I pick small projects I can do in a day, and sometimes come back and improve those projects.
I have to do fun things in small chunks that can be completed in just a few hours or I get distracted.
I have learned that I can build momentum that way!
The more I get done in a project, the more I'm able to do later in that project.
Perhaps that would work for you too?
Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
181–190 of 344 posts
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#182Work on developing your inner score card. The way you feel about yourself should have zero, zip, zilch to do with what other people around you are doing.
Benchmarking yourself against other smart people is just the kind of dumb stuff smart people do, and you shouldn’t do it. After all, what is smart? high iq? Wealth? happiness?
It’s also insane how many people operate with an outer score card like this. Pretty much everyone, but you don’t have to.
Here’s a start: be a decent person who is kind to others. Take pride in that. Keep points on your inner score card. Surely you can look around you and see how many people no matter how “smart” or “successful” lack these qualities. Not all of them but plenty
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#183Here’s how I view this issue: in ten thousand years there’sa good chance none of us will be relegated and all our accomplishments forgotten. Everything we do is ultimately meaningless on a cosmic, so don’t sweat it, be cool to others, and enjoy the tiny slice of time in this vast universe during which you are alive. Ideally you can help others enjoy their brief moment of life as well.
Everything is ephemeral, the only variable is how long until it fades.
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#184 It might surprise you to know that even the most brilliant people have imposter syndrome. We, as humans, are generally not good at evaluating our own true worth.
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#185It's important to learn to be ok with our own limitations, our proximity to the average.
I like Mark Manson's writing on the subject, e.g. https://markmanson.net/being-average or his book "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck"
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#186It doesn’t matter.
I’m a bit of a ‘positive’ existential nihilist, and I strongly feel that everything I do is not important in the greater view of existence / nature. That doesn’t mean that I think everything I do is worthless, some things are definitely worth a lot to me. It comes down to what I think is important, for me. I have a tiny window in time to experience life on earth. I want to spend that time doing things I like, preferably with people I love. The chemicals in my brain makes me feel good or bad depending on the day, but this is something I just need to realise and reflect/act on.
I’m quite creative and relatively successful (I’m not a millionaire though), my hobby’s include making things (music/art/code/design), which I enjoy a lot. That helps me find some purpose in my life.
I can be very lazy and I don’t want to put too much effort into certain things. Which is totally fine! In my youth people always told me that I was lazy, and in general that made me feel guilty throughout my life. Luckily I moved on from that state of being.
Currently I’m doing a well paid ‘bullshit’ job and I’m paying off some debts, buying music gear and searching for love. I could die tomorrow, or in 40 years. I do hope that I can stay for a while. I like humans. It’s nice to see them learn something for example. Teaching is fun.
I’m diagosed with dysthymia FYI. I hope you can find some relief in your situation in sharing your thoughts, it usually helps to process thoughts by bouncing ideas with other people. I just want to say, it doesn’t matter. Some people would love to be in your position (technically speaking), the mental part you need to figure out for yourself! Luckily humans like helping each other, so maybe try to keep communicating with others. Peace can be found!
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#187My advice: watch Akira Kurusawa's Ikiru. It's exactly about this.
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#188You should check out the book "Missing Out" by Adam Phillips. It basically highlights that you should give yourself more credit for the things that you do and that you should be careful not to stress yourself out for not constantly doing something "worthwhile"
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#189I have these kinds of feelings a lot. It is hard to feel useful in this day and age of a ubiquitous globally connected society because for anything you attempt to do you have instant access to the top 0.0001% of the Bell curve who you have no hope of ever beating. I find comfort in that I am not alone, thinking of all the peasants and regular workers across history who didn't amount to much either, but still mostly f…
There is some solace to be found in the fact that our world does not perfectly adhere to the ideals of a real meritocracy. While living in such a world may contribute to unfairness, it also enables you to be in a better position in life than someone who is more naturally gifted.
In fact, one might suspect that you're more likely to find moderately gifted individuals at the top levels of success than very talented ones.
From the micro point of view, a talented individual has a greater a priori probability of reaching a high level of success than a moderately gifted one. However, from the macro point of view of the entire society, the probability of finding moderately gifted individuals at the top levels of success is greater than that of finding there very talented ones, because moderately gifted people are much more numerous and, with the help of luck, have globally a statistical advantage to reach a great success, in spite of their lower individual a priori probability.
Re: Ask HN: I feel so shallow and dumb when I see what other smart people are doing
#190I have these kinds of feelings a lot. It is hard to feel useful in this day and age of a ubiquitous globally connected society because for anything you attempt to do you have instant access to the top 0.0001% of the Bell curve who you have no hope of ever beating. I find comfort in that I am not alone, thinking of all the peasants and regular workers across history who didn't amount to much either, but still mostly f…
I think the commentary largely speaks for itself, but there is an aphorism that I think would be helpful:
If you measure yourself by someone else's yardstick, you'll always fall short.