The Mathemathics of Happiness versus Self-Deception

Do x for x's sake, because you will always get more x, but y is not guaranteed.

We as humans are easily deceived, because we have big cerebral cortex that overthink things and can rationalize almost any situation. We look for sense, logic and reason even where there is none.

That's how we end up feeling like we are doing things for the wrong reasons. It is, because often times we are.

Never fall into the trap of telling yourself that if I keep doing x, y will happen. Hear me out! This is not an argument against persistence or perseverance.

The problem is that, the probability of y being a predictable function of x is small. The result of your x inputs is always a function of x, though. x two times is 2x. x x times is x². x x² + 5 times is x³ + 5x. But the chance of your x-inputs resulting in a y is not predetermined by the amount of x, you put in. There are too many other factors that could influence your outcome.

Do x for x’s sake, because one thing you can always count on is getting more “x”.

Practically speaking, how many times have you said to yourself:
“If I keep being nice to him/her/them, they will like me.”
“If I stop talking too much, he will stop beating me.”
“If I lose enough weight, she will think I’m handsome and want to marry me.”
“If I keep working hard, I’ll be a millionanire.”