Pavlov was a Russian psychologist who developed a technique for training dogs through association with their physical needs. He is famous for being able to make dogs salivate by the sound of a tuning fork. He came up with a good pattern of learning and a perfect explanation of apathy and procrastination.

Our physical needs are becoming increasingly more and more disconnected with the things we are expected to do. People who have no apathy or procrastination, are people who have been able to associate their economic (or whatever actions) to their actual physical needs. This association is usually done through a social structure, through pride. Pride creates an earnest desire. Social pride creates the connection of needs to the all encompassing term responsibilities.

Personally I have no pride in what civilization is doing as a whole. School has become increasingly obviously disconnected from actually being educated. My job, which is to give people the option not to have to walk 50ft. (valet), is obviously not connected to any social pride, other than the fact that I have a job. My personally apathy and procrastination are due to the fact that I have never been able to have pride in any of these things I do here on a regular basis. The things that would give me social pride, like saving the world, or even growing plants in my backyard, stimulate no real connection to my needs.

Small solutions I’ve found are the connections of debt to motivation and a process of alienating myself to create a real sense of pride with who I am as an alien. I live with my family and I have started attempting to alienate myself (to the benefit of my connection to my responsibilities, and to attempt to help me see my disconnection from my family). I used to sleep with my door closed and now sleeping with it open helps me wake up early, out of pride. My family sees me sleep and if I sleep too much then they see.

Imagine living with someone you aren’t romantically involved with and taking a shower with the door open. You feel vulnerable and naked, and you are. This vulnerable and naked feeling is you feeling truly responsible for who you are physically. When we give ourselves vast areas to hide in socially and physically, behind closed and locked doors of both metaphorical and physical sense, we disconnect ourselves from pride for who and what we are.

The more we increase safety and distance, the more we will increase apathy.