Lagun’s Law and the Foundations of Cognitive Drive Architecture: A First Principles Theory of Effort and Performance

Why do capable, intelligent individuals, even when deeply motivated, stall at the threshold of action? Why does effort fail not from lack of desire, but from something deeper, often invisible? Psychology has mapped attention, modeled emotion, and described motivation. But it has not yet defined the internal structure that makes effort possible. Or not.This paper introduces Lagunian Dynamics, a first-principles theory of cognitive Drive based not on metaphor or external reward, but on internal mechanics. At its center is Lagun’s Law of Primode and Flexion Dynamics, a formal equation that models Drive as the interaction of six forces: Primode (ignition), CAP (activation voltage), Flexion (mental adaptability), Anchory (focus tether), Grain (resistance), and Slip (entropy). These variables function within three core domains of effort: Ignition, Tension, and Flux. Together they determine whether performance begins, holds, or breaks apart.Patterns like procrastination, burnout, and inconsistency are reframed here as structural states. Not motivational failures. Not traits. But measurable misalignments within the system of Drive. The paper defines the variables, derives key corollaries, explains familiar failure modes, and outlines early experimental pathways toward empirical validation.This work establishes a new psychological field: Cognitive Drive Architecture. A framework for understanding not just how the mind acts, but how it structurally fails to act. It offers a system we can model, test, and eventually design for.