Is it possible to be fully mentally engaged in your life at all times?

[mODIN]

Throughout my life, I've had many attempts of cutting out everything that I deemed unnecessary or counter-productive in favor of art, learning, practicing skills, work and overall self development. Yet, be it news, social media, porn, etc. I always seem to gravitate towards having some form of distraction of low quality content consumption in my life. I'm now living a more analogue life than ever (barely interacting with any screen) and I've noticed that I'm still, proportionally speaking, almost just as often disengaged with what I'm doing. All that changed is that I've switched from doomscrolling to reading mid-tier books while only half paying attention until my motivation and mental acuity returns. Does this show that there's actually a physical limit to how much time you can be fully present in a day? 

[Opulence]

Something I'm trying to achieve.

[Joshe]

We can't summon engagement consistently. No matter how much we try, we can't overpower our nature, and we'll eventually burn out if we try. Willpower and determination require an energetic force, which come and go as byproducts of thought and chemistry, therefore is unreliable.

The most engaged I've ever been was when I had no backup plan. One path with no exits. If you want that level of engagement without a life crisis forcing it, you have to create it yourself by cutting all escape routes. This forum is an example of one of many escape routes. 

A common misconception is that people arrive at their destination by taking massive action, 100% commitment, and unwavering dedication to their goals. But this is very rarely the case. Reaching the destination usually happens naturally when there's nothing else competing for your attention. Do or die situations provide this, as well as hitting rock bottom and accepting an olive branch, or simply by being able to afford putting the majority of your time into the thing, which most people cannot afford.

If your survival isn't really on the line or if you have too many other obligations, then you're going to have to somehow subtract all escape routes to make the main thing the main thing. Easier said than done. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Joshe