This week's @Ecotrain QOTW asked us to consider what the most significant reason is for not taking positive actions that change our lives for the better.
There was mention in the Question blurb of why it is, for example, that so many of us spend so long watching endless videos, or engaged in other such mindless tasks, rather than actually doing anything....
This comment went some way to shaping my response...
What Prevents Positive Action: The PostModern Condition?
Ironically, and postmodernly, I don't think it's possible to say that there is 'one single' causal factor that prevents people taking positive actions towards positive changes in their lives.
This is because a key feature of living in postmodernity is that there is a lot going on all at once, a lot of chores that need doing, a lot of people to keep happy, a lot of information to digest and keep on top of, just to keep up, just be normal, just to survive.
As a result ordinary life is frenetic, as we are buffered around from this task to that task, as we weight up point of view A against point of view B, and many of us become unable to act, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices we are forced to make.
NB a key aspect of living in postmodernity IMO is that we are forced to make constant choices - choice kind of becomes oppressive.
The multifacted character as the locked-in postmodern norm...
Consider what it takes to 'fit-in' to society today, most people want to fit-in just enough and 'stand-out' in the right sort of self-affirming way.
You need to have multiple qualifications, keep those updated as you go, probably work for 50 hours a week which takes up half of your waking hours.
Then there are numerous materialistic concerns to keep on top of - housing, utilities, clothes, gadgets, individual style.
Social pressures - going out, maintaining your social media presence, maintaining your hobbies and identity.
And all of this requires one to keep abreast of the latest news, reviews, info.
Add the typical always-on connection - online we are exposed to all sorts of increasingly tailored distractions, rabbit holes which can steal hours every week of hour attention if we are not careful.
Now, all of this, if you grow up into it, and if you negotiate is successfully, can be very satisfying personally, if you understand the rules of the game and play them well.
But it all takes a lot of effort, a lot of commitment, a lot of, quite literally, buying-in.
So if you see a message that says 'hey, that always on materialistic lifestyle you lead, it sucks right, how about doing less, consuming less, and being a bit more green'?
I mean, you're hardly likely to listen to it, are you?
Especially not if you've spent 30-40 years building your post-modern lifestyle, and if you've kids, that means you're more likely to be locked-in.
That's if you hear it in the first place amidst all the noise.
But there is hope...
People, even families, do break free, but it can be an adjustment.
I see it around here a lot in East Central Portugal - people having wrenched themselves from the system, living off-grid, but it takes it's toll, it's hard work, not everyone makes it, and it's not with out its own set of preventative challenges, but that's another story!