While I don't entirely disagree with this idea of encouraging people to use this time to complete whatever personal projects they haven't been able to otherwise... I also think that putting...
While I don't entirely disagree with this idea of encouraging people to use this time to complete whatever personal projects they haven't been able to otherwise...
I also think that putting pressure on yourself to be like Isaac fuckin' Newton in the middle of a plague is too much.
We are all under a lot of pressure already. If you feel like working on your personal projects relieves that pressure, great. But don't let anyone make you feel like you're somehow doing something wrong if your muse flies away in the midst of death and disease rather than coming up to meet you.
I don't think it was meant as a forceful encouragement – certainly not to an extent where you have to perform the same as one of the sharpest minds in physics. You could, however, look up to the...
I also think that putting pressure on yourself to be like Isaac fuckin' Newton in the middle of a plague is too much.
I don't think it was meant as a forceful encouragement – certainly not to an extent where you have to perform the same as one of the sharpest minds in physics.
You could, however, look up to the people whose qualities you admire, see that they did well during stressful times, say to yourself "How am I any worse?", and do a thing or two that you are well-qualified for.
Nothing to do with male/female. It felt a little pressuring to me too and I agree with you, in fact I'm feeling pretty burnt out in general right now. (I'm male)
Nothing to do with male/female. It felt a little pressuring to me too and I agree with you, in fact I'm feeling pretty burnt out in general right now. (I'm male)
I see I misworded my previous comment. What I meant is I don't think this kind of "motivating speech" is particularly masculine. I mean, yes, there's the macho-style "GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES,...
I see I misworded my previous comment. What I meant is I don't think this kind of "motivating speech" is particularly masculine.
I mean, yes, there's the macho-style "GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, PRIVATE" military type motivation, which I think is only seen as masculine because of the military being primarily (or sometimes exclusively) male. But I'm not reading that in the site, and I don't think that's what you're reading in this either?
What bothers me is there is a push to "be productive" during the quarantine and I understand it comes from a position of "Here, do something so you don't get depressed", but at least to me it rings as "Your life has been completely turned upside down, you can't do your regular activities, can't see the people you usually see, etc; and on top of that, you have to pressure yourself to be productive / lose weight / be your best self because otherwise you're wasting this opportunity" and it's like, jesus, give people a break.
I've been consciously pushing myself but also consciously stopped doing that when I started to feel burnout. If ever there is a time to be careful about your own mental health, it's now, and you have to keep things nuanced for people.
I'm going to follow-up in a separate thread because I feel a rant coming from a recent experience and it's going to go off-topic.
Here. Do you think the "suck it up" mentality is particularly masculine? I'm less attuned to female social groups but I've definitely seen it a lot there. Hell, my girlfriend is a textbook example...
Do you think the "suck it up" mentality is particularly masculine? I'm less attuned to female social groups but I've definitely seen it a lot there. Hell, my girlfriend is a textbook example of someone who tries far too hard to "toughen up" and often ends up breaking down and explodes when things become too much.
Can you share why you feel a website can pressure you on anything? I'll admit to lacking understanding in how something someone visited voluntarily can have such an impact. Perhaps it is my own...
Can you share why you feel a website can pressure you on anything? I'll admit to lacking understanding in how something someone visited voluntarily can have such an impact. Perhaps it is my own rugged masculinity speaking, but I fail to see how something with zero power/influence over an individual can cause such feelings of pressure.
@vivaria spoke my mind and I was tempted to reply to your questions directly but now I wonder, what's the point? If you don't feel pressure/influence/power from something you voluntarily read, how...
@vivaria spoke my mind and I was tempted to reply to your questions directly but now I wonder, what's the point? If you don't feel pressure/influence/power from something you voluntarily read, how could you empathise/understand any explanation I give?
So I conclude your questions aren't genuinely seeking to understand but please let me know if I've assumed too much.
You've assumed too much. One does not need to feel the same as you to empathize. In fact it's that thought that far too many have that I honestly believe drives divisions between us; far too many...
You've assumed too much.
One does not need to feel the same as you to empathize. In fact it's that thought that far too many have that I honestly believe drives divisions between us; far too many dismiss the experiences of others because they cannot fathom it themselves. While I cannot presently understand how a website I view as powerless can have power, I am asking so that a different view can be had.
