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Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

awesomekling.github.io

41–50 of 268 posts

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#41
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Calling those meals "failures" now would be saying that it was a mistake to enjoy that time with my family and friends, and it absolutely wasn't. If gaining weight is the failure in this context, the mistake would likely be the excessive intake of food. Time spent with friends and family would not be the mistake. This might have come off a bit harsh.

Temperance, as you suggest, is a beautiful thing. It's hard (for me, especially), but sometimes we just have to put down the fork and politely decline that second, third, or fourth pancake.

Or just eat all those pancakes, as long as we don’t make a habit of deciding to do so every day.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#42

Ever since I quit my first job I've been tinkering with languages and frameworks. And every time I would complete a book or course I'd face the decision of building something on my own. That building never happens. 1 month later my portfolio is nonexistent, there are no projects, and my blog is a figment of my imagination. And right now I'm in the process of learning yet another framework. So I've been thinking: This…

I always seemed to switch languages, frameworks, projects, operating systems...seldom making something.

From an interviewers perspective, it can be nice to see someone with varied experience across an array of tech. But just one or two demonstratable projects can seal the deal.

At this point I'd be happy with three person listing one language/framework and one good project.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#43
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Temperance, as you suggest, is a beautiful thing. It's hard (for me, especially), but sometimes we just have to put down the fork and politely decline that second, third, or fourth pancake.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

> If I buy food at a restaurant, I don't have an obligation to finish it to get my moneys worth.

I could think about it as: “I spent $30 on this meal, I ate 75% of it, would I spend $7.5 to not feel like shit the rest of the evening?”

In almost all cases I think yes, and it’s fine to stop eating. It’s much harder when the food is great though.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#44
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

I don’t actually think temperance and logic like this moves the needle significantly for obese people. When you’re obese you need to lose 50, 70, 100+ lbs, not 10. You’re looking at fundamentally changing relationship with food at multiple levels to the point where it’s unrecognizable. I don’t think small changes in habit like this are in the same ballpark as what obese people need to become a normal weight, in the s…

I don't think anyone is suggesting that the same tricks will work for everyone. I've never been chronically obese so I wouldn't know what goes on in someone's mind at that point.

However I do know that it moved the needle significantly in _my_ life by changing my relationship with food so it's valuable to me. Losing the extra ~10 to 20 lbs of weight people gain in adulthood is something that people do struggle with even if it's not as dramatic as someone fighting obesity.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#45
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

I don’t actually think temperance and logic like this moves the needle significantly for obese people. When you’re obese you need to lose 50, 70, 100+ lbs, not 10. You’re looking at fundamentally changing relationship with food at multiple levels to the point where it’s unrecognizable. I don’t think small changes in habit like this are in the same ballpark as what obese people need to become a normal weight, in the s…

Taking the stairs is a lot more attainable though.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#46
post #43
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

> If I buy food at a restaurant, I don't have an obligation to finish it to get my moneys worth. I could think about it as: “I spent $30 on this meal, I ate 75% of it, would I spend $7.5 to not feel like shit the rest of the evening?” In almost all cases I think yes, and it’s fine to stop eating. It’s much harder when the food is great though.

> It’s much harder when the food is great though.

Indeed. I doubt anyone ever got fat by eating food they didn't like.

The issue becomes all the worse when food is designed to make you want to keep on eating. Bonus points for it giving you that sort of hunger-like feeling 2 hours after your meal.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#47
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eating shit and scrolling is enjoyable though, right? It just doesn’t sound as socially acceptable to admit it.

If you could wave a magic wand and give someone a day to do whatever they want to do no one would be choosing chips and TikTok. I don't think many people really enjoy it. It's just less painful than other things, or they don't have the resources to do what they actually want to do, or their choice requires something that's not possible right now... Chips and TikTok is the fallback, not the first choice.

I wonder why we find life so painful that we find "chips and TikTok" as an acceptable default.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#48
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Temperance, as you suggest, is a beautiful thing. It's hard (for me, especially), but sometimes we just have to put down the fork and politely decline that second, third, or fourth pancake.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

Other eating realizations:

- counting calories for 2 weeks can help you understand how much food you really need.

- sometimes you eat out of boredom

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#49

I think it’s going to come out eventually that obesity is not a failure of willpower but a derangement of your metabolism caused by some environmental chemical such as PFAS, glyphosate, etc.

What evidence makes you think that instead of the idea that sugar and sugar addiction is a major cause of obesity?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#50
post #43
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't particularly overweight before but I attribute about ~10lbs of weight loss this year to realizing that: - When at a dinner with family or friends, I never _have_ to finish something. Most of the time the host will be happy to package my leftovers to take back home when asked. That last part makes it clear that I like and appreciate the food even through I didn't finish it in the moment. - If I buy food at a…

> If I buy food at a restaurant, I don't have an obligation to finish it to get my moneys worth. I could think about it as: “I spent $30 on this meal, I ate 75% of it, would I spend $7.5 to not feel like shit the rest of the evening?” In almost all cases I think yes, and it’s fine to stop eating. It’s much harder when the food is great though.

Sunk cost fallacy. You aren't getting that $7.50 back. The question should actually be "do I want to, for no reason at all, feel like shit for the rest of the evening?"

(This assumes you aren't deriving any pleasure or utility from eating that last 25%. If you are, then that's one side of the cost/benefit analysis. But the initial cost of the food is irrelevant not matter what.)

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