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Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

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Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#271

Post by tomc1985 »

adwn wrote: post #207
nextaccountic wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's the best argument for UBI. If people aren't constantly worried about being homeless and not having food, they are happier, healthier, more productive and live more fulfilling lives.

No, that's an argument for a proper social safety net, as implemented in many European countries. Most fulltime jobs pay better than a UBI ever could, so if you have a job, a) either your standard of living is so high that a change to UBI-only would be very disruptive and you'd still be worried about losing your job, b) or your standard of living is so low that you'd quickly accumulate enough of a financial buffer th…

I think you are discounting the fact that in the second scenario you don't have to work. I don't know about y'all but that is my fantasy.

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#272

Post by boldslogan »

Blackstone4 wrote: post #183

Honestly I have to agree... for one to be a top performer, attitude needs to be pair with cognitive power as well other factors like health. I have a friend from school who is smart and in good health. However he always critical and points out problems with services and work. Rather than being positive and building things up, he likes to deconstruct and complain. He is then upset as to why he is not doing well in his…

I think this X-factor, happiness co-efficient or what not...that we see top athletes (who had a natural talent just like other athletes) talk about, which gives them that small edge that lets them be the absolute best instead of just, pretty good at a sport. This kind of makes me think of luck as a quality. I wonder if Big HR FANG companies are "watching" their employees trying to find this X-Factor in a quantitative way.

Would be cool trying to think of "work projects" or experiments to find those with X-Factors.

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#273

Post by k8sToGo »

hit8run wrote: post #230

I don't know about you but I for sure don't want do be a top performer in a job. I disrespect the societal applause you get as a good cog in an enterprise. Build my own stuff and be my own boss makes me happier but then reality hits in and all the cracks in our society begin to show. Seriously. I WANT to be happy. But how can one be happy in a world like this? EDIT: Maybe I'm not in a good mood today but right now I…

I don't think it is just you and today. I remember when I was younger (college and before) I was happy because I was looking forward to something and envisioned a positive future (e.g. graduation, first job, high salary etc.). Kind of hard to do the same thing these days, especially now that I am an adult. The world has become nothing but an endless grind for greed and corruption.

Every day I ask myself what is the point of all this anyways?

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#274

Post by tekacs »

danielovichdk wrote: post #262
nicbou wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can confirm. Stepping off the treadmill - or just slowing it down - gives you so much more space to be curious. It's not just a matter of precariousness. You just have a lot more time and energy for these things. You can always sleep a bit longer, or delay work to follow an impulse with your full energy. There's always time for projects, even if they're not part of some hustle. It's an incredible privilege. Forget…

Just have to reply to this, so I can find your comment in my own comments. We'll put and I am trying to love like this for myself. Thx

You can also click on the timestamp of the HN comment (e.g. ‘1 hour ago’) and then click ‘favorite’. That will save the comment (publicly) to your profile.

Looking at your profile it doesn’t look like you have any favorites saved yet, so maybe you’re not familiar with that feature?

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#275

Post by lukas099 »

suction wrote: post #150
hyperman1 wrote: post #128

I had the chance to work with a few people I'd consider genius level. While I'm pretty smart myself, they all have something I don't always have: The ability to be happy in any situation and interested in everything. For example, we were walking trough a hallway. On a wall is an old, damaged, ugly map of my country, half covered with graffiti. I'd walked past it almost every day for half a year. He checks it out, and…

Well, having already made enough money to always be able to just say "you know what, I'm out" whenever you feel like it is necessary to be happy in any situation and interested in everything. Anyone who's not "secure for life" and has to keep the salaries coming in will have to deal with bad people, bad decisions, bad culture, etc. and become unhappy. I've sort of dabbled in that situation: I made and lost a fortune…

So I assume you are now saving and investing as aggressively as you can to reenter that situation?

