single biggest factor will probably shock you.

It isn't willpower, or discipline, or motivation,

or self-esteem, or vision boards, or manifesting,

or asking the fucking universe

to come magically clean your pool for you.

The research is clear.

The most important factor

to determining behavior change is your environment.

If you're like me, that's really disappointing.

We like to believe

that if we can just muster up the right energy, and focus,

and discipline, or control our thoughts,

that we can become the next fucking David Goggins.

- Stay hard, stay hard, stay hard,

stay hard, stay hard, stay hard, stay hard.

Merry Christmas, bitch.

- But if you really wanna be like David Goggins,

easy, call an Uber,

tell it to drop you off roughly 50 miles outside of town,

and then make yourself run home.

- [Reporter] Why are you doing this?

- I just felt like running.

- What I'm trying to say

is you wanna set up your environment

in such a way that your desired change becomes inevitable.

In fact, it's forced by the environment itself.

You wanna lose weight,

then clear all the junk food out of your fridge.

Then, pre-order all of your meals

for the next month in advance when you're not hungry.

Wanna wake up early?

Set multiple alarm clocks up

each on the other side of the room.

- [David] Stay hard, stay hard, stay hard, stay.

- The point is,

before you even start on your path to the new goal,

you want to take the time to manicure that shit

to make it the easiest fucking journey possible.

The second most powerful tool that we have

to influence our mind is creating incentives for ourselves.

This means setting up rewards

and punishments for our behaviors.

Here, let me actually show you what I mean.

This is Jiwon.

She's a fan of mine,

and she's dreamed for years of starting her own business.

(Jiwon laughs)

Yet, despite leaving her job over six months ago,

she has still done nothing.

So have you done any work towards this,

or is it still all just brainstorming?

- I reached out to craftspeople.

I only heard back from one person,

and that person canceled last minute,

and that was like 11 months ago.

- Now, I offered to help Jiwon get started,

but I told her it wouldn't necessarily be pleasant,

but she accepted.

Now, here's the funny thing.

Jiwon is really smart.

But I actually find that smart, educated people like her

often have the most trouble taking action.

Smart people procrastinate more

because they're so smart

they can find twice as many bullshit excuses

to not do something.

In Jiwon's case, she spent months studying business plans,

doing market research, emailing vendors,

and brainstorming various ideas.

Now, that all sounds like it's doing a lot,

but it's actually not doing a fucking thing.

I gave Jiwon a simple choice:

either work out to exhaustion

or finally settle on a fucking plan of action.

She chose the plan of action.

So this is how this is gonna work, Jiwon.

- [Jiwon] Okay.

- You're gonna push the sled

and we're gonna write your business plan.

(Jiwon laughs)

You can't stop pushing or pulling the sleds.

- [Jiwon] Until I haven't- - Until we've completed

your business plan, all right?

- [Jiwon] Okay.

- Most people like Jiwon get stuck overthinking

because frankly,

they have the luxury of overthinking.

As humans, we don't take action

unless the pain of inaction is too great to handle.

So my goal here is to make the pain of inaction

greater than the pain of action.

You're doing great.

(Jiwon pants)

- [Jiwon] Thank you.

- The first question is: What are you gonna sell?

- [Jiwon] I'm going to sell stories

about craftspeople around the world.

- [Mark] So what kind of crafts?

- [Jiwon] Well, when I got the idea,

it was a potter in Korea.

- So it sounds to me, step one, build the brand.

Step two, find the customers.

Step three, put together a pop-up store

and hope to God that customers show up and buy something.

Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks.

Does that sound good? - Yeah, I have to do it now.

- [Mark] Now you have to fucking do it.

Now you have zero excuses.

- Maybe I have to go to Korea.

- The best productivity advice I ever got

was from my high school math teacher.

He told us, "If you're ever stuck on a problem,

don't just stare at it.

Start writing and rewriting it in different ways."

The simple act of writing will then spur new ideas

and help you solve it.

Now, this sounded crazy in a bit woo-woo to me,

but I quickly discovered it was true.

And not only was it true with math problems,

but it was true for everything in life.

Don't want to exercise?

Well, put your shoes on and walk around the block.

Suddenly, it feels kind of easy to start running.

Don't know how to ask your boss for a raise?

Well, walk into their office

and ask for 10 minutes of their time.

Suddenly, the conversation flows from there.

I've started calling this the Do Something principle.

When you feel stuck,

do something, anything, no matter how small,

and the rest will begin to naturally follow.

The Do Something principle works

because it turns out

that action is not the result of motivation,

but actually the cause of motivation.

Now, in regards to the action

that you specifically want to take, ask yourself:

What is the simplest

and smallest actions that you can take today

that will move you towards your goal?

This can be as small and simple

as opening up a Word document

and writing the title of the book

that you've always dreamed of writing.

It can be as simple as texting an old friend

and asking them how they're doing.

