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The Dangers of Self-Coercion
Self-discipline can be extremely harmful to mental and physical health. The power of the rational brain has been pushed to incredible extremes. The cortex can override natural protective signals that prevent bodily harm. The cortex can interfere with healthy homeostasis.
In this text, I want to focus on the so-called self-discipline and the harms advocated by psychological “experts.” Some misconceptions about self-discipline have deeply taken root in modern culture. Only by systematically uprooting all these erroneous recommendations can the harm be alleviated.
Self-discipline can be valuable or deadly. It all depends on the mode of use.
Fallacy 1: Rewarding Yourself
Schools excel at rewarding students for meaningless studying. In school education[1], we replace innate intrinsic motivation to learn[4], which drives coherent[3] learning, with extrinsic motivation[2] (i.e., a performance-based reward and punishment system). In Soviet re-education camps, food portions were proportionally allocated according to performance (such as production quotas). In schools, those with good grades[5] are rewarded. Even the smiles and frowns of teachers[6] and parents are related to performance. The old trick is to interweave unpleasant studying with rewards: a few minutes of meaningless homework[7], then some fun stuff (like bilibili videos). A few minutes of cramming[8], followed by candy, and so on. This operant conditioning operates the same way as animal training. Even a pigeon can learn simple math. But pigeons will never contribute any human innovation.
Many self-discipline masters adopt this strategy to make people force themselves to work harder, even when their brains protest. With some self-discipline and rewards, a high achiever forces themselves to read 300 boring books on success, economics, and money. This rubber-like diet for the brain is unpleasant for a brain that is not easily receptive. The educational effect is minimal. Many times, under severe behavioral suppression, the same person might give up reading for years. Without the brain providing its own rewards, the activity cannot be effective. This is especially evident in learning. See: Fundamental Law of Learning[9].
Productivity should be a self-perpetuating reward.
Fallacy 2: Polyphasic Sleep
Since 2002, I have been combating the harmful fallacy of polyphasic sleep. Dozens of young men (rarely women) have caused incredible damage to their sleep control systems. The core of this fallacy is the so-called brain’s ability to adapt to only 2-3 hours of sleep per day. The plan’s execution caused the fallacy known as Edison sleep, which is based on futile grit[10]. A young person tortures themselves over weeks or months to wait to adapt to polyphasic sleep. Adaptation will never come because it is biologically impossible. Everyone must kill this fallacy for their own and the thousands of brain cells responsible for controlling sleep (see: How do we fall asleep?).
I do not claim immodestly that I have made a major contribution to killing the polyphasic sleep fallacy. This humorous old article (2005) is one of my proudest achievements, serving better sleep, health, and learning for the younger generation. Polyphasic sleep might be the best illustration of futile grit, or better said, stupid grit. For more, see: Polyphasic Sleep Myths.
Fallacy 3: Dopamine Detox
Dopamine detox or dopamine fasting refers to individuals giving up trivial pleasures such as social media, fast food, Bilibili, pornography, alcohol, etc. The purpose of detoxing is to give the brain a chance to feel possibly less intense natural pleasures, such as the beauty of nature, chatting with friends, good sleep, or solo time at home.
This concept makes sense when ordering a messy life. However, when detoxing extends into self-discipline in learning, it ignores a crucial truth that good learning is highly pleasurable[11]. Dopamine detox may lead to futile grit for unpleasant studying, which is typical for a typical school student. This is very harmful! It masks the necessity of adhering to the Fundamental Law of Learning[9]. Learning must be enjoyable. We must cherish the innate intrinsic motivation to learn[4]. Otherwise, we become insensitive to the joy of learning, just like a shift worker losing sensitivity to quality sleep or a yo-yo dieter losing sensitivity to healthy nutrition. Learning is its best reward; it does not require tools akin to detox.
Dopamine detox in learning is like saying: “If you’re hungry long enough, you’ll be able to eat trash.”