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#276

Post by krsdcbl »

hyperman1 wrote: post #128

I had the chance to work with a few people I'd consider genius level. While I'm pretty smart myself, they all have something I don't always have: The ability to be happy in any situation and interested in everything. For example, we were walking trough a hallway. On a wall is an old, damaged, ugly map of my country, half covered with graffiti. I'd walked past it almost every day for half a year. He checks it out, and…

We must not forget that being happy and curious is not an inherent ability, but the consequence of countless factors in your surroundings and social life that accumulate over years.

Saying this as somebody who used to fit your description, and noticed a hard toll on his performance after a few years of setbacks and bad experiences

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#277

Post by testcase_delta »

hit8run wrote: post #230

I don't know about you but I for sure don't want do be a top performer in a job. I disrespect the societal applause you get as a good cog in an enterprise. Build my own stuff and be my own boss makes me happier but then reality hits in and all the cracks in our society begin to show. Seriously. I WANT to be happy. But how can one be happy in a world like this? EDIT: Maybe I'm not in a good mood today but right now I…

I think Steven Pinker's book Enlightenment Now made a compelling case that the world now has basically never been better. You'd be crazy to wish be born in to any other time period. I find that comforting. There's good reasons to be glad you weren't born in the past, and the same reasons to be hopeful for the future.

Perhaps that's not comforting if you're suffering. But if the cause of your suffering is that you think the world is awful, give that book a read. Pinker does a good job of breaking that sentiment down in to chunks (exactly what part is awful?) and exploring those questions.

Personally, I do think that a lot of the "world is awful and broken right now" sentiment is a bit detached from the reality. Which is great news! Anyways, I'm not trying to come at you at all, just be helpful and challenge assumptions.

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#278

Post by Kye »

pydry wrote: post #178
nextaccountic wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's the best argument for UBI. If people aren't constantly worried about being homeless and not having food, they are happier, healthier, more productive and live more fulfilling lives.

Unfortunately policy is formed from a balance of competing powers, not as a result of an idea for doing what is best for people. I think it's a mistake to think that captains of industry want productivity above all else. They'll happily sacrifice productivity for certainty and compliance.

Only having people working for them who want to work for them seems like an easy way to be sure of certainty and compliance.

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#279

Post by mrtranscendence »

bko wrote: post #263
suction wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, having already made enough money to always be able to just say "you know what, I'm out" whenever you feel like it is necessary to be happy in any situation and interested in everything. Anyone who's not "secure for life" and has to keep the salaries coming in will have to deal with bad people, bad decisions, bad culture, etc. and become unhappy. I've sort of dabbled in that situation: I made and lost a fortune…

> Anyone who's not "secure for life" and has to keep the salaries coming in will have to deal with bad people, bad decisions, bad culture, etc. and become unhappy. This is bleak way of looking at things. There's one thing to have f-u money but there's another base level of security that lets you leave a job or group and move on without too much disruption. Marriage helps there too. I'm nowhere near "secure for life"…

> Marriage helps there too.

Yeah. My “wife” (girlfriend of 22 years) was recently able to say F-U to her old hated job and start part-time growing a private therapy clientele because my pay has gone up so much in the past four years or so. Having a support structure really helps.

> I've found the reverse.

Agreed. When I had nothing external motivating me I became largely idle, despite my best intentions. I joke about early retirement but I’m not sure it would be good for me.

Re: Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

#280

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

Speaking only for myself (pure anecdata), I can say that the last four years or so, have been the happiest of my life, as well as the most productive.

Five years ago, was when I left the company that I'd worked for, for 27 years. This was followed, almost immediately, by finding out that the tech industry really doesn't like older workers (which didn't make me happy). I floundered around, for a year or so, being insulted, ignored, and rejected, before I took the hint, and just accepted that I'm in early retirement; whether or not I like it.

Since then, I have been insanely productive. I spent a couple of years, "leveling-up," and, a couple of years ago, I found some folks with a nonprofit, that were being "gamed" by the same types of folks that rejected me, and decided to help them out.

It's been great.

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