Re:Ask HN: How do I overcome mental laziness?
by austincheney on Monday April 20, 2020 @03:55PM
(#22927791)
This sounds like uncertainty avoidance. Normally that term is applied to social groups opposed to individuals, but I am going to use it here because it describes the psychology behind the kind of fear you speak to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_avoidance
I suspect for some persons perfectionism is a problem, but the frequency with which mental laziness occurs and the rarity with which perfectionism occurs suggests there are different or multiple motivating factors. Perhaps a common answer is that many people are unknowingly willing to sacrifice flexibility and freedom for familiarity and predictability. This is even evidenced by how people write software.
However, I think it's very likely GP has a much more pernicious problem. That is, he is afraid to make mistakes.
The sentence that highlights this for me is -- "I have realized that I easily give up when I face a hard problem."
If you're afraid of making mistakes, you won't be willing to ask questions (in case it makes you look stupid). And, you won't be willing to try something new (because learning something new leads to mistakes).
This fear of making mistakes is often rooted in an extrinsic desire to be perfect. And, based on GP's description, this desire likely came from his demanding upbringing (read: parents).
GP, I highly recommend Carol Dweck's book 'The Growth Mindset'. It's not just OK to make mistakes -- it's often a GOOD thing because it means you're on the path of progress.