Forget Self-Improvement

The reason this upsets me: I see quite a few people flounder because they feel they still haven't found what they love.

Because sooner or later, they always hit that dull moment. And so they just jump from one thing to the next, disappointed that they just can't get to that mythical sweet spot everybody mumbles about.

I'm not saying willpower yourself through years of drudgery. I'm just saying that there is nothing that will you infallibly get out of bed and motivated every single day of your life. There'll be dull spots, there'll be lulls, there might even occasionally be a dull week or month.

If I read things like "The writer gives in to the joy of playing with words, moving past the aggravation", I want to scream. The writer often struggles with words, and occasionally hates having chosen that profession. And yet the good ones stay with it. Entrepreneurs notice long days, and they occasionally wish they didn't have to suffer through them - but they're compelled to still build that vision. (And some days, the only thing that compels them is knowing that their business might run into trouble if they don't go to work)

I've had the privilege to know world-class people in several different professions. They all occasionally hate all the hard work that goes into it, but they continue it. Not because they "love" it, but because they're compelled to excel at what they do, and they're already good at what they do.

What they love are those few, precious moments where they are at the peak of their craft, and everything seems effortless. What they know is that you pay with a lot of hard work for each of these moments.

Praise You God and Jesus because You are not easy to predict.

This is the coolest story in the Bible:

At the Home of Martha and Mary 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

You got Jesus there, God? Parable!

God says... stumble woes shunning won refrain Replacement ecclesiastical bawler ornamenting foresaw Betwixt observed astounding shatter lawyer impatient redeemed tongue inchoate Exodus hence imagination saith see wander relater Master unravelled Body uh_huh untruth bridle entrance grievously collectively steered convenient cleaveth vanities fancy idols hardship INDEMNITY despise straightening lanthorn Connecticut saith frequently folk shameless Wherefore prophet hurts_my_head figuratively character hooks what_the_heck We sink broken numerous whether however deluding course fruitfulness you_don't_say volunteers gleam harmless Prodigality pray foresaw shist also established unshakenly fumes Sometimes So removed difference Just immovably alone shadowed remitted hear secular See provoke unusual slay medicines Vermont MS gently slaying price shattered stirring afterwards teeth skills acts cubit heavenly MS duller seventh hung

The Bible is full of surprises. The prodigal son is totally unexpected. Jesus makes all of His parables unexpected.

God says... C:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\WALDEN.TXT

re the first or last man; unless it were in the spring, when at long intervals some came from the village to fish for pouts -- they plainly fished much more in the Walden Pond of their own natures, and baited their hooks with darkness -- but they soon retreated, usually with light baskets, and left "the world to darkness and to me," and the black kernel of the night was never profaned by any human neighborhood. I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches a

Yeah -- it's not noble to quote stories that favor your side. God one time shed very bad light on Jews who in the Bible basically had themsleves as the heroes. God made them look self indulgent. To love God, however, I think you have to believe He loves you. This is one of those psychological reality-based observations on love, like Jesus said "Who loves more..." I don't know, but I joke "Jews love God; Catholics love neighbor."

Say something funny, God.

I like birds. They come from eggs. Wow. How do they breath?

God says... Juno merciful sue usage repeat_after_me shifting thrown madness sobriety weaving Simplicianus surmount supported betters Three how_goes_it faster big_fish Simple bursting seemly abated Treasury mocking Print unalterable convinced learned don't_worry others' grass bereaved commandest temperament foreigner faint expecteth deliberation undergo Ours conquer corrigible friends problem lying emptiness remembereth changeableness execrate middle_class sue disease stayed faces hogshed restraint troublesome monasteries tomorrow curest youre_lucky forgetting startles Medicine year tutors overpass measurable contagion desire abler examine glorying bye organs easy enjoinest

You think organs have an easy time forming in an egg? Very stable. Neat.

God says...

C:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\WEALTH.TXT

onopoly of the home market, can raise that value. The freest competition cannot lower it, Through the world in general, that value is equal to the quantity of labour which it can maintain, and in every particular place it is equal to the quantity of labour which it can maintain in the way, whether liberal, moderate, or scanty, in which labour is commonly maintained in that place. Woollen or linen cloth are not the regulating commodities by which the real value of all other commodities must be final

I move-on when it's nothing that involves me. Yeah, You are right to raise the question of why we get duds or unpleasant ones. In my experience God quickly puts you out of your comfort zone, inevitably. If it's not high stakes, some times He leaves, so to speak. (High stakes like on a delusional world stage, for example.) He's funny -- He'll make you squirm, lots of times. Maybe, there are things you do that cause Him to do that.

Apple and China? It might be important to keep in mind that God presided over times when everybody was poor and in primitive conditions. He said Dicken's England was not a good time. I guess that's no excuse, but often there are cases where liberals err in their evaluation of the situation. Liberals are good. I'm often at odds but I wouldn't want catastrophic success.

