– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Ah, what a lovely weekend in the neighborhood.

Susan is out walking the dog,

Frank is hard at work writing his new book,

and Billy is...

(bird chirping)

Ah, yes, a classic Billy Saturday.

Waking up late, his mind filled with dread.

There are so many things he could do,

so many things he should do,

but it all just seems so hard for Billy.

His obligations crush him.

So he does what seems easy.

He passes the time on frivolous things

that take little to no effort to do.

He thinks of his neighbor, Frank,

industriously engaged in his pursuits,

always so focused and calm.

He seems to fill his days and weeks with productive,

healthy activities.

Going for walks with his dog, exercising daily,

and making an impact at work, constantly getting promoted.

- Hah, gee, Frank is just built different.

He must have more willpower than I do.

How does he stay focused on difficult things

for long periods of time?

I wish I enjoy doing healthy things

as much as Frank seems to.

- [Narrator] And that mindset right there

is the exact reason why you never will.

You've fallen for the illusion of should.

Isn't it strange that some people

seem to genuinely enjoy having a healthy

and well-balanced life,

full of activities that are good for them,

and have seemingly no problem focusing

on challenging things for long periods of time?

Overall, it seems that these people

just have it figured out.

It's almost like they know something that most of us don't.

What is the secret?

Like Billy, many of us are stuck,

beating our heads against a wall,

hoping for lightning to strike,

providing us with the magic motivation we need

to suddenly like doing the things that are good for us

and hate doing the things that are bad for us.

But fret knot, just like Frank,

you too can spend far more time doing healthy things

and you don't have to wait.

No willpower is needed.

Just a simple shift in your mental framing,

and you too can be just like Frank.

- I can?

- [Narrator] Yes, Billy.

But first, you must realize that you've been lied to

your whole life.

- I've been lied to?

Oh no.

By whom?

Was it the Democratic Party?

- [Narrator] No, silly Billy.

It wasn't the Democrats. It's you.

- Me?

- [Narrator] You have managed

to gradually brainwash yourself

with considerable help from advertising

and societal conditioning

into thinking you actually enjoy doing degenerate things

and that things that are good for you are hard and painful.

- [Narrator] I did?

- Yes, Billy.

But the simple fact is that good things are not painful,

and you know this through experience.

Consider all the times you've had a deadline

for something important, like a school paper.

And after days of avoidance, agony, and stress,

you managed to scare yourself into productivity

due to a looming deadline.

What do you remember feeling

when you finally started making headway on that paper?

- [Billy] Well, I reckon I felt quite relieved.

I remember thinking to myself,

"Why did I put it off this long?

I should do this more often."

- [Narrator] Yes, Billy, you brilliant bastard.

You are beginning to understand

every time you do what is good for you,

it in fact feels good too.

This is undeniable evidence that you do genuinely enjoy

doing the things that are good for you.

On the flip side, Billy,

recall how you feel on the days

you lack that fire within you

and you spend all day doing low-value things,

bored out of your skull,

days where it seems like you ran out of things

to do on that silly contraption of yours

as you melt into a sad, sorry little blob.

During these moments, how do you feel?

- [Billy] Well, I reckon I felt quite rotten,

a little bit anxious as well.

Like I ought to be doing something more important

with my life.

- [Narrator] Yes, Billy.

And is that an enjoyable feeling?

- Not in the slightest.

- [Narrator] Well, Billy, by the sounds of it,

it seems like you genuinely do not enjoy

spending time in this way.

Doing what is bad for you feels bad as well.

- But why does it feel just so gosh darn unappealing

to do what I need to do before I do it?

- [Narrator] Ah, Billy,

you've asked the most important question of all.

Let me introduce to you the sinister nature of should.

You see, highly ambitious people are rebellious by nature,

wanting to rise above mediocrity and not be a sheep.

This rebelliousness means we don't like it

when somebody says, "You should do this."

When an ambitious person

hears authoritative language like this,

they tend to do the opposite.

- I don't let anyone tell me what to do.

- [Narrator] We know, Billy, you are very strong and cool.

But as you know, just like finally writing that paper,

what we think we should do

is often what we want to do anyways.

It actually feels good to do what we need to do.

So telling ourselves we should do it

is no help at all, is it?

What would you rather do, Billy?

What you should do or what you want to do?

- I want to do what I want to do.

- [Narrator] Yes, Billy.

And what if it is the same thing?

What should you call that thing to make sure you do it?

- I don't get it.

- [Narrator] Goodness gracious, Billy,

you are so close, son.

All I'm saying is that you don't have to play

this silly little game with your mind anymore.

You can simply do what you want.

- I can?

- [Narrator] Yes, Billy.

- I can do what I want.

- [Narrator] Billy?

Billy, wait.

(gentle orchestral music)

(transition whooshing)

(gentle orchestral music continues)

(transition whooshing)

(cash register rings)

(gentle orchestral music)

(gentle orchestral music continues)

(electric static hissing)

(electric static hissing continues)

(VR headset crunching)

(electric static hissing continues)

(electric static hissing continues)

- Hello?

