Religion and Hell has killed my motivation to do anything in life
Hi Lucio,
I'm a Muslim.
I was deeply motivated the past entire few months to fulfill all my unmet needs and master all these different fields and achieve life mastery until my religion told me if I don't pray 5 times a day God will send me to hell and I will receive incomprehensible punishments endlessly.
Now I'm demotivated and dont see any point on being happy and if I do what religion says to pray 5 times a day, I'm doing it not because that's who I want to become but because that's what religion is saying my behavior should be.
How do I get out of this frame I've been put in after months of extreme dedication to personal development and huge plans for business that has killed my emotion because of this belief that no matter how successful or how poor I am in my life, that God will send me to hell if I don't pray 5 times a day as my religion says
I'm not an expert on social dynamics, nor a psychologist or theologist, so my ability to help is limited. Suffice it to say I understand the conflict: self-improvement, in all its forms, is about glorifying yourself. It's putting yourself first, declaring your right to exist and grow and live life fully as an individual being. At it's extreme, it's all out self-worship. Many organized religions teach the opposite; put God/your religion/society before yourself, humble and even sacrifice yourself, and gradually alter your ego to match another's ideal.
This isn't all bad; a civilization needs to encourage prosocial values to survive. And it's completely okay to be faithful too. Religion helps tie people and society together. And a system of rewards and threats is a natural part of any society as well. It's okay to be scared. But is it yours, or is it imposed on you?
Remember the Judge role talked about here, and consider, if your submission would be in another's best interest - and if it would be in yours.