Once I achieve I lose motivation (lemmy.ml)

submitted 6 months ago by ppag@lemmy.ml to c/adhd@lemmy.world

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So I've noticed a pattern in my life that I was hoping someone could empathize with.

I've been training for over a year for a physical test that I really want to pass. The other day I tried to do the exercises that I'll have to do in the test and I completed all of them successfully and now I feel that I've lost some of my motivation to get better. It's as if I was trying to prove that I could do it and I feel that I have, although I really haven't since I haven't taken the test. I've noticed this before. A couple years ago I tried really hard to get into a prestigious degree in a reputable university through my own merit. I managed to get in and soon after I lost interest and quit. Has anyone experienced something like this before?

Thank you for your time :)

Ps.: I'm not sure this is related to ADHD, I just figured it might be and the people here might be able to advise me.

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[-] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 8 points 6 months ago

Yeah that sounds familiar. I recently did A "couch-to-5k" jogging...challenge...thing. Anyway, now I'm like, do I just keep jogging? Feels anticlimactic. I thinking checking the box off my todos than I did at the finish line lol.

I'm curious: do you pretend to be excited?

I kind of treated it like playing a sport -- you take part in the Magic Circle -- pretending to care about the outcome to increase everyone's enjoyment, while knowing it's just a game. Maybe that's what being "a good sport" means...

I'm curious because I've been assuming that accomplishment isn't so much a feeling as a performance. I do sometimes get a feeling of intense relief, when I can stop doing something painful. All the better if I'm not stopping because I've "failed."

I think that's the feeling people are after but now I'm doubting myself.

this post was submitted on 02 May 2024

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