Are you still there?

- [Narrator] Ah, Billy.

Nice to see you again.

Are you having fun?

- I don't feel so good.

- [Narrator] Well, Billy, what happened?

- You said I could do what I wanted, so I did what I wanted.

- [Narrator] And how did it feel, Billy?

Do you feel good now?

- I just-

- [Narrator] Do you feel good

now that you've put more time into that thing?

- You said I could-

- [Narrator] Circling the lamp like a good little moth,

trying to drink the light,

but your wings grow heavy as you flitter and flutter,

alone in the dead of night.

- What?

(narrator clears throat)

- [Narrator] Sorry.

Billy, don't you see?

You are confusing your true desires in life with compulsion.

Companies all around the world

spend billions upon billions of dollars every single year

to make things seem enticing on the surface.

But these things make you feel worse

after having done them instead of better.

Doesn't sound very enjoyable to me.

You see, Billy, they are traps of compulsion.

But if you can identify these traps, you can avoid them.

It's quite simple, Billy.

You get it now, don't you?

Let's go back to Frank, who you admire so much.

Frank is able to properly identify

what activities are truly fulfilling.

He recognizes the difference between compulsion

and genuine satisfaction.

He fills his time

with things that make him feel good as a person.

He knows that draining five hours

into a manufactured entertainment contraption

actually doesn't make him feel good,

despite what the marketing might say.

So it's not that Frank has less fun, he actually has more.

More satisfaction, more self-assurance, more happiness.

When you have this proper context, when you see the truth,

then you can simply do what brings you happiness

and fulfillment through and through.

Reflect on what these things are for you and your life

and dive into them fully, guilt-free,

free from the burden of fruitless moral imperative.

You will naturally want to do the things

you originally thought you only should do.

You'll begin to realize that you don't need more willpower

to be like Frank.

Willpower has nothing to do with it.

It's simply living with clarity, with truth.

When you do what you want and what you want feels good,

you will know that you have unbrainwashed yourself.

It will feel better to be you.

The world is simply a better place

when people aren't so confused about what makes them happy.

Do you understand now, Billy?

B, where?

Oh, Billy, you are capable of so much more.

(transition thuds)

If you found yourself enjoying this video,

then do me a favor and hit that Like button.

Because when you hit the Like button,

the algorithm blesses me,

and it shoves my bald head into other people's homepages,

helping them out, which also helps me out.

So it's just a win-win for everybody involved.

And while you are at it, you might want to grab

the Inaction Is A Slow Death merchandise

before it's all gone.

We might not have your size anymore.

And once it's gone, it's gone.

For now, thank you so much for watching,

and we'll catch you in the next video.

- Yeah, boys, our stock portfolios increasing.

- Cheers!

- Yeah. I love stocks.

- But wait a minute, check out these burgers.

Are you ready? Watch this.

Oh, dude, that's sick. - Cool!

- Dude, there's this new one named Apple

that is like literally, you're not gonna like-

- Yeah, I know, right?

- Not gonna cheer at least?

- Right.

- Oh, fuck yeah.

- Yeah, I know. (indistinct)

(everybody laughing)

Damn.

(cameraman laughing)

- [Cameraman] I actually really like how Billy.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dread /drɛd/ B1	noun - a great fear, especially in the future verb - to fear greatly
enjoy /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ/ A2	verb - to get pleasure from something
motivation /ˌmoʊ.tɪˈveɪ.ʃən/ B1	noun - the reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way
willpower /ˈwɪlˌpaʊər/ B2	noun - the ability to control your own behavior, emotions, or desires
activities /ækˈtɪv.ɪ.tiz/ A2	noun - the state of doing things; actions or tasks
healthy /ˈhɛl.θi/ A1	adjective - in good health
productive /prəˈdʌk.tɪv/ B1	adjective - producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities
frivolous /ˈfrɪv.ə.ləs/ B2	adjective - not serious; silly or trivial
focused /ˈfoʊ.kəst/ B1	adjective - giving a lot of attention to something
ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/ B1	adjective - having a strong desire and determination to succeed
mediocrity /ˌmi.diˈɑː.krə.ti/ B2	noun - the quality of being average or not very good
rebellious /rɪˈbɛl.jəs/ B2	adjective - showing a desire to resist authority, control, or convention
compulsion /kəmˈpʌl.ʃən/ B2	noun - a very strong urge to do something, especially something harmful
fulfilling /fʊlˈfɪl.ɪŋ/ B2	adjective - making someone feel happy and satisfied
satisfaction /ˌsæt.ɪsˈfæk.ʃən/ B1	noun - the state of being satisfied
happiness /ˈhæp.i.nəs/ A2	noun - the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment
clarity /ˈklær.ə.ti/ B2	noun - the quality of being clear
truth /truːθ/ A1	noun - that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality
lie /laɪ/ A1	noun - an intentionally false statement verb - to tell a lie
degenerate /dɪˈdʒɛn.ə.reɪt/ C1	adjective - having lost the physical, mental, or moral qualities considered normal or desirable verb - to fall into a worse or low state