The thing about this sort of advice is that to a person in a subclinically depressed mindset it's not using the same language that they understand. It's preaching to the choir.
If you feel good about yourself and you are otherwise healthy then going to the gym, eating well, studying etc are not things that feel bad. They are intrinsically motivating because they make you a better you.
But if you feel bad or you are unwell then you don't give a toss, it's just dopamine fix after dopamine fix to get through today.
But then even if you feel good, not everyone cares about self actualization along the same axes. And then we have limited time, money, energy, ...
If you feel good about yourself and you are otherwise healthy then going to the gym, eating well, studying etc are not things that feel bad. They are intrinsically motivating because they make you a better you.
But if you feel bad or you are unwell then you don't give a toss, it's just dopamine fix after dopamine fix to get through today.
But then even if you feel good, not everyone cares about self actualization along the same axes. And then we have limited time, money, energy, ...
Life is complicated, innit.