I was just thinking maybe you're just apathetic lately because you need a break from work and a chance to re-energize and the ensuing post is massive overthinking on my part but ... I'll post anyway:
Cooking all my own food for a month, cutting my own hair, microgreens, tempeh, compost worms, solar cooker, etc etc. I know I have the capability to do all that stuff, but yet I just choose not to. I don’t feel great eating at restaurants or paying for haircuts and yet I still do it.
The "Decentralizing FI for Strategic Reasons" thread and the ensuing conversations in that thread had me thinking a lot about the psychology of the value-action gap. https://effectiviology.com/value-action-gap/ Where our knowledge/values don't always align with our behaviors and actions. Sometimes they do in a general sense but its easier to pick out specific behaviors when one is trying to live deliberately.Recently I started re-organizing my room and ultimately decided that it was going to take some consumer solutions to solve it or else I was just never going to get to it. So, I bought a small shelf for my monitor and recently bought a few storage shelves from Amazon. Sure, I could’ve DIY’d shelves or scoured FB marketplace to get a used set, but I also knew that would take weeks and put me at risk of further procrastination. I don’t feel great about buying something new from a factory when lower-footprint alternatives exist, but I feel like it’s more valuable to get my space in order while I feel the spark to do it.
I'm really starting to believe this is a big part of it:
There is a value jump from the WL1-5 cohort to the WL6+. The carrot for the first group is mostly based on financial capital. Values like freedom, financial independence, escaping a job, and having more money to invest will align easily with actions such as eating at home, cutting your own hair, riding your bike to work, etc.AxelHeyst wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:43 amIt occurs to me that the carrot of FIRE is very distracting. The problem is that it is at WL5 ish. So if it really is the carrot of FI that attracts you to ERE, well, you get the reward at WL5. And then for most people there is no other visible carrot. The reasons for going on to WL6 or 7 or whateverthehell 8+ is are... opaque, fuzzy, even repellent to some. So you get the carrot at WL5, and then you're good, and you're basically done.
But do your behaviors hold up after you're already accumulated large multiples of annual expenses in compounding investments?
If the behaviors change, say from mostly eating at home to getting takeout food a few times a week, then I will propose the main cause is that carrot has already been won (money) and that counter-incentives such as convenience become stronger over-time. There might be other causes to the value-action gap that are more individual and worth meditating on and exploring. Easy to justify a restaurant meal that was previously against your values when you already have so much money saved up. It also might be worth exploring what the carrots are for WL6+.
Recognizing the misaligned value to action behavior can sometimes lead to mental distress - especially when one prides themselves on aligning logic and reason to their behaviors. In other words, it is a distress to realize that your values are not aligning with your actions at all times. Its a double-edged sword - this constant rumination of values and its meanings leads to accomplishments and success in some areas of life but one can be hard on themselves in other ways.
A potential solution might be a change of values. Recognize that this is a long process:
I'll add that the final step needs to be repeated over and over again until a true habit is formed. But the value needs to be strong enough to begin with. And the carrot has to change as well.First, people must acquire the necessary knowledge on a certain topic.
Then, people must process this knowledge in a way that causes them to form relevant values.
Next, people must translate these values into intentions to take action.
Finally, people must translate these intentions into real actions.