After years of study, it’s difficult to truly enjoy the pleasure of learning[11]. Dopamine detox may enhance one’s reactivity to the pleasure of learning. It can help a person take the first step on a new path. But it can never make up for the harms of cramming[8] for exams. Good learning requires the opposite strategy:
The pleasure of learning results from coherence[3] and value[12]. Dopamine is an ally of efficient learning.
Fallacy 4: Victorious Self-Sacrifice
Those who pursue happiness often end up unhappy. Those who seek comfort often mess up their lives. These observations have led to a self-help recommendation to never take the path of least resistance.
In the world of human optimization, we often assume a linear relationship. If a little self-sacrifice improves results, more self-sacrifice should be beneficial. However, in similar situations, it is often a nonlinear relationship. Regarding self-sacrifice, we should observe two points:
- Small amounts of pain may increase the success rate of self-coercion. See: Optimum Push Zone[13]
- As we arm the mind with knowledge and re-tune it for productivity, the necessary degree of sacrifice will continuously decrease
Rather than encourage self-destruction, pursue high productivity on a foundation of high happiness. Successful people often insist they work very hard and sleep very little, believing their path to the peak is a road through hell. They fail to appreciate or reveal how much joy they have encountered on that same road. Often, some degree of pain may itself be pleasure. When we look at Elon Musk’s tired young face, we may get the illusion that pain defines genius and high achievement. However, it is the struggle with problems that makes Elon thrive. The problems make him happy, not because they are difficult, but because his mind is armed with all necessary knowledge and skills to solve them.
The true formula for high productivity lies in retraining the mind to love hard work. This overhaul requires gradual progress, where tiny painful steps bring significant rewards. In problem-solving, we do not seek the hardest problems; we seek the golden zone of maximum return (see: Problem Valuation Network[12]). This is why schools do not teach problem-solving skills. Problem valuation is personal and cannot be imposed from above. Those who advocate self-discipline, goals, obstacles, effort, never giving up, and self-sacrifice often lead young people into burnout or depression.
For gradual retraining toward enjoying hard work, we must preserve the brain’s sensitivity to pleasure and pain signals. That’s why hard labor and high pain are harmful: they destroy precious guidance systems. Even the most hardworking workaholics will tell you that to succeed, you need to love your work.
High productivity is driven by passion and joy. Self-sacrifice may be counterproductive.
Fallacy 5: Getting Up at 5 a.m. to Exercise
Early morning exercise has been glamorized for decades. I was also fascinated by Rocky, who could drag his heavy back out of bed and run several kilometers before dawn wearing a thick hoodie. When I tried to replicate this feat, I suffered severe dehydration, lost in the first round of a boxing match, and experienced a week of irregular heartbeat.
Ten years later, I was wiser. When I began studying computer science, I had a disciplined plan to attend all lectures, immerse myself in knowledge, and be an honor student[5]. Soon I found waking up at 7 a.m. was quite painful. During morning lectures, I preferred to sleep rather than study. Lectures became pure time wastage. However, I found a solution. Instead of taking the bus to school, I ran. Upon arriving, sweating profusely, I took a cold shower (in the bathroom sink) and then felt refreshed to attend my first class. Fresh air and adrenaline had a magical effect on my brain. Unfortunately, by the second lecture, my freshness would be gone, and the run would only make me feel more tired. Soon I realized that good sleep was more important for mental work than lectures or jogging.
Every ten years, I subtly adjust my exercise time and have concluded the ideal exercise time is the fourth hour of the day (see: Circadian Phase). No other exercise time in the day makes sense (for me).
For those who must get up early for work, exercising at 5 a.m. has some benefits. But it is only helpful if the sleep cycle adapts to waking at 4 a.m. naturally without an alarm clock. Additionally, early exercise increases injury risk. It also takes away the best creative periods, which are better spent either not exercising or walking.
I have no statistics but can wildly guess that, for most people exercising at 5 a.m., the well-known benefits come with considerable harm. To make exercise meaningful, it must follow natural waking, be reasonably enjoyable (including the pleasure of pain), and result in a net mental boost for the next several hours. Sadly, this rarely seems to happen. Among my colleagues, injury and fatigue are the main trouble indicators for early exercisers.
