As Ariely says: Lancelot fights better than anyone else because he found a way to bring the stress of the situation to zero. If he doesn’t care whether he lives or dies, nothing rides on his performance. He doesn’t worry about living past the end of the fight, so nothing clouds his mind and affects his abilities — he is pure concentration and skill.
This is "somewhat" similar to what Steve Jobs said in his commencement speech at Stanford:
> Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Atwood closes with: "concentrate on the daily routine of doing what you enjoy, what you believe in, what you find intrinsically satisfying." What this fails to take into take into consideration is that unless you are focusing on the "right" things, this pattern can be more harmful. On most days I just want to meditate, catch up with family, exercise and perhaps hang out on the beach or travel to exotic places. I don't currently find work intrinsically satisfying (a majority of the working population don't find their work intrinsically motivating).
This is also bad advice if you are depressed. It just doesn't work then. Most days you want to sleep in, stay within your space, and think about darker stuff. Completely unrelated but the reason many people fail to quit smoking or quit eating unhealthy things is not because they don't know that these habits are bad for them but because in that moment, they are unable separate their desire from what they should be doing for the long term betterment of themselves.
I'm assuming that the author is primarily writing this post for programmers/computer scientists and how they can focus on increasing their skills in their chose field, but this post is generic enough that I though my comment may be relevant enough to add to the discussion.
Mindsets for going into battle/duels can be:
1) Believe you are stronger and will win. It's weak because if it turns out you are not you will lose heart easily.
2) Convince yourself you are stronger without taking data into account. (As in, be positive.) Weak for the same reason.
3) Believe you are doing the right thing, and you want to do it regardless of outcome. According to this teacher, here lies true strength because you will not lose heart even against a stronger opponent.
I heard about the Way of St James and Peace corps might give pause for compass finding. I dunno.
Is there something wrong with that?
As far as I can tell, there exist certain rare people who really, really enjoy things that the rest of the world finds tedious. These people get good at those things, not because they want to be the best, but because they enjoy doing them. It's not weakness to prefer to spend time with family, it's human...
It's short. It's accessible. There is also a noticeable absence of Richard Gere.
“In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute. No one could yet grasp the fact that everything would be taken away. all we possessed, literally, was our naked existence.”
The trick is that our naked existence is all we ever have. Learning to deal with this fact, to accept and and even rely on this fundamental truth, is the first step towards developing a real purpose in life. This is the kind of thing that will get you out of bed each day.
http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0...
"Learning to deal with this fact, to accept and and even rely on this fundamental truth, is the first step towards developing a real purpose in life."
Perhaps I'll get there at some point, but I just haven't figured this out yet. I see the fact there, I understand it, but incorporating it into my daily thinking is just something I can't seem to grasp.
"Step by step walk the thousand-mile road" - Musashi Miyamoto
Is the issue that he claims a distinction? The way he values the qualities he ascribes to either sex? Something else?
More importantly, is he wrong? Without a doubt utterly wrong, or is there room for debate? At the end of the day that is what strikes me as most important.
"They (women) aren’t just bad at behaving like arrogant self-aggrandizing jerks. They are bad at behaving like self-promoting narcissists, anti-social obsessives, or pompous blowhards"
which suggests men are mainly successful because they are those things.
I recently heard (in a finance lecture, but still) that 3% of men are psychopaths, and 1% of women. So yes, more men are psychopaths, but neither gender is off the hook, and the majority of people actually aren't psychopaths.
I don't mind working for someone but i can't do it without doing it properly if he wanted an obedient servant he probably shouldn't have hired me to begin with.
"They aren’t just bad at behaving like arrogant self-aggrandizing jerks. They are bad at behaving like self-promoting narcissists, anti-social obsessives, or pompous blowhards, even a little bit, even temporarily, even when it would be in their best interests to do so."
suggests either a very limited acquaintance with women, or an unduly extensive experience with bad male behavior.
I don't know if it's sexist to make generalisations about women if it's clearly just a generalisation. And it might even be true, on average - though it's probably a result of nurture not nature.
But I think he didn't want to pour any more fuel on the fire than necessary.
There is still time to jump in.
I highly recommend it.
Why not, instead of selectively adopting this behavior when convenient, instead work to create systemic disincentives for it, if not across the business world, then at least in one's own little corner of it?
Although I admit there are studies that show in groups people tend to trust the people who claim they know the most.
Jeff and Jobs .
