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Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

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Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#21

Post by tra3 »

elanius wrote: post #19
he11ow wrote: post #8

I'll say something that sounds really unhelpful until one day it makes sense. You don't really choose the process, the process chooses you. You can't make yourself 'enjoy the process' for something that doesn't resonate, because it will always feel a chore. So the one and only trick is to really pay attention to the thing you keep going back to, and in a way accept that this is a path. Some people might say "But I on…

I probably don't understand everything you wrote. However, I think I don't agree with you. If I just did what I enjoyed, I would quickly fall into bad habits, which would later lead to even greater depression.

I think you’re saying "But I only enjoy video games!". You should reread what the gp said.

Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#22

Post by f0e4c2f7 »

This is a bit of a Zen thing you're describing. A lot of different approaches and theories on getting to the same thing here I would say. It's hard to think of specific advice here beyond "just start doing it" which does not seem very helpful. Maybe a good insight here is "practice will make it easier."

I think ultimately for me this mindset was cultivated at a pretty young age with some writing and art I happened to come across. I love content like that and seek it out now. I think you can become more and more growth mindset oriented with time. I'll share some of the things I've liked on the topic here, maybe that will be useful:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7727986-mountains-should-be... (this is a quote, but recommend this whole book)

https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0...

https://youtu.be/etEJrznE-c0?si=Eaq8aycm8Yxn1v56

Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#23

Post by leros »

I've been making this shift as well.

Start thinking about what a good work day looks like. What tasks are you doing? Who are you working with? Where are you working? When? What technologies? Etc etc.

Then start working backwards and figure out what type of work you can do in that ideal work day environment. For me, I'm having to undergo a massive career shift but I'm much happier than I ever was.

Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#26

Post by neonlights84 »

At least in the professional world, I believe the key is knowing that "work" is an artificial construct designed to make owners and shareholders richer at the expense of you, the working drone. So "making progress" becomes a lot more palatable than quickly delivering what the capitalists want.

Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#27

Post by markus_zhang »

tra3 wrote: post #21
elanius wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I probably don't understand everything you wrote. However, I think I don't agree with you. If I just did what I enjoyed, I would quickly fall into bad habits, which would later lead to even greater depression.

I think you’re saying "But I only enjoy video games!". You should reread what the gp said.

If this is the case then the above advice is not useful, because it just tells you you are only thinking about video games.

TBH I do think it's impossible to change one's mindset. Because no one can grind on what he doesn't like for long. Some people are just born to do great things while most of us "just enjoy video games" and try to grind again and again without success.

Re: Ask HN: How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

#28

Post by keplerdos »

f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #22

This is a bit of a Zen thing you're describing. A lot of different approaches and theories on getting to the same thing here I would say. It's hard to think of specific advice here beyond "just start doing it" which does not seem very helpful. Maybe a good insight here is "practice will make it easier." I think ultimately for me this mindset was cultivated at a pretty young age with some writing and art I happened to…

To echo this with a for instance; I used to loathe running meetings. I fumbled. I wasn’t confident. I was disorganized.

Now, after running more than I can count, I look forward to it! I got gud. Every meeting was an opportunity to practice and learn more about how to run them effectively. I played with strategies and even though most didn’t work, I found out what did work.

If something doesn’t scratch your itch initially, that doesn’t mean it won’t in time. Be with experience instead of against it.

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