Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting • Hacker News Board

Re: Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting

#61

Post by helmholtz » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 5:26 PM UTC

jorams wrote: post #60

helmholtz wrote: post #11

Christ I hate the word 'overwhelm'. It's SO jarring. It's like when people say "I'm feeling melancholy". NO! You're feeling melanchol ic ! You did something "on purpose" and not "purposely"! And the world is not full of overwhelm. It's full of emotional overload[1] perhaps. [1] https://www.dailywritingtips.com/overwhelm-is-a-verb-isnt-it... ).

> It's like when people say "I'm feeling melancholy". NO! You're feeling melancholic! While I fully agree with you and it sounds incredibly weird, dictionaries don't agree with you on this one. They consider "melancholy" a synonym of "melancholic".

Yep, and they state that purposely is a real word that's been in use for 500 years. I'll fight them to my grave! My beef with it has always been that two perfect words exist already: melancholia and melancholic. Between them, they cover all the ways in which I wish to use the word.

Re: Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting

#62

Post by fokinsean » Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 7:28 PM UTC

> The act of simply showing up, no matter how you feel or what else you need to do, is hugely powerful. Anthony Trollope was a prolific English novelist who published 47 novels while maintaining a “regular” full-time job. He did this by committing to write 250 words every 15 minutes every single day. He did that every day, without fail, and achieved amazing results.

How the hell does one write 250 words every 15 mins every day while having a job.

Re: Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting

#63

Post by afarrell » Sun, Jan 17, 2021, 1:52 PM UTC

jolmg wrote: post #53

TeMPOraL wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a reference to how Americans rate vision; 20/20 is considered normal, good visual acuity. But I guess it works if read as a year too.

Yeah, normally I see it written as 20-20 or 20/20, never 2020. That's why I thought it was meant to be read both ways. Pretty good, I think.

Yes. I intend both meanings simultaneously.

Re: Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting

#64

Post by afarrell » Sun, Jan 17, 2021, 1:56 PM UTC

helmholtz wrote: post #61

jorams wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's like when people say "I'm feeling melancholy". NO! You're feeling melancholic! While I fully agree with you and it sounds incredibly weird, dictionaries don't agree with you on this one. They consider "melancholy" a synonym of "melancholic".

Yep, and they state that purposely is a real word that's been in use for 500 years. I'll fight them to my grave! My beef with it has always been that two perfect words exist already: melancholia and melancholic. Between them, they cover all the ways in which I wish to use the word.

> I'll fight them to my grave!

I would advise you to reflect on which you care more about:

1. Being a supportive to a friend who feels so sad or stressed they need a more expressive word.

2. Urging people to change their words in ways that do not impact meaning.