TL;DR
Adam Mastroianni's essay frames being 'stuck' as standing in a bog and catalogs recurring psychological patterns that keep people there. He details two broad categories—insufficient activation energy and bad escape plans—with named subtypes like 'gutterballing', 'declining the dragon', and the 'try harder' fallacy.
What happened
Adam Mastroianni published an essay in his Experimental History newsletter (noted as having over 86,000 subscribers) that examines why people remain stuck in unsatisfying situations. Using the image of a fetid bog, he argues that many stall points share recurring dynamics. One major category is 'insufficient activation energy', where people cannot marshal the short, intense effort needed to change course; Mastroianni breaks this down into patterns such as doing work you don't care about for approval ('gutterballing'), waiting for a perfect option ('waiting for jackpot'), avoiding a difficult but growth-producing act ('declining the dragon'), languishing in mildly tolerable situations ('mediocrity trap'), and obsessing about the size of problems rather than solving them ('stroking the problem'). A second category, 'bad escape plan', covers common but ineffective strategies like the 'try harder' fallacy, the 'infinite effort illusion', and blaming lack of time. The piece is framed as a compendium to help readers name and recognize these bog phenomena.
Why it matters
- Naming recurring mental patterns can help people recognize why they remain stuck and begin to choose different responses.
- Several widely held instincts—waiting for perfect options or assuming extra effort will appear—are framed as predictable traps rather than unique personal failings.
- Identifying both how people fail to start (activation problems) and how they plan poorly (bad escape plans) gives a two-part lens for diagnosing stalled change efforts.
- The essay reframes certain avoided moments (e.g., doing something scary) as opportunities for positive emotion rather than merely moments of pain.
Key facts
- Author: Adam Mastroianni, writing for the Experimental History newsletter.
- Byline date in the piece: Jan 02, 2024.
- The newsletter is described on the page as having over 86,000 subscribers.
- Mastroianni uses the metaphor of standing 'knee-deep in a fetid bog' to describe being stuck.
- He says there are 'only three' forces that keep people stuck, but the excerpt focuses on two major categories.
- Category one is 'insufficient activation energy', which includes subtypes: gutterballing, waiting for jackpot, declining the dragon, mediocrity trap, and stroking the problem.
- Category two is 'bad escape plan', which includes the 'try harder' fallacy, the 'infinite effort illusion', and 'blaming God' (a lament about lack of time).
- The piece mixes personal anecdote and named psychological patterns to illustrate common behaviors that prolong stagnation.
- Photo credit on the post: 'my dad.'
What to watch next
- Whether Mastroianni or the full essay lays out the promised third force that completes his 'three forces' framework — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether the author offers specific step-by-step methods to escape each named bog phenomenon — not confirmed in the source.
- How readers apply the distinction between activation-energy problems and bad escape plans in practical goal-setting — reader-dependent and not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Activation energy (psychological): A brief, concentrated burst of effort or courage required to begin a change or break a stalled pattern.
- Mediocrity trap: A situation that is tolerable enough to discourage decisive change, leading to prolonged stagnation.
- Try harder fallacy: The mistaken belief that simply increasing vague effort without strategy will fix a persistent problem.
- Infinite effort illusion: The assumption that one has an unallocated reserve of willpower or time that can be deployed later to catch up.
- Gutterballing: Excelling at tasks that please others but that do not move you toward what you truly want.
Reader FAQ
What does 'de-bogging' mean in this essay?
It is a metaphor for extracting yourself from prolonged feelings of being stuck or stalled.
Does the author provide a step-by-step program to get unstuck?
Not confirmed in the source.
What are some common ways people fail to start making changes?
The essay lists insufficient activation energy examples: doing things for approval, waiting for a perfect option, avoiding brave acts, staying in mildly tolerable situations, and obsessively discussing problems.
Are all three 'forces' that keep people stuck described in the excerpt?
No — the author says there are three forces, but only two categories are detailed in the provided excerpt; the third is not confirmed in the source.
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Sources
- So you wanna de-bog yourself (2024)
- So you wanna to de-bog yourself – Adam Mastroianni
- A Field Guide to Getting Unstuck – Effective Habits
- Podcast #896: The Art and Science of Getting Unstuck
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