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The illusion of being stuck

the-simulation-strategists.beehiiv.com

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Re: The illusion of being stuck

#21

Post by rors »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #15

I've come across these kinds of articles before and they always seem to suggest that you rewrite the metaphorical firmware of your brain so that it operates in a way that is advantageous to you. There's some notion of self discovery from first principles. I'm not convinced that this is generally a good idea. It makes a person unmoored and open to anything ("so open minded that your brains fall out"). It's also often…

Over the last few months I've been experimenting with Buddhist meditation, which leans heavily into this metaphor. They phrase the metaphor differently, with a focus on flattening of the grooves in your mind.

I've found these ideas helpful, but they're hardly novel. The Buddha lived over 2000 years ago. One big difference the objective. Most of these blogs are about hacking your mind to be more successful, whereas religions aim to make you more comfortable with your life as it currently is.

I think if you're going to experiment with upgrading your wetware, then you could do worse than look at Buddhism, or any other practice that encourages deep contemplation and promotes kindness. I have my issues with organised religion, but why not at least consider the thousands of years of prior art?

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#22

Post by noufalibrahim »

card_zero wrote: post #16
noufalibrahim wrote: post #15

I've come across these kinds of articles before and they always seem to suggest that you rewrite the metaphorical firmware of your brain so that it operates in a way that is advantageous to you. There's some notion of self discovery from first principles. I'm not convinced that this is generally a good idea. It makes a person unmoored and open to anything ("so open minded that your brains fall out"). It's also often…

Did you know, the brain is hard-wired to be suckered by self-help books? One trick that I personally find very liberating and enlightening is to make a big pile of such material and burn it. It gives me a sense of warmth and inner joy.

Isn't the combustion external? Why would the warmth be internal?

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#23

Post by oskapt »

hyperhello wrote: post #2

Just a tip, it’s actually “break free”, not “brake free”.

And it also isn’t “dreadfull.” I am very skeptical of taking any advice from a person unable to use basic spell checking before publishing an article. I’m also skeptical of advice from someone who has only recently discovered a possible solution for his very personal problems and feels he should share it with the world. In the 12-step world there are people who only do the first and last steps. They’re called two-steppers. You can look up the steps yourselves, but essentially it translates to, “we admitted we were powerless, that our lives had become unmanageable, and having had a spiritual awakening, we told everyone else how to fix their lives.” There are a lot of steps in between being stuck and becoming unstuck. The author should just quietly repair his life and shelve his egotistical need for external validation.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#24

Post by noufalibrahim »

haswell wrote: post #20
noufalibrahim wrote: post #15

I've come across these kinds of articles before and they always seem to suggest that you rewrite the metaphorical firmware of your brain so that it operates in a way that is advantageous to you. There's some notion of self discovery from first principles. I'm not convinced that this is generally a good idea. It makes a person unmoored and open to anything ("so open minded that your brains fall out"). It's also often…

My perspective on this is one of a person who underwent years of complex trauma in childhood and my stuck-ness was a series of overly sensitive protective mechanisms that had been built up by the experience. “The illusion of being stuck” also sounds a lot like “Learned Helplessness”, which is a maladaptive conditioning of the brain to strongly believe that not doing something is the best option because doing somethin…

That's a very nuanced take. I dont take offense to using "techniques" to fix "problems".

I'm more annoyed by the usual phrasing of these things as life changing and revelatory.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#25

Post by pier25 »

cess11 wrote: post #12

"Here's the problem: Your brain and its cortical columns are designed to conserve energy at all costs." How does this model explain substance addiction? 'You need to consciously and repetitively seek out "False" signals and embrace the discomfort they bring. You need to construct a new reality.' Much like the 'why aren't you growing? you need to grow. grow!' sentiment in the beginning this seems more in line with som…

It explains psychological addiction. You grow attached to a familiar and seemingly safe numbing sensation.

Physical addiction is another thing.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#26

Post by noufalibrahim »

rors wrote: post #21
noufalibrahim wrote: post #15

I've come across these kinds of articles before and they always seem to suggest that you rewrite the metaphorical firmware of your brain so that it operates in a way that is advantageous to you. There's some notion of self discovery from first principles. I'm not convinced that this is generally a good idea. It makes a person unmoored and open to anything ("so open minded that your brains fall out"). It's also often…

Over the last few months I've been experimenting with Buddhist meditation, which leans heavily into this metaphor. They phrase the metaphor differently, with a focus on flattening of the grooves in your mind. I've found these ideas helpful, but they're hardly novel. The Buddha lived over 2000 years ago. One big difference the objective. Most of these blogs are about hacking your mind to be more successful, whereas re…

I appreciate the point you're trying to make. However, my general experience of attempts to take "useful" parts of of religion and then sanitise them for secular mass consumption is that they're at best useless and at worst harmful.

Sure, there might be some proximal benefits to (say) meditation but these are things that were done in a larger (often spiritual) context and I'm not sure that pulling them out of that is wise.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#27

Post by ufocia »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #22
card_zero wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you know, the brain is hard-wired to be suckered by self-help books? One trick that I personally find very liberating and enlightening is to make a big pile of such material and burn it. It gives me a sense of warmth and inner joy.

Isn't the combustion external? Why would the warmth be internal?

Semantics dear Watson: it's the inner joy that's internal.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#28

Post by ufocia »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #26
rors wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Over the last few months I've been experimenting with Buddhist meditation, which leans heavily into this metaphor. They phrase the metaphor differently, with a focus on flattening of the grooves in your mind. I've found these ideas helpful, but they're hardly novel. The Buddha lived over 2000 years ago. One big difference the objective. Most of these blogs are about hacking your mind to be more successful, whereas re…

I appreciate the point you're trying to make. However, my general experience of attempts to take "useful" parts of of religion and then sanitise them for secular mass consumption is that they're at best useless and at worst harmful. Sure, there might be some proximal benefits to (say) meditation but these are things that were done in a larger (often spiritual) context and I'm not sure that pulling them out of that is…

Don't kill and don't steal seem pretty useful and are embedded within many if not all secular laws.

Re: The illusion of being stuck

#30

Post by sdwr »

rwasco wrote: post #4

> I impulssively bought a plane ticket to Panama: > I cried. Haven’t done that in years. > I had the uncomfortable conversation with my business partner to tell them I no longer have passion for it and am leaving them the decision to continue or quit. > I forced myself to talk to strangers every single day. These also could be explained by someone entering hypomania. How would you distinguish stuck/unstuck from depre…

There's a big grey area in the middle. How you want to label it is influenced by the outcome and whether you think it's a good idea.

Quitting your job and flying to Central America is risky. If his life improves from there, then it was getting unstuck. If it gets worse or goes back to the same, then it was a manic episode.

History written by the victors!

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