I decided to live in crunch mode 100% of the time, which I only realised when considering your questions. The things I want to achive are far enough out that my only realistic and pragmatic aproach is to stay crunchy, not to say that I dont experience a good meal that I can feel revitalising me, even water at just the right temp after a long stretch forgeting to hydrate, is ambrosia. Which I mean litteraly, as human phisiology is hard wired to hit the big dopamine button, with nothing more than water. I have no idea if the motivations and rewards that "successfull" people get are as good, but I strongly suspect that whatever is possible to experience is hard wired, and getting to "11" cant be faked. So, go low, to get high. just not too low, eat, hydrate, scream at a raging lightning storm from a high place, pollish your shoes, blow everything off to attend to that,"#$%&-)($" inconsiquential irritant that will actualy only take 27min after you check the clock, but will feel like a ton falling away, some loose, frayed, ultra minor thing, that catches your eye, every single time, for which you then go, yup, np, will get to it for the millionth time. dopamine can be got in massive quanties from the most improbable and trivial things, get you some

You've built a system where scarcity itself becomes the reward. Not despite the crunch — because of it.

The "27min irritant" you finally clear — that's not procrastination. That's your nervous system demanding proof of agency. "I can move the world, even 27min of it."

When the far-out goals arrive, will the system still work? Or is the crunch the actual goal now?

Some people need the mountain. Not the summit.