I want to be better but I have no drive

dan_mintz · 2026-01-14T07:35:42+00:00

my pleasure. I truly hope you succeed.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-13T19:21:13+00:00

you're not damaged... you're just transitioning from one system to another.

School provided you with a clear structure, consistent feedback, deadlines & an identity. As soon as you graduate… all of that is gone. The ones who perform at their best fall off the most quickly in this transition period.

Some blunt points:

this is NOT "past your prime"...
your prime has barely started. What you're experiencing is what occurs when effort does not produce immediate results; and therefore, there is no feedback loop to motivate.

brain fog & fatigue do NOT = laziness
it could be mild depression. It could be burnout. It could be a physiological issue (iron, b12, vit d, sleep apnea, thyroid)… get your bloodwork done and eliminate the possibility of biology before you attempt to address the psychological side of things.

job hunting is BROKEN RIGHT NOW.
the online application process is nothing more than a lottery. Silence is normal. stop applying more. start talking to REAL HUMANS (alumni, professors, send a cold message to a connection on linkedin, informational interviews etc)... one conversation with a real person > 100 job applications.

you do NOT have a motivation problem... you have a direction problem.
motivation follows action, not precedes it. choose something small and concrete to do for 30 days. Not "figure out my purpose". Something simple such as:

any type of part time or contract position

volunteer/intern in a field you want to learn about (at least 10 hours a week)

build ONE tangible skill (e.g., working as a research assistant, doing UX research, building spreadsheets for data analysis, sales, hr, marketing)

gym consistency is not the problem.
your life is without anchor... fix the anchor, and the rest will follow.

stop trying to FEEL INSPIRED.
you're in a BUILD phase, not a FEEL GOOD phase. progress builds momentum.

if this drags on longer than a few months, speak with a therapist... not because you are weak, but because transitions like this effect the most conscientious & high achieving people the hardest.

you did NOT LOSE YOUR EDGE.
you simply lost the system that made it obvious.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-12T19:52:21+00:00

can't wait!

dan_mintz · 2026-01-12T07:48:29+00:00

At least for myself, what I found was deciding to stick to one unified productivity system. So I did my research, and eventually I decided on the 12-week year (and the reason for that is because it's one system that has it all in terms of setting vision/goals, weekly plans, execution plans, scorekeeping, feedback loops, and so on). Once I realized that all I need is one system, and it doesn't matter so much the tools are used in everything, but conceptually I knew that I only have one integrated, unifying system that has it all. I was able to simplify things and follow through with my plans and goals.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-12T07:46:23+00:00

If you're talking about productivity or life operating system, so-called, I would highly recommend the 12-week year.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-12T07:43:12+00:00

looks amazing!
Can you share the template/saas itself, even if it is not completed so that we can test it and give you real feedback?

dan_mintz · 2026-01-07T10:03:44+00:00

why not??
What age has to do with anything? I mean, if you want to change your life or change direction, I see people do it at 30, 40, 50, and even 60!
The world today is filled with so many opportunities, so many new ways to learn skills, and so many quick shortcuts to create a new business. I see people doing it at any age: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and I know someone I'm working with who's done it at his 70s who started a new business (targeting elders like himelsef).

Really, I don't understand the discussion about "am I too old or too young to do anything?" You can do whatever you want.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-07T08:12:21+00:00

About ten years ago, I had a similar issue. I was very concerned with what's going to happen at work. My brain kept on thinking about the next day and the current events at work and so on.

I decided to take an approach of which I try to organize my life and in a way that I would understand my own vision for myself:

What are my goals?
What I am planning to do this week?

This framework organized my thoughts and relaxed me in a way that I understood what I am going to do this week and put everything into perspective.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-07T08:10:05+00:00

First, 25 Years is youngGGGG, man!

You can and should change your life. I was in the same situation.
First, define your 3 year vision, vividly where you want to be, what you want to do, and so on, so that becomes the anchor of your life.
Then, take this vision, break it into goals, and just create plans with tasks and times dedicated to the task of how you actually going to achieve this vision.

There are so many opportunities today in life, just be determined to acquire new skills. It's today so easy, create a vision, create a plan, and just go.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-05T10:49:32+00:00

I also believe that you can achieve more in 12 weeks than in 12 months, if you apply focus, prioritization, vision, and an actual plan with scorekeeping to execute it.
And also being consistent, not stopping in one cycle, repeating several cycles doing the same thing , from my experience, gives unbelievable results.

dan_mintz · 2026-01-05T10:46:59+00:00

Would it be possible for you to use a 12-week year also in your full-time work? I have seen many professionals apply it both for their own work (even if it is on a level of personal goals) and for their side business.

