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Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

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Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#121

Post by MichaelZuo »

p_j_w wrote: post #93
DiggyJohnson wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would this perspective not be compatible with rest and relaxation?

Did you see the list of what the guy did? At no point did he include rest and relaxation. He's clearly fetishizing productivity.

Not everyone needs the same amount of rest and relaxation though.

Some folks just have what it takes to spend almost every waking moment maniacally focused on their chosen pursuit all the way until a ripe old age. These are the folks that usually end up putting a dent into the universe.

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#123

Post by kodah »

rexpop wrote: post #118
kodah wrote: post #24

I feel like the author is moralizing something in order to make it more gratifying . > firm believer that structure dictates behavior So every action you take is a vote and structure dictates your behavior. This sounds oddly familiar.

> This sounds oddly familiar. Can you spell out your associations plainly for those of us who haven't made the conceptual leap?

Religion, politics; really anything people get fanatical or self-righteous about. I do wish I had the background and vocabulary to express the commonality in the language and ideas from these camps, but it's not limited to them. Also, the reply above goes a tad deeper.

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#124

Post by stjohnswarts »

cortesoft wrote: post #26

Oh man this is such a perfect example of productivity porn. Every action you take isn’t a vote for the type of person you wish to become, it is a vote taken by the person you are. I hate this mindset of “I am constantly working towards becoming someone else”. When do we spend time as the person we are? When do we enjoy the fruits of our labor? I feel like some people who take this mindset see their lives as being two…

It's one of those things to have you questioning everything you do of everyday. It's a bit much.

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#125

Post by stjohnswarts »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #94
vhiremath4 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every action you take isn’t a vote for the type of person you wish to become, it is a vote taken by the person you are. This is patently false. If you start smoking cigarettes occasionally and start doing it more, you are becoming more of a smoker. The actions you take or don't take are the clearest input to the person you become. It's true that this is also the person you are, but that distinction seems meaningles…

>It's true that this is also the person you are, but that distinction seems meaningless if you're trying to become someone better (whatever better means to you) Do, or do not. There is no try. This is a meaningful distinction, even if it is a nuanced one. There's a profound difference between focusing on who you want to be tomorrow versus who you want to be today. One mindset takes you out of the present and is an ac…

Another mindset that gets overused is "always live in the now" . Sometimes you have to stop and assess what direction you're heading with in life...

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#126

Post by yibg »

vhiremath4 wrote: post #47
cortesoft wrote: post #26

Oh man this is such a perfect example of productivity porn. Every action you take isn’t a vote for the type of person you wish to become, it is a vote taken by the person you are. I hate this mindset of “I am constantly working towards becoming someone else”. When do we spend time as the person we are? When do we enjoy the fruits of our labor? I feel like some people who take this mindset see their lives as being two…

> Every action you take isn’t a vote for the type of person you wish to become, it is a vote taken by the person you are. This is patently false. If you start smoking cigarettes occasionally and start doing it more, you are becoming more of a smoker. The actions you take or don't take are the clearest input to the person you become. It's true that this is also the person you are, but that distinction seems meaningles…

Is it? If you saw me smoking would you say "you are a smoker" or "you will become a smoker"?

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#127

Post by jrib »

cortesoft wrote: post #26

Oh man this is such a perfect example of productivity porn. Every action you take isn’t a vote for the type of person you wish to become, it is a vote taken by the person you are. I hate this mindset of “I am constantly working towards becoming someone else”. When do we spend time as the person we are? When do we enjoy the fruits of our labor? I feel like some people who take this mindset see their lives as being two…

> see their lives as being two distinct phases

I remember realizing this really early on because of how I played real-time strategy games like Red Alert. Hear me out...

My usual routine was to grind collecting resources and building up the "perfect" army. This part was never really fun for me. It was most of the playtime.

Then I'd take my amassed troops and wipe the map. This part was fun but lasted only a few minutes. It also meant my experience didn't feel very original after a few games.

After that, I tried to be a bit more free with my play-style. Played using riskier strategies, tried different approaches, etc. I can't say every attempt worked out or every time was more fun. But I'd like to think I had a fuller game experience.

I wish I could say I adopted that latter philosophy in life ever since then, but I'd be lying. I do try to stay aware of it and nudge myself in the right direction. But it's also a lot easier to just stay in the comfort zone.

At least for me, it wasn't until I started making self-reflection part of my routine that I started seeing how stagnant I had become and doing something about it. And yes, as I type that, I'm aware that sentence screams "productivity porn." Like most things, I think there's a balance to be struck. Yes, grow, but also live while you grow.

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#128

Post by s1artibartfast »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #125
s1artibartfast wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's true that this is also the person you are, but that distinction seems meaningless if you're trying to become someone better (whatever better means to you) Do, or do not. There is no try. This is a meaningful distinction, even if it is a nuanced one. There's a profound difference between focusing on who you want to be tomorrow versus who you want to be today. One mindset takes you out of the present and is an ac…

Another mindset that gets overused is "always live in the now" . Sometimes you have to stop and assess what direction you're heading with in life...

It's sad that the idea of living in the now has been co-oped to mean acting impulsively and stupidity.

Being present has better connotations. Sometimes being present means stopping and assessing your life. It means engaging with your life in more holistic manner. It can mean planning, reflection, and listening to yourself.

I feel like many people code switch between being recklessly impulsive and intellectually abstract, while never actually living in the now.

These two avoidant behaviors are at the root most people's miseries.

You shouldn't have to fight yourself to do what is best for your future, or suppress your intellect to enjoy the present.

Re: Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become

#129

Post by paulcole »

felizuno wrote: post #101

I've always thought that trying to optimize life is the ultimate denial. In golf we have these people who spend hours on the range optimizing their swing but they seldom play a round because of course their score is never as "optimized" and that make them feel bad. They can max out point data but never in a way that changes the aggregate, which based on the invested effort turned into a feeling of defeat. Life is mos…

There’s nothing more real about playing a round of golf than hitting a ball on the range. It’s all just made up anyway.

Maybe they feel bad about their golf game but feel even worse about the rest of their lives? Let them have a couple hours on the range, it doesn’t particularly matter anyway.

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