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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

#361
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't lay hands on a link, but there was an article about the psychological phenomenon of time passing too quickly. It was a measurable state you could detect a brain as either being in or not in. One of the most reliable ways to reset internal time perception? Experiencing nature. I try and take more walks now.

By reset, you mean the effect lasts after the nature time ends? Because if not, while walks are nice, my goal isn't exactly to have twice as long of a subjective experience but 60% of it is parks.

Yes. The gist was that your brain gets caught in a loop in which your perception of time was continuously skewed, leading to a constant feeling of hurrying / lacking enough time.

Spending time in nature essentially jumped your brain out of the loop, even after you returned from nature.

Think it might have been a summary of this: "Awe Expands People’s Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being" (2012)

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2083257

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

#362
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't lay hands on a link, but there was an article about the psychological phenomenon of time passing too quickly. It was a measurable state you could detect a brain as either being in or not in. One of the most reliable ways to reset internal time perception? Experiencing nature. I try and take more walks now.

Perhaps https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24209297 Effect of Exercise-Related Factors on the Perception of Time (frontiersin.org) 65 points, 9 days ago | 9 comments

I think I found that paper. Posted in a reply below.

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

#363

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

> take advantage of bursts of motivation I understand this but most of the time I am excited about that new awesome idea that popped into my head. How do you focus on one thing without getting deviated?

I have a place to note them down. With time it gets filled, refined and culled. If they’re really great I’ll do it at some point. No need to rush to the fresh idea now.

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

#364
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a few things aren't hammered into young people enough today. 1) Any action is greater than no action. It doesn't matter how much you suck at something. Do it. Congrats, you've beaten everyone who never started. 2) Finish things. No matter how ugly it is. Even if you have to half-kill yourself to drag it that last inch over the line. Congrats, you've beaten everyone who never finished. 3) Your worst effort is…

> Finish things. No matter how ugly it is. Even if you have to half-kill yourself to drag it that last inch over the line. Congrats, you've beaten everyone who never finished. With the caveat that you should abandon things you've realized you don't value. I've seen far too many people spend too much time to "finish what they started" as a principle, even when they no longer valued the goal. Time is a zero sum game. A…

I considered including all the caveats you mentioned before posting, but decided the base points cover more circumstances. ;)

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

#365
post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to print this off and frame it! So so true!

Same here. I read this before getting home and made a mental note to save the comment (also to forgive myself).

I'd include the addendum that wisdom is holding mutually-exclusive truths at once, and deciding which governs in any particular circumstance.

But I've found the previous to be right, more often than not.

Hope the inspiration helps you get out of your own way. :)

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

#366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear you, but I'll tell you what I tell my mentees: Most of it distills down to being honest about your priorities. If you value relaxed mornings, relaxed evenings, and never feeling rushed before or after work, then there's nothing wrong with that. You're not obligated to go out with friends or allocate hours to hobbies during the weekday. The problem comes when people say they value one thing, but when decision t…

> If you value relaxed mornings, relaxed evenings, and never feeling rushed before or after work, then there's nothing wrong with that. You're not obligated to go out with friends or allocate hours to hobbies during the weekday. That is entirely reasonable and correct, but it's also really just saying "suck it up". Having a relaxed day vs. doing hobbies on weekdays is a hell of a dichotomy. It's a shitty choice. I th…

> That is entirely reasonable and correct, but it's also really just saying "suck it up".

You bet it is. And the sooner you realize that most of life is this way the better off you will be.

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

#367
I love life. I'm 37.

Being alive in itself is truly remarkable. I've made great friends. I've met people who ended up disappointing me greatly. I've married a smart, beautiful, ambitious woman twelve years ago. We've went through exhilarating ups and soulcrushing downs.

I've worked for a startup, which almost went under several times. I've worked for a corporate thresher which sucked life right out of me.

I've worked on niche projects in my spare time, which so far have amounted to nothing.

I've had panic attacks. I've experienced months of mania and perceived greatness.

Life is a present which keeps on giving. I'm grateful. Accomplishments are a matter of perception, experience in itself is utterly exhilarating to me.

I love life. I'm 37.

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

#369
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible to reject the notion that one has to justify one's existence in a capitalist society by getting The Right Degree and spending Forty Hours A Week Making Money For Someone Else. In this case it seems like the author has only halfway rejected that notion. If you're gonna do it, you gotta do it all the way lol.

The great thing about a capitalist society is that you get to decide for yourself what you want to do and how you want to live. And fortunately you don’t get to decide for other people.

That's not true - you HAVE to do what society has decided is productive. We're under a person mocking liberal arts degrees.

This in spite of the fact that we throw away enough food to feed the world.

Capitalism isn't inherently evil but it isn't by default the best methodology just because America claims it is. A great example of rampantly shitty capitalism is in the phillipines, for example, where we don't even have to mention wage slavery to point out the issues with capitalism.

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

#370
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a language learner (working on my 8th right now), I dabble in Duolingo from time to time and agree that it provides contact time with the language, and any contact time helps reinforce memory. Language learning in general though, I have found, is not that amenable to gamification. Some learning methods may be more efficient than others, but even with the most efficient methods, real language learning is still inhe…

Interesting, I think I largely agree. However, I think the polyglot community is probably not a great representation of what would work for most people. For a lot of people, myself included, I think the choice is realistically between lower commitment (and lower quality/speed of learning) options and nothing at all. At least for myself it would take a lot of motivation to consistently do workbooks for years, major pr…

That’s a fair point. Good luck!
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