I don't give a shit about what the website said. I didn't need another COVID-inspired page to tell me to find meaning in the work I do. The obstacles on my path are not of the "lacking the desire"...
I don't give a shit about what the website said. I didn't need another COVID-inspired page to tell me to find meaning in the work I do. The obstacles on my path are not of the "lacking the desire" sort anymore.
Maybe, I figured, changing your framing could work if you feel the bad kind of stress instead of the good kind. So I tried to change it for the reader. The "male/female perspective" conversation is not one I'm looking to have, partly because I think it's full of shit due to lacking in nuance.
If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. Nothing wrong with that. Find the source you find more meaningful than what didn't strike a chord.
Can I introduce you to our friend hyperbole? No one is pressuring anyone. No one is being literal. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. It's clearly meant to be inspirational encouragement.
I also think that putting pressure on yourself to be like Isaac fuckin' Newton in the middle of a plague is too much.
Can I introduce you to our friend hyperbole?
No one is pressuring anyone.
No one is being literal.
No one is forcing anyone to do anything.
It's clearly meant to be inspirational encouragement.
Honestly, that is one of modern human's big challenges. How to deal with our evolutionary programming that rewards bad behaviors in the time of plenty. To learn how to be bored. I was thinking...
Honestly, that is one of modern human's big challenges. How to deal with our evolutionary programming that rewards bad behaviors in the time of plenty. To learn how to be bored.
I was thinking about doing a small dopamine fast to help clear my head. It sounds super helpful.
If you're working, then work. It's highly unlikely your work involves digital distractions, social media, news sites, etc. Choice. If it's become a dependency or compulsion then it's no different...
If you're working, then work. It's highly unlikely your work involves digital distractions, social media, news sites, etc. Choice.
If it's become a dependency or compulsion then it's no different than the same for alcohol and it's time to make the choice to seek help and "step away."
Stumbled upon this on Hacker News. I thought this was a super positive take on the situations that a lot of people might be finding themselves in. People all of a sudden have a lot of free time on...
Stumbled upon this on Hacker News. I thought this was a super positive take on the situations that a lot of people might be finding themselves in. People all of a sudden have a lot of free time on their hands and can't go out anywhere. Boredom is a great spark for creativity. :)
I probably won't become Isaac Newton, but I did purchase equipment to begin detrashing the areas around where I walk. I got: 2 grabbers A pair of puncture resistant gloves Heavy duty trash bags I...
I probably won't become Isaac Newton, but I did purchase equipment to begin detrashing the areas around where I walk. I got:
2 grabbers
A pair of puncture resistant gloves
Heavy duty trash bags
I have been wanting to start doing it for awhile now but my small daily walks have finally pushed me to do it.
Although some people might have interesting and important ideas to work on during this enforced time off, most people, then or now, are not in a position to invent calculus. If you are eager to do...
Although some people might have interesting and important ideas to work on during this enforced time off, most people, then or now, are not in a position to invent calculus.
If you are eager to do something consequential then it seems more likely that there are unique opportunities to help with the global effort to defeat this thing, and that would mean looking outward, rather than inward.
What are those opportunities? That's the trouble. It's not that easy to figure out.
Some of us might find them by reaching out to friends and family and figuring out what they need. Others might be willing to go to work in an "essential business". There may be volunteer opportunities.
Nobody should pretend that finding useful work that's suitable is easy. The job hunt isn't easy in normal times, so why would it be easy now?
Who's to say you need to work on COVID? Newton didn't work on how to cure the plague. He worked on his own projects, the things that interested him, things he'd been putting off, tasks that he...
Who's to say you need to work on COVID? Newton didn't work on how to cure the plague. He worked on his own projects, the things that interested him, things he'd been putting off, tasks that he hadn't made time for.
It's working on things that you want to work on that the site is encouraging, not necessarily something world changing. That's exactly what the site is saying in the third paragraph...
Go finish that book, write a new song, call your dad, your sister, bake a pie, make some tacos, fix the lawnmower, code that great app, learn a second language, donate blood, donate to your local food bank, do 5 pull-ups, then do 10, train like Arnold at home, learn about the current economy, learn about the future economy, lookout for people in need in this crisis, do that thing you always wanted to do but never had time to.
