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Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

awesomekling.github.io

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Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#131

Post by birdyrooster »

e1g wrote: post #126
SanderNL wrote: post #117

I found it interesting to learn about the etymology of the word "character". It comes to us from Latin which took it from the Greek (χᾰρᾰκτήρ) which comes from kharasso (χαράσσω) - I scratch or engrave . Our character can be thought of as the result of a long process of engraving or scratching. I tend to see it as a solid metal shield full of scratches from long battles. The resulting grooves tend towards virtue or v…

Webster [1] traces the source of the word “character” to theater where it was used as an emblem of the reputation of someone or a group of people, similar to how you would recognize the brand name engraved into a thing. The interpretation that character is a result of “engraving” through repeated behavior (at the individual level) is fascinating, but doesn’t seems as supported from original usage for centuries. [1] h…

I don’t think Webster is always right or writes complete etymology. Perhaps there is a more charitable way to interpret the PC. But PC should provide sources, that would be nice.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#132

Post by ilrwbwrkhv »

xorvoid wrote: post #102

I’m continually struck by how brave Andreas is for talking about his addiction problems out in public. In most every interview he leads with it when he could just easily say a vague: “I found myself with a lot of free time”. Addiction can come with a LOT of shame baggage. To embrace vulnerability over it is quite substantial. Thank you Andreas for being a positive example for the world! Keep up the great work!

I think if more people were vulnerable, the world would be a kinder place. I also wish more CEOs were vulnerable. They are forced to "show strength" and "not complain" especially if they are a billionaire. But it would really show how much their lives are a mixed bag and we all face challenges and try to figure it out.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#133

Post by coffeebeqn »

xorvoid wrote: post #102

I’m continually struck by how brave Andreas is for talking about his addiction problems out in public. In most every interview he leads with it when he could just easily say a vague: “I found myself with a lot of free time”. Addiction can come with a LOT of shame baggage. To embrace vulnerability over it is quite substantial. Thank you Andreas for being a positive example for the world! Keep up the great work!

Especially since most CEOs are at a minimum work addicts. Most probably use various chemical “enhancers”

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#134

Post by [deleted] »

e1g wrote: post #126
SanderNL wrote: post #117

I found it interesting to learn about the etymology of the word "character". It comes to us from Latin which took it from the Greek (χᾰρᾰκτήρ) which comes from kharasso (χαράσσω) - I scratch or engrave . Our character can be thought of as the result of a long process of engraving or scratching. I tend to see it as a solid metal shield full of scratches from long battles. The resulting grooves tend towards virtue or v…

Webster [1] traces the source of the word “character” to theater where it was used as an emblem of the reputation of someone or a group of people, similar to how you would recognize the brand name engraved into a thing. The interpretation that character is a result of “engraving” through repeated behavior (at the individual level) is fascinating, but doesn’t seems as supported from original usage for centuries. [1] h…

[deleted]

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#135

Post by blitz_skull »

sph wrote: post #70
wccrawford wrote: post #4

Life is about taking risk. We make daily decisions that involve big and small risk constantly. Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure , it's a choice. It comes with risk and tradeoffs. Everyone thinks there's a magical line that everyone else should take that straddles that line between enjoyment today and tomorrow. That lines doesn't exist, and isn't even the…

> Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure, it's a choice. This conveniently papers over a critical mechanism of how biological brains operate: we do not choose 99% of our actions. It would be extremely inefficient and energy-consuming. 99% of our life we are on autopilot, driven by our habits engaged as response to sensory and internal stimuli. Habits explain ne…

Hmm.. I’m torn because on the one hand, you’re definitely correct that a non-trivial amount of our lives is subconscious, which is different from auto-pilot in my pedantic opinion.

However, anecdotally I’ve found that whether you think you can do something or whether you think you cannot—you are correct. That is to say, I feel like admitting to the biological truth actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy which causes me to fall to my biological default.

However, if I reject that biological “truth”, I will more often find myself empowered by the notion that I can do anything I set my mind to, whether it be drugs or going for a run.

It’s the classic “mind over matter” phenomenon. Your fundamental beliefs can override your biological defaults, so I think it’s very important to regulate and review your beliefs.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#136

Post by ly3xqhl8g9 »

SanderNL wrote: post #117

I found it interesting to learn about the etymology of the word "character". It comes to us from Latin which took it from the Greek (χᾰρᾰκτήρ) which comes from kharasso (χαράσσω) - I scratch or engrave . Our character can be thought of as the result of a long process of engraving or scratching. I tend to see it as a solid metal shield full of scratches from long battles. The resulting grooves tend towards virtue or v…

A somewhat modernized version is to say: it's not nature, nor nurture, it's stigmergy [1]. Or another way: the organism is larger than the collection of the cells [2] [3].

[1] "mechanism of indirect coordination, through the environment, between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an individual action stimulates the performance of a succeeding action by the same or different agent", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy

[2] 2023, Michael Levin, Bioelectric networks. The cognitive glue enabling evolutionary scaling from physiology to mind, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-023-01780-3

[3] Michael Levin and Wayne Frasch (2023) From molecular physiology to anatomical form, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l8I4gJ6D0w, at 27:32 the hybrid agent frog cells + scientists + AI exploring morphospace.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#137

Post by taeric »

randomname93857 wrote: post #113
taeric wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kudos on the progress! Curious what got you to start walking for that long?

I think one hour a day of walk is not even a bare minimum if you don't do any other exercises or physical work

I think you'd be surprised. A solid hour of walking goes a long way.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#138

Post by hourago »

wccrawford wrote: post #4

Life is about taking risk. We make daily decisions that involve big and small risk constantly. Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure , it's a choice. It comes with risk and tradeoffs. Everyone thinks there's a magical line that everyone else should take that straddles that line between enjoyment today and tomorrow. That lines doesn't exist, and isn't even the…

> Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure, it's a choice. It comes with risk and tradeoffs.

That dichotomy is not always true. There is a percentage of people that can enjoy their youth (travel, parties, ...) and still get a plentiful future. Other people needs to renounce to everything now just to survive to tomorrow. So, not always a choice there.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#139

Post by john61 »

wccrawford wrote: post #4

Life is about taking risk. We make daily decisions that involve big and small risk constantly. Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure , it's a choice. It comes with risk and tradeoffs. Everyone thinks there's a magical line that everyone else should take that straddles that line between enjoyment today and tomorrow. That lines doesn't exist, and isn't even the…

A lot of enjoyable meals with friends and overweight is not necessaraly correlated. There are a lot of social gourmets that have normal weight. Usually overweight comes from cheap garbage fastfood, sweet drinks and low physical movement. Excellent food has often low calories and small portions.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#140

Post by slashdev »

Jocko Willink has a great quote on this subject:

  Rome wasn't built in a day.
  Everyone knows that.
  It took hundreds of years for Rome to reach its peak.
  But Rome also didn't fall in a day.
  It also took time, hundreds of years, for Rome to decay and fall apart.
He goes on to say that each day we're either improving or decaying, either getting a little better or getting a little worse. Those little things add up over time to make a big difference in our lives.
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