On Sunday I started writing a blog about an article I read about fin-dom. I spent two hours writing but I just felt like it wasn’t sufficient enough for the message I wanted to capture. As I wrote more, I started to lose focus on what I actually wanted to say and I felt like I was rambling and writing for the sake of writing something. What was going on in my mind?
Introspection is the ability to examine one’s own emotional and psychological processes. I took a break from writing about the article and, instead, began reflecting on why I was having such a hard time writing. Why was I feeling demotivated? Why am I putting pressure on myself to write the “perfect article”?
Being a perfectionist was a struggle I’ve dealt with and it would paralyze me from being productive. And I don’t think I’m alone in these feelings. For example, if I were to do a workout, I had a list of exercises I had to complete if I were to start. Reflecting on this long list seemed daunting and so it would stop me from starting a workout at all. Having this play in my mind would make me counterproductive and it became frustrating as I was struck between wanting to reach a goal and feeling unable to.
A logical fallacy is a psychological persuasion or process that may seem convincing in our minds but are proven wrong with reasoning and logical examination. The “either-or” logical fallacy (sometimes called the false dilemma) refers to a “black and white”/“all or nothing” thinking process, ignoring any grey areas that could exist. Relating back to the example presented above, regarding the gym, self awareness helped me adopt the mentality that “any type of physical exercise is better than nothing at all” and that my workouts do not need to reflect any level of perfection. Now I will go to the gym planning to workout for 30 minute and I end up spending a few hours. Awareness of this logical fallacy had been the most important step in making changes in my thinking process and motivation to reach my goals.
I’ve decided I will post what I’ve written after sharing my thoughts and apprehension first. I’ve also written a third article after discussing these thoughts and feelings about the article with a close friend, which offers a different angle and perspective. Feel free to read more about this logical fallacy below.
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