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Crux comments on Use Your Identity Carefully - Less Wrong
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Did this LWer accurately assess his own 100% defeat of akrasia? ("No problems?" Like, ever?)
Was he actually avoiding objectively stupid things? Or just things he deemed as stupid as the self-reported Conquerer of Akrasia? Did he really have "his shit together"? Or is it possible he was mistaken? Perhaps he was a bit blinded by his biased self-image? (I mean, he never experiences even mild akrasia? Is he a robot?)
Are you sure your shit isn't together? Compared to whom? Is it possible you have generated your identity, in part, as a comparison to those who you've been led to believe are better than you when, in fact, their self-reported self-image is not an accurate representation of reality? Because of this, is it possible you aren't giving yourself enough credit? And would it then follow that your actions might be constrained by your inaccurately low self-image?
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I've met people who think they are awesome who actually kinda suck. And vice versa.
An accurate view of your objective output (productivity, etc.) can be valuable. A deluded identity can keep you from improving -- it can keep you from even recognizing you need improvement.
Good point. I've had months of my life which felt like I had no akrasia, because I didn't care. The moment I thought to myself "I really need to get this [project that will take a ton of work] done", it feels like I'm some ridiculous non-agent who can't make decisions, trapped, unable to remove my hands from the keys, unable to stop reading Reddit, unable to go to sleep so I can wake up early.
I've met a thousand people who say they have no motivation issues, but then I notice they're not exactly doing much in their life that causes akrasia problems. Akrasia is a misfiring of our hardware that happens when you try to do certain tasks; if you don't do those tasks then you've got no akrasia. Doesn't mean you're very productive.
I'm reminded of a time when I felt like I had overcome procrastination. Kind of. It still didn't mean that I would have done everything right away: it just meant that when I was putting off something, I was able to do so without feeling constantly guilty about it. I didn't get any more done, but I don't think I got any less done either, and I did feel happier.