Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[Robdavis]

I don't know. I can't figure out what the fear is exactly. I don't feel afraid or upset or even bothered. I feel nothing. It's ludicrous for me to even try (at this particular thing) because I know so many examples of people doing a much better job than I could ever do. I've never even tried.

But somebody legit just hired me to try for a tiny amount, right? And suddenly I want to clear my entire schedule to make this thing. My reaction to getting an order seems inordinately unbalanced with my supposed uncaring.

Basically I don't know what I'm feeling, which is weird.

If the thing which you are being hired to do is very different to what you usually do, then it is possible that you have "shiny object syndrome".

So you normally do whatever you do and you probably do it well but you will have got used to it. Now something that you aren't interested in and aren't good at comes along and because it is NEW you get a dopamine rush. "Oh look it's new, I really want to do this..."

So your feeling is a superposition of "meh", how you normally feel about the new activity and "Oh how exciting" from the dopamine rush.

I would suggest that if you can do the new thing without burning any bridges with what you normally do, then do the new thing and do it to the best of your ability. Once you have been working on it for a few hours, the dopamine will wear off and you will either realise that this sucks or that there is something about the new activity that you weren't aware of before.

Once you have finished with the new activity, you will likely want to return to what you normally do.

However, there could be numerous opportunities in this experience so keep an eye out for them:

The new activity might turn out to be something that you like.
The new activity might expose you to something or someone or a skill or technique that can help your regular business.
The new activity might give you a new perspective on what you usually do and so increase your interest in what you usually do.
The new activity might give you some distance from what you usually do and so you can get a bigger perspective on some aspect of what you usually do, leading to some process or skill or technique improvement.

Best of luck with this and try to view it as an opportunity to seek and or discover other opportunities - you don't currently know where this may or may not lead.

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

If the thing which you are being hired to do is very different to what you usually do, then it is possible that you have "shiny object syndrome".

So you normally do whatever you do and you probably do it well but you will have got used to it. Now something that you aren't interested in and aren't good at comes along and because it is NEW you get a dopamine rush. "Oh look it's new, I really want to do this..."

So your feeling is a superposition of "meh", how you normally feel about the new activity and "Oh how exciting" from the dopamine rush.

I would suggest that if you can do the new thing without burning any bridges with what you normally do, then do the new thing and do it to the best of your ability. Once you have been working on it for a few hours, the dopamine will wear off and you will either realise that this sucks or that there is something about the new activity that you weren't aware of before.

Once you have finished with the new activity, you will likely want to return to what you normally do.

However, there could be numerous opportunities in this experience so keep an eye out for them:

The new activity might turn out to be something that you like.
The new activity might expose you to something or someone or a skill or technique that can help your regular business.
The new activity might give you a new perspective on what you usually do and so increase your interest in what you usually do.
The new activity might give you some distance from what you usually do and so you can get a bigger perspective on some aspect of what you usually do, leading to some process or skill or technique improvement.

Best of luck with this and try to view it as an opportunity to seek and or discover other opportunities - you don't currently know where this may or may not lead.

I think the other dude is closer to the mark. What you're saying isn't lining up. I wasn't looking for this path. I've tried to rationally assess whether I'd be any good at it in the past and I've never thought that could be the case. So I dismissed it. Completely.

I've been pursuing other things and doing ok with those. This just came up and the crazy person sent me money before I could talk them out of it so now here I am.

And I feel like a live animal landed in my house and is moving very quickly across my floor. But I don't know the species or if it's venomous. It could be a penguin.. or a tiger or a boa constrictor.

 

[Robdavis]

I think the other dude is closer to the mark. What you're saying isn't lining up. I wasn't looking for this path. I've tried to rationally assess whether I'd be any good at it in the past and I've never thought that could be the case. So I dismissed it. Completely.

I've been pursuing other things and doing ok with those. This just came up and the crazy person sent me money before I could talk them out of it so now here I am.

