How to stop mentally escaping

"You can escape from your responsibility, but you cannot escape from the consequences of escaping from your responsibility."

This is life changing. I’ve been a chronic procrastinator even though it results in so much anxiety and self hatred. I was told that I procrastinate because “I don’t care enough,” or because I’m “Lazy,” when actually I’m a huge over-thinker. I get completely paralysed by my own mind and the sense that if I think about it enough I’ll be more prepared. Submitting is letting go of your thoughts, your attachment and just focusing on the act. It completely simplifies it in a way that makes it less daunting

My dad is in his mid 70s and has worked out (nearly) daily for 40 years. When I asked him how he had the motivation, he said “I don’t. I turn off my brain and I drive to the gym. I don’t let myself think one thought, I just go. Then once I’m there I get it done and I feel better.” He’s in such great physical health and it’s helped his mental health too. It still took me a long time to follow his advice, but when I do it really does work.

*Saves to watch later list*

I can't articulate how effective this man is at articulation and communication, he's phenomenal to listen to.

I am French, with no talent for foreign languages. I was actually pretty bad at it. In 2020, I started watching these videos, first to take control of my life, then to improve my understanding of English, which was catastrophic. And today, this is the first video that I can listen to completely and understand the meaning, without any subtitles. So I just want to thank you. Thanks to your work, I'm getting better at different things : organization, getting things done, cutting out the mental… and english. It was unexpected for me, so sincerely : thank you for these quality contents. I wanted to understand them, so that motivated me.

It has taken me years to internalize that it's actually my anxiety that causes all of the "Ugh, I don't want to do this thing, it's going to be so hard, it's going to take me forever" thoughts of procrastination, and now that I know what it is, I find myself acknowledging these thoughts and what they are and then letting them go so I can just get to work. It's been a game-changer.

You didn't say it explicitly, but this made me think of the concept of letting go of our ego. My ego holds me back from doing things I know are beneficial in exchange for instant pleasure. I need to feel bigger than I am, and this makes me unable to relax into my obligations. I love the idea of submitting in this context, that's a real game changer. Awesome stuff as usual!

One small line from your video that I think should be emphasized more here is that sense of euphoria when you actually "submit" to doing the scary or hard thing. Its just such a rewarding rush of accomplishment that only fuels and accelerates your willingness to continue to do it more and more. After standing on the cliff staring down for so long, psyching yourself out, when you finally plunge into the cold water the surge of dopamine and "I-can-do-this-ness" is such an empowering feeling for getting over this mental block. As always Joey, fantastic video. Thank you for articulating these ideas so well,

What a wonderful take on the "just do it" mentality. Sometimes you already know the answer but need to hear it in a different way. Really appreciate this, thank you for all you do.

This video couldn't have had better timing. I am working on an assignment due today and had 15 days to work on it. Every single time I do this, which is every single time, I ask myself why. I had time to work on it throughout the past two weeks, but I wasted time complaining, worrying about it, and regretting not being more productive. Not only that, it is something I have chosen to do, and I even enjoy it, but I still procrastinate. The idea of submitting to the discomfort first to enjoy the reward later (playing video games, watching a movie, or THIS video) really appeals to me. I'll watch this video once a week until the idea sinks in. Now, I'll get back to my assignment.

It takes me some courage to watch your videos because they always make me question my lifestyle and call me out for not living the life I'd like to live. Thank you so much, your content is authentic and helping me become a better person.

To be honest, I already knew all of this, but I forgot. Desperately needed this reminder. I can actually remember now how I used to think about things that I would tend to want to procrastinate. I guess I kind of realized that there were two sides of my brain that were battling about procrastination, and I realized that while it FEELS easier to procrastinate, its actually just as easy to, as you put it, submit to your rational, disciplined side. Thank you sir for what you do it really helps.

i like the reverse videos of him showing us what not to do, makes me feel very insecure when i reflect on my past and present.

Summary for my future reference on my notes, sharing here too: 💣 Procrastination and escapism can lead to chronic anxiety and a lower quality of life, affecting everything we do and enjoy 💣 Unresolved issues from the past affect our present 💣 Procrastination affects our entire lives 💣 Change the order of tasks to change the narrative of our lives 💣 Submission is a tactic to overcome suboptimal behavior 💣 Submit to discomfort to overcome it 💣 Submit to discomfort to stop procrastinating and make better decisions

I recently fell into a deep hole in my life, overwhelmed with financial insecurity and a general disdain for the position I currently am in my life. I felt hopeless, almost falling into the deepest pit of despair. When this video showed up on my feed, it changed my life in a way. I realized I had all the resources to turn things around and felt motivated to make a change and developed a more positive attitude towards making decisions that were good for me. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your videos. You really make a huge difference in so many people's lives and that is really meaningful. Many young people these days living on their own don't have proper access to therapy or emotional supports and in a way your videos help some people go through their own healing journey.

Everything I ever achieved in my life was done with minimal reflection. Overthinking just makes everything harder and held me down. Thank you for this video it reminds me to just go on and not waste my time with rumination.

I once read this idea from psychology which stated we seek distraction, thus escape, on purpose. Why? Well, in one of my videos I explained how we prefer to keep ourselves busy to avoid uncomfortable feelings rather than facing reality. But I believe in the long run the pain of regret is higher than of facing discomfort for a short moment by taking action. This is what I remind myself of everytime I'm avoiding the thing I should be doing.

This is actually what people need who suffer with this chronic existential crisis of not being who they are supposed to be and that feeling drains all the joy. But you are the first person i came across who explains it so clearly.

You have literally changed my life and perception of reality with this video. I've struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, which made me live in a state of constant worry and fixation on past and future events. I would always be tensed up and would strain my throat just to speak since I was never relaxed. This is because I was "fighting" the negative feelings of discomfort in my body and mind. After you said the word "submission", what I thought to be my reality just shattered, as I actually let myself accept everything and repeat in my mind that "I'm gonna be ok". It's a very liberating feeling, as for the first time in years I am feeling connected to the present and feel as though I am ready to take on new challenges. Perhaps I have always been like this, but simply needed a reminder and a pat on the back. Thank you so much for this video! Hearing those words meant a lot to me.