Replacing Guilt

My goal is to help people remove guilt-based motivation entirely, and replace it with intrinsic motivation. I’m aiming to both reduce the frequency of Netflix binges and reduce the bad feelings that follow. I’m aiming to help people feel like they’re still worthwhile human beings if they stop working before they literally drop.

A sequence about replacing guilt with other feelings and finding better ways to self-motivate, so that you can build a better future without falling apart in the process.

When all is said and done, Nature will not judge us by our actions; we will be measured only by what actually happens. Our goal, in the end, is to ensure that the timeless history of our universe is one that is filled with whatever it is we’re fighting for. For me, at least, this is the underlying driver that takes the place of guilt: Once we have learned our lessons from the past, there is no reason to wrack ourselves with guilt. All we need to do, in any given moment, is look upon the actions available to us, consider, and take whichever one seems most likely to lead to a future full of light.

Originally posted on Minding Our Way. There’s also an official audio version.

1. Preliminaries

Half-ass­ing it with ev­ery­thing you’ve got

Failing with abandon

2. Fighting for something

Re­plac­ing guilt

The stamp collector

You’re al­lowed to fight for something

Car­ing about some­thing larger than yourself

You don’t get to know what you’re fight­ing for

3. Drop your obligations

“Should” con­sid­ered harmful

Not be­cause you “should”

Your “shoulds” are not a duty

4. Half monkey, half god

Work­ing your­self ragged is not a virtue

Rest in motion

Shift­ing guilt

Don’t steer with guilt

Up­date from the suckerpunch

Be a new homunculus

Not yet gods

Where coulds go

Self compassion

There are no “bad peo­ple”

Re­sid­ing in the mor­tal realm

5. The dark world

Be­ing un­able to despair

See the dark world

Choose with­out suffering

De­tach the grim-o-meter

Sim­ply lo­cate yourself

Have no excuses

Come to your terms

Trans­mute guilt into resolve

The best you can

Dark, not colorless

6. Fire within

Stop try­ing to try and try

There is no try

Ob­vi­ous advice

The art of response

Con­fi­dence all the way up

Desperation

Recklessness

Defiance

How we will be measured

7. Related

On Caring

The Value of a Life

Mov­ing to­wards the goal

Self-sig­nal­ing the abil­ity to do what you want

Pro­duc­tivity through self-loyalty

Con­clu­sion of the Re­plac­ing Guilt series