For example, as an extrovert, reflection (particularly self-reflection) drains me, but that doesn't mean it's any less important for people universally to regularly, systematically reflect, just because it has that cost to me and many others.
Speaking as an introvert, socialization drains me, but I socialize. Obviously, the costs of not doing so at all would be far greater to me than the cost of engaging in some socialization.
Suppose I told you right now, "You should triple the amount of time you spend in self reflection, because self reflection is highly valuable." We both recognize that self reflection is highly valuable, but that doesn't mean that I'm giving you good advice, because I'd be offering it without regard for the fact that I have no information on your cognitive limits relative to the amount of time you spend at it already.
Whatever amount of self reflection you're currently at, I could ask you "if you really agree self reflection is important, why don't you do it more?" Obviously there are suboptimal levels for a person to engage in, but that doesn't mean I'm in any position to assume that you're still at a point where adding more is worth the costs.
Yes, I had forgotten that introverts have a stronger focus on habits/routines, and so they could form intent without necessarily thinking it good in the particular instance. As someone who mostly struggles to cultivate habits, I was thinking as if intent necessarily indicates that you've decided applying it in this instance to be good already. So I guess I was surprised by the comparison between absolute and relative value.
Anyway I take your point about diminishing returns. I'm aware I tend to behave far too sanguine to properly consider the effect of dimi...
r/Fitness does a weekly "Moronic Monday", a judgment-free thread where people can ask questions that they would ordinarily feel embarrassed for not knowing the answer to. I thought this seemed like a useful thing to have here - after all, the concepts discussed on LessWrong are probably at least a little harder to grasp than those of weightlifting. Plus, I have a few stupid questions of my own, so it doesn't seem unreasonable that other people might as well.