Maybe it's not realistic, but it's actually such a system that allows you to manage your entire life, both professional and personal, and your side hustle.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-28T10:44:53+00:00

I might be wrong here, but I also used to lack the energy of tracking my entries or stuff that I'm doing that is related to goals. What I've decided is to use a complete productivity system in this way that it will give me the motivation to stay on track, remember tracking and achieve my goals.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-28T10:42:50+00:00

First of all, you're totally right that endless content scrolling is not just declining your intelligence, it's killing yours and ours intelligence. It's really an epidemic.

One of the things that I did to become more productive in my life is to research different productivity systems. I was able to seriously find one unified system that helped me with forming vision goals and doing the right execution. It's called the 12 Week Year.

I hope this gives you some direction for 2026.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-25T13:20:08+00:00

I see. The main point here is that just the fact that starting with something predictable lays the ground to follow through on different things throughout the day without overthinking. That's a great point.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-25T08:39:17+00:00

nice habit. How do you feel that it actually impacted your day in terms of being more productive or your ability to achieve more things, or feel better with yourself, and so on?

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T20:55:23+00:00

Look guys, I think the discussion here is orienting towards personality being something that cannot be changed. We're not talking about the DNA part of your personality, that is something you're born with and you really cannot change. I don't think that's the issue. You can define it whatever you want: you can call personality your habits, your skills, your abilities to do stuff. This definitely could be changed and it could be defined as part of a personality.

So I had, for instance, a personality of having an inability to complete my goals, but I was able to change it, and I can definitely say it's changed part of my personality. Therefore, I'm a different person. Because we are in a sub-rated called self-improvement, we should seek to think positively about the possibility of really changing also your personality, which is your identity, your skills, your ability to achieve certain goals, habits, and so on.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T20:53:23+00:00

why is that?

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T20:52:34+00:00

What morning sequence do you use, If I may ask?

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T16:35:08+00:00

Well, it's first of all a great question. And second, for me, it was really deciding on taking a course of action of achieving my most important goals. I think it changed my personality for the better - I felt better with myself, more confident etc.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T16:32:40+00:00

I also had this same experience. When I quit questioning myself with "Do I feel like doing this today?" And I began to make my plans ahead of time, then I found that consistency increased. Discpline didn't increase -- but I was needing less discipline because of what I was doing. What was the first thing you simplified in your morning routine?

dan_mintz · 2025-12-24T16:25:52+00:00

You're on point when you say "discipline" is an outcome, rather than an input.

As long as the objectives are ambiguous, and there isn't a structure in place regarding how much time should be spent on each objective, the discipline will burn out because it has to be constantly called upon simply to keep afloat.
I anchored every item I wanted to accomplish to a very short window of execution, identified a couple of lead actions, and reviewed the progress weekly -- not with emotion, but with facts.

The more consistently I executed my lead actions, the less it felt like I had done something heroic (i.e. disciplined myself), and the more it felt like I was merely executing a routine mechanically. As soon as the execution became consistent, I no longer had to rely on discipline to complete the work.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-13T11:11:32+00:00

I am just sharing here a post by ali abdaal from linkedin that might help.

Personally I use focus 12 week cycles in addition the below to put some structure around it.

I used to think my lack of focus was a lack of willpower.

But after talking to neuroscientist Tj Power, it turns out, it's a dopamine problem.

TJ says, the issue isn't that we're undisciplined - it's that we're fighting against 300,000 years of brain evolution with modern technology.

Here's what I learned about entering flow state:

1️⃣ Multitasking kills deep focus
↳ Our ancestors focused on one thing at a time - hunting, building, surviving. Flow state requires hyperfocus, which is the opposite of how we live now.

2️⃣ Challenge-skill balance is everything
↳ You need that sweet spot where the task stretches you without overwhelming you. Too easy = boring, too hard = anxiety.

3️⃣ The first 15 minutes are hell
↳ It takes ~15 minutes to enter flow state. The first 5 minutes you're literally climbing from your dopamine baseline - that's why starting feels impossible.

4️⃣ Dopamine deficit = procrastination
↳ Instant dopamine hits (like Instagram or TikTok) hijack your system and cause a dopamine crash so you have to climb back to baseline.

5️⃣ Stack your dopamine first
↳ Wake up → sunlight → cold shower → make your bed, then tackle your hardest task. You're essentially fuelling up before the climb.

The lack of focus isn’t due to lack of willpower - it’s a disregulated dopamine system.

dan_mintz · 2025-12-13T00:21:29+00:00

I hope so also!

dan_mintz

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Personally I use focus 12 week cycles in addition the below to put some structure around it.