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Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

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Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#151

Post by weaksauce »

zhdc1 wrote: post #44
TeMPOraL wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do that too. The top slot in my mind flips between ideas on a weekly basis. Last week it was a videogame. This week it's worldbuilding. Next week it might be something for the job, or it might be an Emacs mode, or who knows. One thing I've noticed though - regardless of whether or not I do something about my current top most exciting thing, these things come back . The same videogame idea has been visiting me regul…

The last point needs to really be emphasized. I've had a couple of pretty major career breakthroughs over the last year simply because stuff I worked on in the past suddenly became relevant to my research. I've also noticed that I become a lot more committed to a project when I bring other people on board.

a lot of the things you do aren't useful in and of themselves but lead to new opportunities as you expand your skillset.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#152

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

mikestew wrote: post #13

The author is quoting someone else: “Because every minute spent doing something other than what you love most today is a minute you’re more likely to regret when you’re 80.” Depending on how literally one takes that, you’re going to be one sorry motherfucker when you’re old. I like taking a shit, but I don’t love it. But I gotta do it, my Yelp review on “taking a shit” notwithstanding. Personally, I quit being so spo…

Many times it’s the time spent doing something you don’t like in the moment that produces the best memories. At the time, I hated waking up in the middle of the night to feed or change my newborn baby. However, as I have grown older, thinking back on those moments that I did not like at the time, are actually some of my best memories.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#153

Post by rtkaratekid »

currymj wrote: post #105
rtkaratekid wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you and I can’t say for sure but I think it’s even worse in the next generation as well. I’ve talked with/tried to mentor more than a few but usually one gets fed up with the other because of this very issue. I knew a girl who wanted to be an astrophysicist. She could’ve done it too. But she started rock climbing (I was mentoring her), and eventually gave up college so she could be a climbing guide becau…

maybe climbing was the better career move. if astrophysics is anything like most of academia, there are a lot of low-paying, unstable short-term positions as everybody scrambles for the few permanent jobs. i'm sure there are a lot of astrophysicists struggling to survive in adjunct/lecturer/lab assistant positions who wish they had just gotten a normal job that pays more rather than pursuing what they love.

That’s a great point, but I’ll let you know that there aren’t many jobs in climbing and the number that actually pay well are very small as well. So maybe both are impractical? But that is a good point.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#154

Post by Dansvidania »

throwsprtsdy wrote: post #83
Dansvidania wrote: post #47

What a simplistic way to put things in. You need to do a lot of things you do not love before you have the skills, the vision and the attitude to actually do what you love, and accomplish the goals you want to accomplish... As a millennial, I think this kind of attitude is the problem with our generation. I mean both simplifying things into instagram-quote-sized senteces like "always do what you love" and also convin…

To be precise, the author isn't simply saying "Do what you love", he's saying "Do what you love in your leisure time ". I think that's an important distinction. He's not giving diligent work short shrift, just trying to exclude drudgery from leisure time specifically.

that's a fair point, but I still think the general sentiment is disagreeable.

as many other commenters wrote, if one is just supposed to wait to get inspired, wait to have something to love and be unable to stop thinking about, a wide majority of people will wait forever.

I have a much better time when I try something new, give it everything I got, and try to learn everything I can from it, even when I do not like it. This includes hobbies.

That being said, I wont force myself into doing something I hate. It's just the absolute approach of the article that I have a problem with.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#155

Post by rtkaratekid »

vikramkr wrote: post #144
peteradio wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The number of hippies from the 60s are vanishingly small proportion of the population. There're 100x people spitting on Vietnam protesters than there were protesters.

And there are probably an even smaller number of 18 year olds telling their mentors that they're going to leave behind their dreams of being a physicist to become a rock climber. Those stories stand out and get all the attention, and people really want to find ways to claim following generations are going astray, but the 100x people in gen z going on to study STEM fields and getting well paying jobs get outshadowed a…

Totally! And I wish her all the best and when people ask for a reference I send them to her (because I don’t like spending my time teaching newbies anymore). I just have these anecdotes that could mean nothing but are concerning to me. Now that I think about it, I probably am more concerned about all the people out there who live cookie cutter lives without honest introspection.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#157

Post by Dansvidania »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #52
Dansvidania wrote: post #47

What a simplistic way to put things in. You need to do a lot of things you do not love before you have the skills, the vision and the attitude to actually do what you love, and accomplish the goals you want to accomplish... As a millennial, I think this kind of attitude is the problem with our generation. I mean both simplifying things into instagram-quote-sized senteces like "always do what you love" and also convin…

For my side projects I try to start with things I can't stop thinking about, but with a low bar of daily/weekly effort. It's that low bar that helps with the grind. Especially when the next shiny thing comes along, or other priorities prevent a 'real' effort. Some days I can put in hours. Though in practice I have too much else going on. So the baby steps help maintain momentum without feeling like I can't finish any…

I tend to have a similar approach and experience to yours.

My point is that to get me where I am today, so that I can even put a finger on WHAT it is that I love, i had to go through many hours of doing things I did not love.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#158

Post by sircastor »

david_draco wrote: post #10
danielvaughn wrote: post #3

My problem is that I get excited about different things with far too much frequency. This past week I've become obsessed with a video game idea. The week before I was obsessed with a design app that I'm working on.

That's okay! Accept that many projects started will not go until completion. But many times, you will learn something on the way that you can recycle in a future project. PS: if you don't tell anyone about your "failed" projects, this strategy will make you look like a genius.

The same way social media tends to amplify only the good parts of one's life...

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#159

Post by Dansvidania »

joeberon wrote: post #113
Dansvidania wrote: post #47

What a simplistic way to put things in. You need to do a lot of things you do not love before you have the skills, the vision and the attitude to actually do what you love, and accomplish the goals you want to accomplish... As a millennial, I think this kind of attitude is the problem with our generation. I mean both simplifying things into instagram-quote-sized senteces like "always do what you love" and also convin…

I definitely think that attitudes like "only do what you love/is automatically motivating" is a huge source of imposter syndrome, depression, and anxiety in me as a grad student

Thank you. I have had the same exact problem with imposter syndrome and innumerable motivation issues with things I felt like I loved (and still love).

The "do what you love" narrative that our generation has been fed, I am not sure how and by whom, caused me to doubt my decisions much more than I think it's healthy, just because "I am not loving this, is this what I should be doing?". This applied to my university career, to my profession, to the jobs I took.

Luckily through lots of work on myself I am able now to look at these feelings with more lucidity and to work through them.

Thanks for sharing.

Re: Do whatever you can't stop thinking about

#160

Post by leonroy »

I obsess about some real nonsense, from buying a Leica to moving to San Francisco and building a startup there. I mean sure, they're not impossible but they take money, planning and no small amount of sacrifice.

Maybe it should be do whatever you're most scared of. Obviously if it's driving across Syria might want to give that one a miss but I mean more if it's public speaking attend a Toastmasters, if it's job interviewing stick your CV up on Hired and attend at least one interview, if it's selling do some prospecting on LinkedIn or it could be that hairy bug on your backlog which you keep putting off.

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