We first used the carrot and stick on donkeys— indeed, the life of an ass is nothing more than being motivated by reward or punishment. However, humans have made themselves to be more asinine than their four-legged counterparts. The donkey is at least free from the carrot and the stick while its master is away. Humans, on the other hand, have internalized the carrot-and-stick dynamic by adulthood, and from there, never give it a rest. Furthermore, the stick within humans is not always a deterrent, but a prerequisite for the carrot. Not punishment and reward, but suffering and compensation.
An Education Not Yet Overcome
As with all vestigial faculties, we needed self-assification at some point during our development into members of society. No one considers a person who needs constant attention from an authority to be an adult. So before adulthood, most of us learned to do to ourselves what the authorities had to do to us. Instead of burdening our boss with managing us, we torture ourselves with the self-flagellation of doing things we don’t want to do so that we can afford the lifestyle that justifies our self-imposed suffering.
Because this vestigial faculty is chronically functioning, it tends to appropriate all endeavors if one is not careful. Even things that were once intrinsically motivated will be turned extrinsic by this faculty. The more it cripples us, the less we can do things out of pure enjoyment. Everything we do must fit into the dichotomy of suffering and compensation. The more ‘intelligent’ one is, the greater his tendency to delay gratification. He will constantly push the reward back to maximize the ultimate payoff.
But no payoff can compensate for having lived like an ass.
Overcoming vestigial faculties often comes with a sacrifice—one that’s daunting before you make it, but not such a big deal after the fact. Fortunately, the difficulty with this one is only emotional. The more ‘productive’ you are, the more difficult it will be.
Overcoming the Carrot and Stick Dynamic:
If you feel ANY compulsion to do something, then DON’T. Conversely, if you feel the compulsion NOT to do something, do it.
You might protest that this would lead to degeneracy, as if compulsion were the only support for your dignity.
Indeed, you might fall into some unappealing behavior. But if you truly stop being moved by compulsion, then those low-brow carrots will soon become unnecessary.
You’ll find that the key to breaking psychological addictions also lies in stopping the carrot-and-stick dynamic, as it sustains all nasty habits.
The typical addictive behavior pattern looks like this:
Problem Behavior → Self-Flagellation → Build-up of Frustration from Abstinence → Problem Behavior
The fortunate thing is that you can break this loop from any point.
So after doing the problem behavior and the subsequent build-up of frustration…
DON’T identify with the feelings of guilt that come up.
DON’T do anything to ‘make up’ for the problem behavior.
When you successfully overcome self-assification, you might encounter a period of purposelessness. This is especially the case if you had nothing rooted outside the self-reward dynamic. Resist the urge to go back to having that faculty cripple you. Just observe the existential wobbliness until it goes away.
You will have to live your everyday life while doing this. Don’t try to find a convenient time and place, like a retreat or a holiday.
Once you overcome this vestigial faculty, you will be open to true inspiration.
No more need you live the life of an ass.