Early morning exercise requires extensive expertise and experience to be beneficial.
Fallacy 6: Early Rising
Early rising is popular among top students. It may improve work efficiency. However, to be beneficial, it requires health. If early rising involves an alarm clock, it violates sleep hygiene. Healthy early rising must accompany natural termination of sleep and rely on the proper circadian adjustment. Alarm clock stress can indeed spur some self-discipline. However, if this discipline accelerates neuron death, especially in control systems responsible for defending against unhealthy behavior, we may observe short-term productivity gains but at the cost of longevity and lifelong productivity.
Free-running sleep and natural awakening help maximize creative productivity.
For more, see: Natural Creativity Cycle[14].
Fallacy 7: Avoid Using the “Snooze” Button
---------------People whose sleep is interrupted by an alarm clock[15] experience a severe war of the networks[16] in the morning. Their brains are clamoring to keep sleeping, while their self-discipline is calling them to get up. From a biological perspective, it is hard to say whether staying in bed longer is meaningful. It depends on too many variables. A very short prolonging of sleep can be harmful because it may cause further disturbance and struggle with the sleep control system. On the other hand, a longer prolonging of sleep might allow a full sleep cycle to be completed and produce some positive effects. A light awakening may cause less interference than a half-minute period of complete wakefulness. However, all these detailed analyses mean nothing in the face of the single healthy strategy:
Natural sleep should never be interrupted by an alarm clock
In an era when the most precious asset of the brain is creativity[17], violating the natural creativity cycle[14] is sabotaging long-term personal success. Alarm clocks and snooze buttons have no place in the equation of a healthy lifestyle. If combined with the notion that early rising can increase self-discipline, which is key to success, we might actually end up with a formula that accelerates brain aging. This is why self-discipline may be related to neurodegenerative diseases. See: Bad learning contributes to Alzheimer’s
Fallacy 8: Delayed Gratification
Productivity gurus will tell you to incorporate delayed gratification. However, when it comes to learning, creativity, or problem solving[18], the opposite rule should apply: if you are passionate about a problem at work, do it now. Passion is unstable. Forgetting undermines strategy and productivity. The highest achievements often result from a moment of inspiration. It can bring incredible rewards and joy. This is the instant gratification that we should embrace and cherish. It has nothing to do with ravenously devouring a cream cake.
Instant creative gratification is the reason that life is joyful and productive
Fallacy 9: No Napping
Tony Robbins tells you to replace the impulse to nap with push-ups. This advice only makes sense in certain circumstances, especially if you are in an environment where napping is impossible. I have the opposite rule, which is to prioritize replacing the impulse to nap by… napping (see: Biphasic life). Push-ups provide a dose of adrenaline that can briefly energize the mind. However, adrenaline cannot fix the Swiss cheese problem. Cortical performance deficits can be partially remedied by rest or activity change. However, they are best remedied by slow-wave sleep. Doing push-ups is no different from whipping a tired horse. Even a horse near death can summon its last effort. But the brain does not like being whipped. All whipping in the Swiss cheese state has a negative effect on neuron health. Even if you do not care about long-term brain health, your current creative productivity can be significantly enhanced by napping.
Napping should be avoided when it could affect the circadian cycle. See: Best time for napping. Especially napping in the evening is particularly harmful to the body. When the circadian phase is 10 or later, productivity drops due to decreased alertness, and the best strategy is to give up mentally demanding work for the rest of the day. The right strategy is to spend the remaining time with intellectually undemanding activities (such as walking, socializing, etc.).
When productivity gurus tell you not to nap or suggest dozens of strategies to survive without napping, you know they are not familiar with the mechanisms of the creative brain. Instead, see: Power nap.
