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I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

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Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#121

This resonates a lot. One of the greatest realizations I've had is that there really is no other time than the present. The future never is , neither the past, it's only the present. So, if all we have and can interact with time-wise is the present moment, then everything you can actually do can only be done at each particular now . So, if you want to learn French, or Lisp, or riding a dirt bike, you can only ever ac…

You pretty much summarised “the power of now” by Eckhart Tolle.

Haven't read it. Should I?

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#122
post #25
post #8

It seems really bad that I relate to parts of this even though I am still not 25. I mean things are good with me, I am grateful for everything I have. But once in a while I just feel really empty and that I could be doing way more that I am doing right now rather than lazing around. We are a weird generation for sure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I definitely am in the same boat as you. My day to day life is great - good job, financially stable, good relationship, even play in a couple bands (when there's not a pandemic inhibiting us from peforming). But there constantly feels like something is missing. Most days I have 4-6 hours of time that is spent doing near nothing. In the back of my mind is always "I should be doing x project" or "I should be practicing…

You need to relax. Don’t burn out

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#123
Another note from the underground. The problem is, like Dostoesvky wrote through the mouth of the Undergound Man, the human requires pain and misery in his daily existence in order to have a default want-to-live or want-to-thrive instinct. The lack of misery will banish us to these endless ruminations of self-hate from our lack of desire to live like the "men of action" (Sanjay, in this case) we obssess about. My kids call it "FWP".

It's a tragedy that can be fixed by tragedy. Often the tragedy is self-inflicted. Just to want to live! on our own terms.

It's a mess.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#125

Personally, the unquestioned Ethos of Productivity characteristic of early 21st century Western Society is much more dangerous than the distractions which can sometimes fill unstructured time. The psychological rigidity and social sacrifices required of always being productive (with little to no unstructured leisure time) actively harms individuals and the societies in which they are embedded, perhaps to the exact ex…

I think it has to do with loneliness so many complain about. When being social is seen as waste of time useless thing, people dont socialize except in work. And that has consequences precisedly when yoi need friend the most or when work is highly competitive.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#126

Personally, the unquestioned Ethos of Productivity characteristic of early 21st century Western Society is much more dangerous than the distractions which can sometimes fill unstructured time. The psychological rigidity and social sacrifices required of always being productive (with little to no unstructured leisure time) actively harms individuals and the societies in which they are embedded, perhaps to the exact ex…

I have a feeling this is even more damaging for Millenials, because they constantly compare themselves with the rest of the world. In a sense, even leisure has turned into competition.

When I was in my teens a long time ago I did sports and learned classical guitar. If I had seen the acrobatics you see daily on Reddit or the "casual home musicians" on Youtube, I'd probably have given up all my efforts.

Doing a backflip seems like the normal thing any guy should be able to do nowadays.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#127

Funny piece. It can be so easy to waste time when we have the internet. I think the most dangerous distractions are the ones that feel productive but don’t actually work toward your goals. For example, browsing hacker news. Such an activity is useful every now and then, but at least for myself I often scroll around only to realize later that it was a massive waste of time I could’ve spent working on something I care…

Watching sports and memorizing athletes’ stats is another waste of time a lot of people partake in. Here’s to hoping people are more productive during this hiatus.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#128
post #125

Personally, the unquestioned Ethos of Productivity characteristic of early 21st century Western Society is much more dangerous than the distractions which can sometimes fill unstructured time. The psychological rigidity and social sacrifices required of always being productive (with little to no unstructured leisure time) actively harms individuals and the societies in which they are embedded, perhaps to the exact ex…

I think it has to do with loneliness so many complain about. When being social is seen as waste of time useless thing, people dont socialize except in work. And that has consequences precisedly when yoi need friend the most or when work is highly competitive.

Or when you find yourself between jobs.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#129

This resonates a lot. One of the greatest realizations I've had is that there really is no other time than the present. The future never is , neither the past, it's only the present. So, if all we have and can interact with time-wise is the present moment, then everything you can actually do can only be done at each particular now . So, if you want to learn French, or Lisp, or riding a dirt bike, you can only ever ac…

'Here' and 'Now' as the characters in 'The Angel In The Clock', a cartoon movie to raise money to fight Cancer.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_angel_in_the_clock

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to think that gamification will help my kids get "addicted" to useful things like maths homework or exercise. I worry it is just teaching them to get gamified... But the idea is nice - banks that enforce aging and budgets, shops that put fresh produce at the checkouts and never sell chocolate bars...

The gamification of Duolingo is something that has really worked for me (as an adult). It has all the parts of an addictive mobile game that keep you coming back: a streak that notifies you if you're in danger of losing it (this is the one that really works for me), social rankings, fun graphics, in game currency. I have a 410 day Spanish streak as of this morning! I took French in middle/high school with the standar…

I have been on a streak for weeks, usually in the top 10 of that week's tournament, yet I am actually making no real progress in actually learning the language. Nothing is really going to beat rote memorization and full immersion I feel.

This isn't as big of a problem for latin based languages (English native) however.

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