Everyone just has to look past the second. Have to look past comparing themselves to someone that achieved greatness and just achieve what they believe to be great for themselves.
Exactly. Everyone has a list of things they would like to do if only they had the time. Well... right now... lots of us have nothing but time. We can choose to spend that time watching the latest...
He worked on his own projects, the things that interested him, things he'd been putting off, tasks that he hadn't made time for.
Exactly.
Everyone has a list of things they would like to do if only they had the time. Well... right now... lots of us have nothing but time. We can choose to spend that time watching the latest Netflix show or levelling up on a computer game, or we can choose to do something else. And there lots of things we can choose to do.
I'm not saying that you have to work on COVID. But, for people who are interested, there may be good opportunities to get involved, if we knew what they were. To generalize a bit, whether you look...
I'm not saying that you have to work on COVID. But, for people who are interested, there may be good opportunities to get involved, if we knew what they were.
To generalize a bit, whether you look for work or not, finding meaningful activity when you can choose what to do with your time and there is no default choice is more difficult than many people suspect. Even people who retire voluntarily can take a while to adjust, and that's nothing compared to unemployment. The amount of freedom you have takes some getting used to, especially when you believe in general that you should not be wasting time, but have no particular cause.
I find that most of the time I'm pretty okay with it. In times of crisis, especially, I sometimes question my decisions.
I wish there were better places to discuss specific opportunities. Tildes is nice and all, but we come from all over the world, and the other communities I'm involved in discuss these things rarely.
While I don't entirely disagree with this idea of encouraging people to use this time to complete whatever personal projects they haven't been able to otherwise...
I also think that putting pressure on yourself to be like Isaac fuckin' Newton in the middle of a plague is too much.
We are all under a lot of pressure already. If you feel like working on your personal projects relieves that pressure, great. But don't let anyone make you feel like you're somehow doing something wrong if your muse flies away in the midst of death and disease rather than coming up to meet you.
I don't think it was meant as a forceful encouragement – certainly not to an extent where you have to perform the same as one of the sharpest minds in physics.
You could, however, look up to the people whose qualities you admire, see that they did well during stressful times, say to yourself "How am I any worse?", and do a thing or two that you are well-qualified for.
It's not pressure, it's inspiration. That's how I interpreted it.
Nothing to do with male/female. It felt a little pressuring to me too and I agree with you, in fact I'm feeling pretty burnt out in general right now. (I'm male)
I see I misworded my previous comment. What I meant is I don't think this kind of "motivating speech" is particularly masculine.
I mean, yes, there's the macho-style "GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, PRIVATE" military type motivation, which I think is only seen as masculine because of the military being primarily (or sometimes exclusively) male. But I'm not reading that in the site, and I don't think that's what you're reading in this either?
What bothers me is there is a push to "be productive" during the quarantine and I understand it comes from a position of "Here, do something so you don't get depressed", but at least to me it rings as "Your life has been completely turned upside down, you can't do your regular activities, can't see the people you usually see, etc; and on top of that, you have to pressure yourself to be productive / lose weight / be your best self because otherwise you're wasting this opportunity" and it's like, jesus, give people a break.
I've been consciously pushing myself but also consciously stopped doing that when I started to feel burnout. If ever there is a time to be careful about your own mental health, it's now, and you have to keep things nuanced for people.
I'm going to follow-up in a separate thread because I feel a rant coming from a recent experience and it's going to go off-topic.
Here.
Do you think the "suck it up" mentality is particularly masculine? I'm less attuned to female social groups but I've definitely seen it a lot there. Hell, my girlfriend is a textbook example of someone who tries far too hard to "toughen up" and often ends up breaking down and explodes when things become too much.
Can you share why you feel a website can pressure you on anything? I'll admit to lacking understanding in how something someone visited voluntarily can have such an impact. Perhaps it is my own rugged masculinity speaking, but I fail to see how something with zero power/influence over an individual can cause such feelings of pressure.
@vivaria spoke my mind and I was tempted to reply to your questions directly but now I wonder, what's the point? If you don't feel pressure/influence/power from something you voluntarily read, how could you empathise/understand any explanation I give?
