Sister Aruna Ladva of Brahmakumaris on the Greek terms Akrasia and Enkrateia

[Ajay0]

Sister Aruna Ladva of Brahmakumaris expounds on the Greek terms Akrasia and Enkrateia for better goal-setting and accomplishment.

https://www.itstimetomeditate.org/akrasia/

Many a time we know we should be engaging in certain behaviors, but instead we actively or passively choose not to, and thus we act or become lazy. The Greeks have a name for this: Akrasia. It means ‘lacking command’ or ‘weakness of the will’. Akrasia is described as a lack of self-control, or the state of acting against one’s better judgement.

For Aristotle, the antonym of akrasia is enkrateia which means ‘in power’ (over oneself). Aristotle believed that our actions rely on our opinions. If a person believes A to be better than B, then he will want to do A more than B. If he wants to do A more than B, then he will do A rather than B. He will act against his better judgement, making the action the product of opinion rather than reason.

There is something called the effort-motivation equation in which we are likely to put in only as much as effort as would motivate us to complete our goals. Cooking is one of those things. Unless you are an avid chef, you are likely to stand in the kitchen only enough time as it would take to prepare a basic meal. Hence what would determine the outcome of any action is how important the goal is and how motivated we are to achieve it.

It’s Time… to move away from akrasia and into enkrataeia. Understanding what is the right thing to do and finding a strong enough motivation to actually do it. In this way we eliminate laziness and sloth, and live with purpose.