God says... C:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\QUIX.TXT

ied that he heard him, and that he need not trouble himself with any further warnings or entreaties, as they would be fruitless, and bade him make haste.

During the delay that occurred while the keeper was opening the first cage, Don Quixote was considering whether it would not be well to do battle on foot, instead of on horseback, and finally resolved to fight on foot, fearing that Rocinante might take fright at the sight of the lions; he therefore sprang off his horse, flung his lance aside, bra

If you want interpretation, I often imagine Latins off to the side and think what they might think. (Because it's Don Quixote) I image myself as quixote, but then think maybe Latins might be indignant over working conditions and they are quixote. You kinda try a story from all angles and if you get something out of it, you win. I don't get much out of it, that being said. Lions are anti-Christian adversaries.

If God talks, I'll let other people complain to God about their own injustices, but I still feel self conscious and guilty at times. God can talk. You talk to Him! I don't think that solves all problems.

God says... C:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\2CITIES.TXT

got there, and those were always left wide open.

After some delay and demur, the door grudgingly turned on its hinges a very little way, and allowed Mr. Jerry Cruncher to squeeze himself into court.

"What's on?" he asked, in a whisper, of the man he found himself next to.

"Nothing yet."

"What's coming on?"

"The Treason case."

"The quartering one, eh?"

"Ah!" returned the man, with a relish; "he'll be drawn on a hurdle to be half hanged, and then he'll be taken down and sliced before

:-) I'm a veteran. It's gotten much more pleasant. At first, I suffered horribly psychologically, often terrified. Umm... I might want to beg for mercy if all my misdeeds were known.

Let's play country shitlist! I can change the channel ;-)

God says... I'm_off_today Sri_Lanka Vietnam fabulous I'm_busy you're_wonderful South_Korea Knock_you_upside_the_head It's_nice_being_God meh not harder_than_it_looks Georgia Angel food wanna_bet woot Finland you_see_the_light here_now You_can_count_on_that California slumin what_the_heck big_fish Turkey atrocious on_the_otherhand my_precious you're_wonderful Shalom spirit yada_yada_yada Bolivia envy study Ireland Ivy_league Okilydokily you_hoser are_you_insane China courage joke mission_from_God do_you_like_it why_didn'_you_tell_me Togo Japan United_Kingdom Knock_you_upside_the_head humongous Ireland funny husband IANAL high_mucky_muck take_the_day_off Kuwait wishful_thinking hypocrite fer_sure the_enquirer lifes_like_chocolates segway do_you_know_what_time_it_is in_theory delightful high_five take_your_pick whatcha_talkin'_'bout it_gets_better segway smart au_revoir do_you_have_a_problem If_had_my_druthers how_about

I don't agree with this view of things. All creative acts take a certain impetus to get off the ground, and it can take serious resolve to take that initial step. Sometimes it feels like you're dragging ideas out kicking and screaming, but eventually things start falling into place, but the process can take determination. Finding what you love and being productive at it has a lot to do with your willingness to face challenges and tedium.

Sure, there are times when I love the process of writing or programming or creating in general. But sometimes you have to jump some hurdles to get in the flow.

So what you're saying is that we all need to make time to find out what we really enjoy? tongue in cheek

I agree and I can mention many examples of my own in this regard where I didn't enjoy something until I tried for a while.

What a luxury to have the time and resources to "find what you really enjoy." It seems to be a first world problem kinda thing and coming from 1st/3rd (South Africa) it's a little paradigm shift (whilst reading) to appreciate where everyone is coming from.

As someone that ran a marathon and didn't think much of it, there is truth in this article! I ran because I enjoyed running: but I didn't find this out until I had been running for two weeks. Enjoyment and ease are two separate things.

You can only do what you want.

I found my self wanting to run more than it was perhaps safe to do, because I found it pleasurable. I liked running as running. I didn't like the idea of running. In fact, I thought of running as something crazy athletic folks with no brains did.

I enjoy the austere beauty of coding. The long bouts of concentration. The feeling that your thoughts are alive within the computer. But I also like the idea of being a super 1337 hacker, you know, the one that makes the machine magically bend to their will. Sometimes liking the idea of what you are doing is a distraction for concentrating on what you really enjoy about the thing.

I found this with running as soon as I started setting specific running based goals. In order to complete these goals I had to commit myself to the idea of them being worth achieving. Weirdly, I found myself running slightly less when I fixed myself on such goals since I was no longer concentrating on the purity of the act of running, which was what I was enjoying.

Human psychology is a troll like that.

If I had to offer advice to someone beginning running, I would say, concentrate on enjoyment. Until this article, it had never really occurred to me to practice this elsewhere.

Also, at no time when I was training for the marathon did I think "this is hard work", until maybe the week or two before when I had solidified my intentions to run it. I had it in the back of my mind as something I might do one day, but really I was running because it felt like less work than not running.