Comment by tester on Self-empathy as a source of "willpower" · 2010-10-28T07:59:05.460Z · LW · GW

That's a dangerous (and personally I think incorrect) argument Nerissa if taken to its logical extremes.

Whether being a lazy freeloader is indeed the logical choice as you claim depends on exactly what kind of 'rewards' you're looking for from your life. If all you want is medical attention and welfare support, then maybe it's true, although I'd expect that most people would prefer to exchange the medical attention for health, and the welfare support (presumably equivalent to just scraping by) for a more comfortable, while still easily obtainable, income source

An excellent article Academian; like others have noted, what you describe sounds a lot like the idea of an 'inner balance' - being aware of your differing motivations/desires and attempting to form some kind of peace between them.