Smart napping is a magical productivity tool
Fallacy 10: Constantly Reaffirming Goals
Sitting down to restate your goals seems like an important part of the self-discipline ritual. However, this raises the question: if goals are important, why repeat them? Goals are essential in guiding good action because they drive the entire knowledge value tree. However, if persevered upon relentlessly, they seem to merge with a person’s thoughts and behavior so thoroughly that no self-discipline or reminders are needed. I tend to think that if someone constantly reviews their goal list, there is an inherent valuation problem. Just the act of recapping feels like a compulsion directed against oneself. Speaking of goals, the scope of the push zone[13] should probably be close to zero. I do make an exception for graduates and dropouts who have been led by the hand too long. Nothing stifles goal valuation more effectively than interference from people and institutions imposing goals on individuals.
Fallacy 11: TV Abstinence
For many, television is a terrible waste of time. Those who threw away their TV to purify their lives may gain greatly. However, television can also be a good educational resource. When combined with incremental video, it forms a wonderful supplement to incremental reading[19]. When I research memory or sleep, I do not rely on TV. However, when it comes to learning history as a hobby, few resources can compete with National Geographic or the History Channel. When a self-discipline master tells you to stop watching TV, they may be violating the rule of adopting the optimal push zone[13] in self-discipline. Progressive changes in a person’s life are much easier. A better rule might be to stop watching reality shows, soap operas, or game shows. Or to stop watching live TV so it doesn’t dominate your schedule. Watching some entertaining TV before sleep might actually be healthier than disciplinarily reading a book about “financial success.”
Throwing away a TV is a bit like closing a library just because most of the bookshelves contain junk. Admittedly, I have taken similar radical discard actions myself. I threw the concept of a car out of my life. However, in my view, the benefits far outweigh the costs. After years of abstinence, the costs become imperceptible. As always, everyone needs to use their best guidance from their knowledge valuation network[12] (commonly known as the “nose”) to make similar decisions.
Fallacy 12: School Self-Discipline
School self-discipline is harmful
In school, discipline and self-discipline benefit grades, honors, and certificates (see: Dangers of being a Straight-A student[5]). On the other hand, self-discipline is dreadful for the pleasure of learning[11]. Therefore, it institutionally undermines students’ ability to apply learning drive[4] in efficient learning. In the long term, compulsory schooling[20] damages lifelong learning, social adaptation, and healthy productivity. Compulsory schooling significantly promotes addiction, depression, and other mental health issues. Compulsory schooling must end[21].
See Alfie Kohn’s: Self-discipline in school
Further Reading
See: Formula for healthy self-discipline
Ye Junyao: Formula for successful self-discipline
Original text: Harms of self-discipline - supermemo.guru
References
–1. ^ Passive School Education https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/359037513
2. ^ External Motivation Outside School https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/539022457
3. [1](#ref_3_0)b Consistency vs Coherence https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/264327134
4. [2](#ref_4_0)bc Intrinsic Motivation for Learning https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/52990549
5. [3](#ref_5_0)bc The Danger of Being a Top Student https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/369391813
6. ^ Teachers https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/369291348
7. ^ Homework https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/501186817
8. [4](#ref_8_0)b Rote Memorization (Cramming Learning) https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/360416156
9. [5](#ref_9_0)b Basic Laws of Learning https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/273225977
10. ^ Futile Perseverance https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/529003673
11. [6](#ref_11_0)bc The Joy of Learning https://www.zhihu.com/question/429432467/answer/1578551193
12. [7](#ref_12_0)bc Knowledge Valuation Network https://www.kancloud.cn/ankigaokao/supermemo-guru-cn/1895485#610_Knowledge_valuation_network_268
13. [8](#ref_13_0)bc Optimal Driving Zone https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/67694020
14. [9](#ref_14_0)b Natural Creativity Cycle https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/68262875
15. ^ Alarm Clock https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/547116585
16. ^ Neural Network War https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/359658715
17. ^ Creativity https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/450093869
18. ^ How to Solve Any Problem? https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/351779186
19. ^ Incremental Reading https://www.yuque.com/supermemo/wiki/incremental_reading
20. ^ Compulsory School Education https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/351869026
21. ^ Compulsory School Education Must End https://www.zhihu.com/question/445508892/answer/1779155058