Recently, I often see this saying online: "The youthful spirit is a non-renewable resource."

Many people are affected by this saying, feeling that they have lost their "spirit" because we are collectively caught in a crisis called "psychological asset shrinkage." We long for the vibrant decade from 2009 to 2019, essentially reminiscing about a sense of "certainty": back then, as long as we worked hard, the world was likely to provide positive feedback.

However, in recent years, this causal chain seems to have been forcibly cut off.

This "non-renewable" concept in psychology refers to that pure self-efficacy which has never been eroded by a sense of failure. When this innocence of the "newborn calf" is worn down by the complexities of reality, the heaviness of the economy, and systemic pressure, one can fall into a state of feeling "hollowed out."

If you also feel like you are losing this 'spirit', please try to complete the following three steps of psychological reconstruction:

1. Psychological 'hemostasis': Stay away from those who make you doubt yourself

During periods of low energy, the last thing you need is grand narratives and high-handed viewpoints.

Reject 'input of opinions': Stay away from opinion leaders who only talk about ideals and tell you to 'try a little harder'. Their outdated logic cannot cope with the current 'systemic crushing'.

Switch to 'tool input': Shift your attention to unemotional, functional knowledge (like learning software operations or reading a technical document). Tools do not make moral judgments about your life nor make you feel incompetent.

2. Cut off 'comparative crises': Close the anxiety brought by social media

The anxiety of many young people comes from discovering their 'comparative crisis' of not being as good as others.

Block 'show-off lifestyles': When you are anxious about tomorrow's rent, seeing others' global travels and flaunting material lives will only accelerate your energy drain.

Focus on 'what can I do today': Even if it's just washing your hair or replying to a backlog of emails, it's better than being paralyzed in comparison.

3. Restart the 'micro loop': Use 1 kilometer of running to combat nothingness

When the environment makes you feel powerless to change, you need to tell your brain through 'small victories': I still have agency.

Earn even 100 yuan: This small monetary reward can effectively repair the sense of causality destroyed by the system.

Run even 1 kilometer: Exercise can transfer anxiety from the brain to the body for 'dimensional reduction', providing a primal self-confirmation of 'I am still alive'.

4. Sell yourself 'the best hour'

Charlie Munger once said, the key to success lies in 'consistency'.

Mental compounding: Set aside the best hour of your energy and emotions each day, do not handle trivial matters, but dedicate it to yourself for reading, meditation, or exploring a skill you truly love. This 'mental property' cannot be harvested by external systems.

Finally, if you really don't know how to start, uninstall Douyin and Xiaohongshu, go to sleep, or go exercise.