So I conclude your questions aren't genuinely seeking to understand but please let me know if I've assumed too much.
You've assumed too much.
One does not need to feel the same as you to empathize. In fact it's that thought that far too many have that I honestly believe drives divisions between us; far too many dismiss the experiences of others because they cannot fathom it themselves. While I cannot presently understand how a website I view as powerless can have power, I am asking so that a different view can be had.
I don't give a shit about what the website said. I didn't need another COVID-inspired page to tell me to find meaning in the work I do. The obstacles on my path are not of the "lacking the desire" sort anymore.
Maybe, I figured, changing your framing could work if you feel the bad kind of stress instead of the good kind. So I tried to change it for the reader. The "male/female perspective" conversation is not one I'm looking to have, partly because I think it's full of shit due to lacking in nuance.
If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. Nothing wrong with that. Find the source you find more meaningful than what didn't strike a chord.
Can I introduce you to our friend hyperbole?
No one is pressuring anyone.
No one is being literal.
No one is forcing anyone to do anything.
It's clearly meant to be inspirational encouragement.
Isaac Newton may have changed the world during a quarantine, but he didn't have any digital distractions.
Honestly, that is one of modern human's big challenges. How to deal with our evolutionary programming that rewards bad behaviors in the time of plenty. To learn how to be bored.
I was thinking about doing a small dopamine fast to help clear my head. It sounds super helpful.
Like a meditation retreat?
Like turning off your devices without ever moving to a remote location.
So like camping, without the actual camping?
That's an interesting way to put it.
And neither do you if you so choose.
If you're working, then work. It's highly unlikely your work involves digital distractions, social media, news sites, etc. Choice.
If it's become a dependency or compulsion then it's no different than the same for alcohol and it's time to make the choice to seek help and "step away."
Stumbled upon this on Hacker News. I thought this was a super positive take on the situations that a lot of people might be finding themselves in. People all of a sudden have a lot of free time on their hands and can't go out anywhere. Boredom is a great spark for creativity. :)
I probably won't become Isaac Newton, but I did purchase equipment to begin detrashing the areas around where I walk. I got:
I have been wanting to start doing it for awhile now but my small daily walks have finally pushed me to do it.
Although some people might have interesting and important ideas to work on during this enforced time off, most people, then or now, are not in a position to invent calculus.
If you are eager to do something consequential then it seems more likely that there are unique opportunities to help with the global effort to defeat this thing, and that would mean looking outward, rather than inward.
What are those opportunities? That's the trouble. It's not that easy to figure out.
Some of us might find them by reaching out to friends and family and figuring out what they need. Others might be willing to go to work in an "essential business". There may be volunteer opportunities.
Nobody should pretend that finding useful work that's suitable is easy. The job hunt isn't easy in normal times, so why would it be easy now?
Who's to say you need to work on COVID? Newton didn't work on how to cure the plague. He worked on his own projects, the things that interested him, things he'd been putting off, tasks that he hadn't made time for.
It's working on things that you want to work on that the site is encouraging, not necessarily something world changing. That's exactly what the site is saying in the third paragraph...
Everyone just has to look past the second. Have to look past comparing themselves to someone that achieved greatness and just achieve what they believe to be great for themselves.
Exactly.
Everyone has a list of things they would like to do if only they had the time. Well... right now... lots of us have nothing but time. We can choose to spend that time watching the latest Netflix show or levelling up on a computer game, or we can choose to do something else. And there lots of things we can choose to do.
I'm not saying that you have to work on COVID. But, for people who are interested, there may be good opportunities to get involved, if we knew what they were.
To generalize a bit, whether you look for work or not, finding meaningful activity when you can choose what to do with your time and there is no default choice is more difficult than many people suspect. Even people who retire voluntarily can take a while to adjust, and that's nothing compared to unemployment. The amount of freedom you have takes some getting used to, especially when you believe in general that you should not be wasting time, but have no particular cause.
I find that most of the time I'm pretty okay with it. In times of crisis, especially, I sometimes question my decisions.
I wish there were better places to discuss specific opportunities. Tildes is nice and all, but we come from all over the world, and the other communities I'm involved in discuss these things rarely.