Total Consciousness

Chapter-2: Functions of Consciousness: Motivation and Fun

Outline of Article:

• The Second Interconnected Question of Consciousness
• Thank you

The Second Interconnected Question of Consciousness:

Why does a writer experience low motivation?

     Based on Equation-1, we can see that the three main reasons for a writer’s low motivation are: expectation, value and willpower. Although, with respect to writer’s block, we can typically narrow down the reasons to two factors: expectation and value. Don’t get me wrong, motivation will decrease over time because a person’s willpower acts very similarly to muscle. But, with respect to a writer, a decline in motivation is most likely due to expectations and values.

     To understand the full answer to this question, I need to introduce a rule from algebra.

The Zero Product Rule:

If a product is zero, then at least one of its factors must be zero.

     Applying this rule to real life motivation, we have that if motivation is zero (or very close to zero in real life), then at least one of its factors: value, expectation or willpower must be zero, or very close to zero in real life. With symbols, this means that if , M = (v)(e)(w) = 0 then at least one of these factors v, e or w must be zero, or very close to zero in real life. To clarify this concept, consider the following example:

Example: Jim’s Rough Draft

     Jim has a rough draft of his first novel to complete. For the past month, he has sat in his chair, in his room, staring at a blank computer screen every day and has completed zero sentences toward his rough draft. He is at a loss and is feeling completely drained of any positive motivation to continue writing.

     Michael, a very close friend of Jim’s, and a writer with ten published novels, is willing to help his friend during such a troubling time.

     Michael’s plan is simple, but not easy: talk with Jim, gather honest pertinent details about Jim’s situation and provide Jim with some advice that includes recommendations to act upon.

     Using the gathered information, follow along as Michael analyzes the situation Jim is in, diagnoses his writer’s block and helps to develop a preliminary plan of action.

Gathered Information:

• Based on Michael’s experience, writing a rough draft requires (on the average) at least 100,000 units of motivation per day until the rough draft is complete.
• Jim does Value the completed product of a finished, well-edited and highly polished novel. However, Jim does not fully understand the rough draft process and has no realistic way to Value the rough draft process. Hence, Michael estimates a Value of 10 for v, in participating in the actual rough draft process needed to complete a rough draft.
• Jim has claimed he is willing to do almost anything to complete his rough draft; and, personally, he assigns a very high number for w, 100 Willpower units, in completing his rough draft. Michael considers adjusting this amount down to a more realistic number but allows the number for willpower to stand.
• Jim adamantly believes that a writer must feel inspired, must feel immense joy, must feel tremendous confidence at every point of writing, and that each sentence (in a rough draft) must be supremely perfect, just like the writing in the completed, highly edited, highly revised and highly polished novels he loves. As a result, Michael approximates a realistic numerical quantity of .1 for, e, Expectations in the completion of a rough draft and of honestly participating in the rough draft process.
• Currently, Jim’s motivation for completing the rough draft of his first novel is at M= (10) (.1) (100) = 100 units of motivation—not even 1% of the required 100,000 units of motivation required per day, in order to complete the rough draft of his first novel.

Diagnoses and Plan of Action:

• Michael concludes that the main reason Jim has not completed his rough draft is because of unrealistic Expectations. Jim has the wrong expectations when it comes to the purpose of a rough draft. And, equally as debilitating, Jim has the wrong expectations about the honest requirements of the rough draft process.
• Moreover, even though Jim has tremendous willpower to write, he is exhausting himself when he sits down to wait, to write. In actuality, Jim has not been an active participant in the writing process, he has been an active participant in a waiting game.
• Michael further concludes that, because Jim has no realistic expectations of the rough draft process and of what a rough draft is supposed to be, Jim never allows himself to participate in the rough draft process at all. Instead, Jim has practiced placing himself in a contradiction loop of a waiting game, with no realistic way to win or to make progress.
• Michael’s advice: Jim must practice allowing himself to write the rough draft wrong, in order to complete a rough draft. Jim must have a minimum writing goal, per day, of one hundred wrong words that build up his rough draft. And Jim must have a maximum writing goal of no more than three hundred words per day.
• To avoid overwhelming his friend, Michael only focuses on three main actions for Jim: 1, permission to write wrong; 2, have a consistent reasonable writing range goal per day; and 3, gain a realistic understanding and expectation of the rough draft process.

     There is still a lot more that needs to be said about motivation. However, this will be addressed when I explain the details of fun. Once I have established what fun is and its purpose, then the writer (that’s you) will be able to understand the subtle misconceptions of motivation.

     In the meantime, the main takeaway from this example about Jim is that having the wrong expectations and values of the rough draft process will limit your completion of a rough draft.

     The devastating observation about motivation is that having strong willpower to write is not enough. In reality, having the wrong expectations puts an excess strain on your willpower, that drastically exhausts your motivation to write a rough draft.

     Therefore, the most important task a writer must be willing to understand is to develop the strength: to act with honesty in all aspects of life, in order to have the correct expectations and values surrounding the rough draft process.

2. Why does a writer experience low motivation?

Since motivation is defined as, ; then by the Zero Product Rule, when M = 0, then at least v = 0 or e = 0 or w = 0. Alternatively in real life, one of these factors may be very close to zero, whenever M is very close to zero.

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Thank You

     I appreciate your time in reading my blog post. Next Thursday I will upload the next part of Chapter-2: Functions of Consciousness: Motivation and Fun, from my abridged book on applied metaphysics, How Does Writer’s Block Work? Metaphysical Causes and Solutions.

     If you have an interest in learning more about my writing, my philosophy of metaphysics, or my self-development books, you are welcome to explore my website, totalconsciousnesses.com on WordPress. Or, if you prefer, spend some time on my Substack, totalfreewill.substack.com

     Also, I currently have nine independently published books on Amazon. Feel free to visit my Amazon Author Page. My top recommendations are: How Does Writer’s Block Work?; How Does Free-Will Work?; How Does Studying Work?; And, Luz Upon The World (this is a tequila western.)

     Overall, I hope the free posts that I upload to this website may provide some positive value in your life.

     Thanks again for your time.