And I feel like a live animal landed in my house and is moving very quickly across my floor. But I don't know the species or if it's venomous. It could be a penguin.. or a tiger or a boa constrictor.

Oh. O.k. My bad.

The dopamine has manifested as anxiety rather than excitement. That anxiety, which in this case would likely be called "fear of the unknown" has led to overwhelm, that solid wall feeling.

the crazy person sent me money before I could talk them out of it so now here I am.

I think that this represents an external locus of control. You seem to be implying that someone has dropped you into this situation.

In this case, there might not be as much of an opportunity as I previously thought.

Fix this by refunding the money to the client and telling them that you are currently fully utilised with your regular work and that will get you out of this job and this feeling.

Hope this helps.

 

[Raedrum]

Thought of the day (although I'm holding this one since a pretty long time now):

"From a gaming point of view, being an employee is PVE, doing business is PVP."

(PVE: Player Vs. Environment --- PVP: Player Vs. Player)

This is really how I feel it. In one you're being assigned quests and have a +/- limited responsability, in the other you have to create your own quests and you are full responsible, + you face players directly.

And yes, PVP is harsher than PVE
And yes, the 2 are complementary

Gamification +1 ^^

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

Oh. O.k. My bad.

The dopamine has manifested as anxiety rather than excitement. That anxiety, which in this case would likely be called "fear of the unknown" has led to overwhelm, that solid wall feeling.


I think that this represents an external locus of control. You seem to be implying that someone has dropped you into this situation.

In this case, there might not be as much of an opportunity as I previously thought.

Fix this by refunding the money to the client and telling them that you are currently fully utilised with your regular work and that will get you out of this job and this feeling.

Hope this helps.

You are definitely helping. Ok the dopamine converts to overwhelm? And overwhelm feels like a solid wall? I don't know. I've never felt this particular thing except for one other time. It sounds right.. ish.

If I'm an obliger and motivated by external loci in general.. maybe that's why I cleared my deck of stuff in order to get it done..

I can't refund. If it takes me 30 hours I'm going to get it done. Thank you!

 

[Simon Angel]

I don't know. I can't figure out what the fear is exactly. I don't feel afraid or upset or even bothered. I feel nothing. It's ludicrous for me to even try (at this particular thing) because I know so many examples of people doing a much better job than I could ever do. I've never even tried.

But somebody legit just hired me to try for a tiny amount, right? And suddenly I want to clear my entire schedule to make this thing. My reaction to getting an order seems inordinately unbalanced with my supposed uncaring.

Basically I don't know what I'm feeling, which is weird.

Fear of the unknown + fear of letting down others + imposter syndrome.

But just do the work lol. It's going to be fine.

 

[Jrjohnny]

Oh. O.k. My bad.

The dopamine has manifested as anxiety rather than excitement. That anxiety, which in this case would likely be called "fear of the unknown" has led to overwhelm, that solid wall feeling.


I think that this represents an external locus of control. You seem to be implying that someone has dropped you into this situation.

In this case, there might not be as much of an opportunity as I previously thought.

Fix this by refunding the money to the client and telling them that you are currently fully utilised with your regular work and that will get you out of this job and this feeling.

Hope this helps.

Tell yourself it’s excitement, your body can’t tell the difference, it just chooses its response based on what your brain says/thinks.

I’m Nervous for our business to launch = cortisol released

Im excited for our business to launch = endorphins, oxytocin’s, and many more released.

It all goes down to what you think, because like the saying goes:

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

 

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[Robdavis]

I can't refund. If it takes me 30 hours I'm going to get it done. Thank you!

Oh. O.k. Well if you are going to do it, then keep an eye out for the opportunities that I mentioned in my first reply to you. If it is dopamine driven, then it will be caused because your brain thinks the activity is in the future.

Once you start, the feeling should shift because the activity is now in the present.

Hopefully the feeling will become more recognisable.

I hope that something good for you comes out of this experience.

