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Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

maalvika.substack.com

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Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#181

Post by georgeecollins »

I love the term "taste-skill gap". I work with people who are good at making movies and people who are good at making video games. There is always this awkward thing that people who are good in one area are convinced they would be great in the other. I don't think I have ever met a film director that didn't think he would be a great video game designer if he put the time into it and really good game designers (well the narrative game ones) don't understand why they wouldn't be a good choice to direct a movie.

Taste comes quicker and can be more generalized. It's also pretty easy to express. Skill has many hidden components, takes experience to hone and is typically very specific.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#182

Post by mitjam »

alistairSH wrote: post #108
theshrike79 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Rick Rubin pretty much. He has 100/100 in taste, but almost 0/100 in skill. He can't really play an instrument, but he knows exactly what works and what doesn't and can articulate it.

That’s an odd take for a massively successful person. In the realm of producing hip-hop, his taste and skill are at the top of the industry. Sort of like saying Bill Belichick has a skill gap because he’s not a top NFL player. AFAIK he never played pro ball at all (and college wasn’t at a top D1 program). Bit, he’s undeniably one of the most successful coaches in the business.

he also said he started always with anxiety, was pushing, working not in a comfort zone. For me this Looks very much like „do, learn“. Another Rick Rubim quote: Humanity breeds in the mistakes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brPHcAJn7ZU

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#183

Post by alganet »

tayo42 wrote: post #163
alganet wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it rewards viral, vague behavior that only draws clicks but doesn't actually generate knowledge

How does it do this? It hosts texts and newsletters? You mignt as well say any blog post hosting service is like that

It presents likes and reshares metrics. This rewards content that is vague and viral. If you can trick people to make numbers go up, doesn't matter the quality of the content.

It's garbage. C'mon, we all know this already.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#184

Post by anontrot »

czhu12 wrote: post #171

I think this is why it helps a lot to build something you actually use. Because then, the barometer for what is good becomes a lot more defined: "Did I solve the problem I had", and then slowly build up from there. Instead of trying to imagine a thing that someone else might or might not need. I've been slowly chipping away at a heroku alternative called Canine [1] for the better part of a year now on the side, and f…

so if i am content with my life, i can't create anything...

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#185

Post by [deleted] »

anontrot wrote: post #184
czhu12 wrote: post #171

I think this is why it helps a lot to build something you actually use. Because then, the barometer for what is good becomes a lot more defined: "Did I solve the problem I had", and then slowly build up from there. Instead of trying to imagine a thing that someone else might or might not need. I've been slowly chipping away at a heroku alternative called Canine [1] for the better part of a year now on the side, and f…

so if i am content with my life, i can't create anything...

[deleted]

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#186

Post by whilenot-dev »

czhu12 wrote: post #171

I think this is why it helps a lot to build something you actually use. Because then, the barometer for what is good becomes a lot more defined: "Did I solve the problem I had", and then slowly build up from there. Instead of trying to imagine a thing that someone else might or might not need. I've been slowly chipping away at a heroku alternative called Canine [1] for the better part of a year now on the side, and f…

> "Did I solve the problem I had"

I really think that's the wrong question, but I don't know how to formulate it any better... it should be somewhere between playful curiosity ("how did it advance me a step in my own interests?"), pragmatic foresight ("how did it open up new possibilities?"), and bland reflection ("why was it the necessary thing to do at that moment?").

> "can i fix this thing that annoys me right now"

Whatever your questions might be, I sure hope they won't only aim for a boolean answer.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#187

Post by CommenterPerson »

Good article. Verified by years of observing my own and others' failures and successes. Do-Learn is a great positive motto. Compared to the nihilistic break things, or fail fast, etc.

Must say, it was a bit long. At the beginning, and after looking up the author, I confess to thinking "Oh no another pretty face influencer". But it built up very well. My respect level increased a lot when I saw Olin College of Engineering on her bio. Had checked it out for my daughter and came away very impressed by their approach. Most all American engineering colleges are so full of theory and so little doing, when it should be the other way around. Kudos.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#188

Post by 1auralynn »

mr_mitm wrote: post #109
wordpad wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh God So, what is the lesson here? Gotta let go of pride and risk it for the biscuit (ship something)?

And what's the lesson for parents? Can it be counter productive to praise your child a lot?

The answer here is actually teach them to self-evaluate, e.g. What do you think about your drawing? Should we hang it up?

Got this from Steve Peters: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Peters_(psychiatrist)

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#189

Post by mkaic »

thrwwXZTYE wrote: post #51

This syndrome is called "eternal child" (puer aeternus) in psychology. You were destined to great things. You were exceptional as a child, you learnt to associate your great potential with all the good in yourself, you built your identity around it. You were ahead of your peers in elementary school, whatever you applied towards - you exceled at. So you value that potential as the ultimate good, and any decision which…

I feel a bit shaken after reading this comment, to be honest. I don't think I've ever heard someone so perfectly describe such a major component of my life experience. It's like you read my mind.

I was a "gifted kid", now I'm a lonely adult living by herself constantly cycling between complacency, failure, panic, and productivity. Diagnosed ADHD, choose to stay unmedicated, sometimes the best employee in my office, usually one of the laziest and most disappointing employees in my office. Constantly daydreaming about how better circumstances would change things for the better even while knowing deep down I'd cause the exact same set of problems for myself all over again even if I got my Dream Job.

Spent my whole life being told I was exceptional, and, to be fair, I lived up to it as a kid. These days I'm so terrified of regressing to being "normal" that I sabotage myself at every turn.

Thank you for leaving this comment. I may bring up the concept with my therapist and see what she thinks of it.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#190

Post by lotyrin »

anontrot wrote: post #184
czhu12 wrote: post #171

I think this is why it helps a lot to build something you actually use. Because then, the barometer for what is good becomes a lot more defined: "Did I solve the problem I had", and then slowly build up from there. Instead of trying to imagine a thing that someone else might or might not need. I've been slowly chipping away at a heroku alternative called Canine [1] for the better part of a year now on the side, and f…

so if i am content with my life, i can't create anything...

Shaw's unreasonable man strikes again.
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