Start with something so small

that this snowball can't help but get going.

The simple act of giving Jiwon some incentives

and getting her to take some small

and basic actions towards her goal

caused a chain reaction so large

that even I didn't anticipate how far it would go.

Within a few weeks, she built an entire website on her own.

She started social media accounts

and began creating unique content.

And not only that,

she actually got on a plane

and flew to Korea to meet with artisans herself.

There, she sourced a couple dozen pieces of product

(arrow chimes)

and brought them back to the United States

to try to sell herself.

(arrow chimes)

She went above and beyond all expectation,

which makes this next point incredibly important.

So I believe very strongly in celebrating accomplishments,

so I brought you to Disneyland.

After almost a month of work,

she crushed her initial goal so hard

that I wanted to reward her for that accomplishment.

(Jiwon laughs)

It's important to create rewards for yourself

for taking the actions you need to take.

These rewards can be part

of what creates a sense of significance and meaning,

but be careful with this one.

You don't wanna fuck it up.

Don't use the fact that you aced your exam

as an excuse to skip class for the next three months.

You don't wanna celebrate your victory

in such a way that it prevents further victories.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure this trip to Disneyland

was still productive for us,

so Jiwon and I had serious conversations

about branding and marketing

while we spun around in teacups.

So have you considered selling on Etsy or eBay?

- Never considered that.

- That will also give you a little bit of cash flow.

- Yeah.

- Maybe go on Instagram, set aside like 100 bucks.

Test it on a couple different demographics.

But as we were leaving,

she actually surprised me

because she came up with a proposition of her own.

- If I sell out all of the products I brought back,

we all go to Korea together

and we bring back all of the ceramics together.

- You need our suitcases.

What you basically- - I need your suitcases?

(Mark laughs)

- I thought her proposal was clever, so I accepted it.

I mean, do it for the lulz, right?

Knowing how hard it is to sell everything online,

I figured I was gonna be pretty safe in this challenge.

There was absolutely no way

that she was gonna sell out her inventory in time.

See, Jiwon actually leverages

an interesting phenomenon here

and another strategy to help us take action.

Social pressure.

People love to complain about social pressure.

They complain about it

because they feel like it prevents them

from doing what they wish they could do.

But what if you actually use social pressure

to help you do what you wish you could do?

See, we're a social species.

We are always looking for the approval of others.

We enjoy doing things with others.

We just like being with other people.

So if you can leverage that to help you achieve your goals,

then it's like adding jet fuel to your motivation.

Utilizing social pressure for the benefits

of achieving your goals and taking action

is actually one of the most practical and useful tools.

It also partly explains why I am in Korea.

See, Jiwon didn't actually sell all of her goods.

In fact, she sold most of it just to her friends and family.

But I'm still here,

and it's actually for a much more important reason.

As I've invested more in my YouTube channel the past year,

one of my dreams has been to travel to other countries

and investigate other cultures and values.

But because it was difficult, and expensive,

and time-consuming, I never did it.

That is, until Jiwon gave me a reason to.

So now, I have a new documentary-style video

about Korean culture and mental health

coming out on my channel in a few weeks.

I really can't wait for everybody to see it.

It's completely different than anything I've ever done.

Now, with Jiwon,

this is the power of social influence

working in both directions.

While I started working with Jiwon

to help motivate her to pursue her goals and dreams,

I somehow ended up finding myself

on the receiving end of motivation.

I guess you could say motivation has a kind of karma to it.

The more you motivate others to take actions

and encourage them to be the best versions of themselves,

the more you'll find that they motivate you in turn.

Jiwon didn't sell all of her goods.

In fact, she didn't even start

looking for pop-up shop locations

before our time together ended.

The Jiwon from a couple months ago

would've considered this a failure,

but this failure has helped her learn

about her business and herself.

It helped her establish the connections

with artists that she's going to need,

and perhaps most importantly, it helped her get started.

She accomplished more in a month

than she did the entire 11 months beforehand.

That's why the last step to taking action

is to recognize that failure moves us forward.

- I have failed.

Like, I told you I was gonna sell everything

very confidently,

and I didn't. - [Mark] Yeah.

- And of course it sucked,

but I was surprised at what I learned.

I took the lesson as a learning more than like,

"Oh, my gosh, I failed.

I couldn't do the thing I said I would."

- And this is why I always tell people,

"The point of your goals are not actually your goals."

I mean, sure, it's cool to lose 20 pounds,

or take an extra vacation, or buy a house.

These are good things to work towards, don't get me wrong,

but don't mix it up.

It's not the thing you're chasing that makes you feel good.

It's the chasing itself.

It's taking action.

It's the movement between point A and point B.

If you could go back and speak to Jiwon

from before all this- - Yeah.

- What would you tell her?

- I would say just go for it.

Just do it.

It's not that big of a deal.

It's really not.

And just by doing anything, you learn something.

(upbeat electronic music)