I see many 20-somethings like me posting here about lack of discipline, being unmotivated and finding it hard to leave the cosiness of mediocre life. Why is that? What are the reasons for it and how to fix it? In Robert Greene book "Mastery", the author mentions the mental state which is achieved when, for example, faced with adversity of some sort. When it is conquered, we return to our normal selves. When a person 'levels up' in a particular activity, it is easier to get into the effortless state of mind and work is easier and more productive. What about the path to get to the point of proficiency? It requires hard work and discipline.

From my experience, I felt most alive in one of the shittiest periods of my life when having to prepare for 10 exams in ~3 weeks. Little sleep was had and studying with a group of people in the same boat sustained us through this. We had only one chance to pass the exams, otherwise you won't progress to final year. So, it was sink or swim situation. It is an example of adversity which was conquered.

Of course, studying consistently would have helped a lot more, and this is where my problem stems from: how can we sustain the effort through a long period of time in multiple areas? We are not pros yet(it is hard) and we are not facing danger in near future. The default is what most animals do: conserve energy and do easy things, like sleep.

I am aware that one would be more motivated to achieve if working towards mastery of subjects they have inherent aptitude for. Most are not lucky to have that known to them so have to work towards something practical.

Personally, I find that smart people do cost-benefit analysis and decide whether to pursue something. But I also change my mind: if I haven't jerked off for a week then dealing with female bullshit seems not so bad but once the deed is done, it's like brain overtakes the dick and I remember why I prioritize career, health and intellectual pursuit over chasing women. I was also thinking about working on something that lasts: working towards career and going to uni makes sense - I tasted the life of earning a lot of money in my internship, working on challenging projects. It opens doors and even if shit happens like becoming wheelchair bound, I can still do it. Lifting makes sense and I do it but then if something bad happens, you will lose the gains and lots of effort is wasted.

I admit to not being a person like some more successful people on TRP. They grind towards the goal, work hard and achieve on multiple fronts. For me, it is lack of energy and desire to follow the steps. I tried many things: visualize being homeless and how much that sucks, not having physique to impress women and being invisible to them, working dead-end job. This shit stopped working - my brain understands that none of those are very likely or don't care enough to force action.

Guys of TRP, how do you overcome the laziness, the comfortable life of mediocrity? I don't have energy or time for everything I THINK I want to accomplish and end up not doing anything.