How To Take Control Of Your Life (For Real This Time)

I bet everyone has experienced imposter syndrome or will. 🤣 Being a perpetual fraud who feels like he should not be able to have what he does, I fight this like crazy. Sometimes we decide to learn something new because we are motivated to study it and reinforce our identity so that we don't feel like we don't belong. Then, after a few days, we lose all the motivation we had after it became hard and just procrastinate with some binge watching (coughs Netflix) or social media or any other hobby that makes us forget all the important stuff we had to do. Then we end up feeling like we are less competent than our classmates or co-workers, which leads to more depression with imposter syndrome. 😔

To which we look at our lives and be like, "Damn! What the f*ck am I doing with my life?" Then you go to YouTube and watch a motivational video, get super hyped, and repeat the entire process. This could happen to you—at least it does to me—or something different or similar could be happening to you. Shoot, you could be reading this to look for that spark of motivation or because I just told you to read it. Anyway, the point is that motivation is very short-lived. What matters is self-discipline, and yes, I know this couldn't possibly be the fastest time you've had people say this, but bear with me. So the thing with motivation is that it just fires some dopamine and adrenaline and starts visualising what you could be if you actually woke the hell up and stopped being lazy, but the next thing you know is you are binge watching something for the next few days. 🙈

Discipline is like a muscle that we must train. There is a saying or quote (I am not sure which it is) that says, if I remember properly, "Whatever path you take or choice you make, there will always be pain, so you might as well feel the pain of regret instead of the pain of being lazy." I am pretty sure that I didn't phrase that properly, but I am pretty sure the meaning went across. No matter how hard you think about it, no one has ever regretted being productive. It doesn't matter what you do; as long as you work hard, the universe is sure to repay your hard work in one way or another. It might not be now, but good things come to those who are patient . You might be asking yourself what a productive day is or how it looks. To be honest, I myself, for one, still aren't sure either. I don't think it is writing millions of lines of code (if such a thing is possible.) or running 20 marathons or cramming every book that you have to study (that could be helpful, but good luck with that). I think a productive day is doing something that you would want to teach someone else, like something you really would like someone else to understand, to the point where you would look at them and be proud of yourself for the work you have done. Plus, it doesn't hurt to be productive at something that helps you earn money 🤑. More money never hurts. The thing is, it is up to you to choose how to be productive. I cannot believe it took me two days to write this after deciding to complete it in two hours (we all have those days, right?). Procrastination is something that I have personally learned to live with. I remember reading something that said, "The fact that I procrastinate and get shit done is the reason I keep doing it." The problem is that whatever you procrastinate with, you can always come back to it later since the other movie or snack isn't going anywhere and the movie is always sweet after a good day's work. 😅💪🌟

So what is the big solution to all our procrastination and the great cure for laziness? I wish I knew the magic pill you could take, but we are very far from it. But there is this thing called the protege effect. First, I am not saying this is the big solution and that it might help you or not. So what is it? 🤔 Great Question. The protege effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when someone learns information more deeply when they know they're going to teach it to someone else. This suggests that the best way to learn is to teach. You might have already heard about this, but I need you to take a moment and really think about it. This is psychology; no teacher or human wants to look dumb or stupid to those he or she is teaching, and that will be a great motivation to study. This could be your only reason, but also remember that you are helping someone, and there is a saying that says, "The best way to be selfish is to help someone in need." Okay, I am not sure if that is how it goes, but you get my point. 🤞 Teaching someone is one of the most rewarding situations. But I am not a teacher, and how do I get students to teach? The sweet thing about this is that it doesn't need you to be a teacher or have eager students ready to teach. You can always create an account on a blogging web application like Hashnode, Medium, and others. If writing isn't your thing, you can always record a video of you teaching what you have learned. You may even gather a friend or relative and try to teach them. The point is that there are so many ways to go about it. The protege effect has many implications, such as skill development, lifelong learning, deeper understanding, and revealing gaps in knowledge, to name a few. 😮‍💨

There is also another effect called knowledge of a toddler, which means that the more someone can teach something to a toddler, the more they know it. The effects are tremendous and beneficial. So, what are you waiting for? Go find someone to teach this too.😅

Happy teaching and learning! 🚀