Edit: Just remembered, another technique you can use for managing overwhelm is to break the task down into smaller pieces and then aim to get the first piece done asap. Choose a piece size that feels right for the job. Getting the first part done quickly should help to boost your confidence and feel like you are getting the job done.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

PSA: Beware of "tag team" spam... this is when 2 accounts under the same IP use the forum for reputation management. This seems to become common this year.

User 1: Who is Joe Schmo and is he legit?
User 2: Joe Schmo is awesome! (followed by long advertorial)

Both users are working together, often under the same IP, or under the same rep firm, or hired by the subject doing reputation management.

When found, both users are banned and the content removed.

 

[Andy Black]

PSA: Beware of "tag team" spam... this is when 2 accounts under the same IP use the forum for reputation management.

MJ, can you check the IP for @Black_Dragon43, @Antifragile, @Kak, and @BizyDad? I think they're all Black_dragon arguing with himself to raise the profile of his 4 accounts.

 

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[Lyzmin]

PSA: Beware of "tag team" spam... this is when 2 accounts under the same IP use the forum for reputation management. This seems to become common this year.

User 1: Who is Joe Schmo and is he legit?
User 2: Joe Schmo is awesome! (followed by long advertorial)

Both users are working together, often under the same IP, or under the same rep firm, or hired by the subject doing reputation management.

When found, both users are banned and the content removed.

Love how you keep this a forum of quality MJ.
Thank you!

 

[Kak]

MJ, can you check the IP for @Black_Dragon43, @Antifragile, @Kak, and @BizyDad? I think they're all Black_dragon arguing with himself to raise the profile of his 4 accounts.

Caught red handed.

 

[Private Witt]

MJ, can you check the IP for @Black_Dragon43, @Antifragile, @Kak, and @BizyDad? I think they're all Black_dragon arguing with himself to raise the profile of his 4 accounts.

Other suspected teams:

Droopy Nips and Whiz Rock guy
JrJohnny and Johnny Boy
Private Witt and ? (just kidding!)

The question is why would they go through so much effort and use the same IP?

 

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[socaldude]

Caught red handed.

“I would of gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”

 

[Kak]

MJ, can I have a fifth, I mean second, account please? I want "The Actual Elon Musk" and I want to emphasize every time I "leave."

 

[Antifragile]

MJ, can I have a fifth, I mean second, account please? I want "The Actual Elon Musk" and I want to emphasize every time I "leave."

Sorry but that’ll be a NO.
Elon was trying to up his rep and got banned. That’s why he had to buy Twitter. He learned the commandment of control the hard way.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

MJ, can you check the IP for @Black_Dragon43, @Antifragile, @Kak, and @BizyDad? I think they're all Black_dragon arguing with himself to raise the profile of his 4 accounts.

I'm sure MJ will give me (us) a fair trial

 

[Kak]

Sorry but that’ll be a NO.
Elon was trying to up his rep and got banned. That’s why he had to buy Twitter. He learned the commandment of control the hard way.

This is starting to feel like schizophrenia. I don't remember typing this on my Antifragile account.

Or this on one of my BD accounts:

I'm MJ will give me (us) a fair trial

But I gave myself gold on both of them.

 

[ZF Lee]

Very disappointed in myself after getting into a car accident for the first time.

Was driving back from a night meeting, and the damned road was so narrow with tons of cars parked everywhere. Till I ended up misjudging distance, and tried to slip past another car on the other lane...and got too close for comfort and made contact.

My car's side only got a paint scratch, but the other driver's back bumper got busted.

Thankfully the other driver was cooperative, as we took photos and exchanged contacts. No one was hurt.

But this really shook me up and made me wonder what on earth was I doing out there at night...if only I had taken a Grab ride...had enough budget to hire a private driver who can drive WAY MORE SAFELY than me...or had enough FU money to not need to go out at night to keep up with 'diesel and coffee'...

I need to force in more WFH or online arrangements in my engagements.

This is going to cut deeply into my networking and opportunities unless I can keep paying for Grab rides or hire a driver.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

If you add up the User Power of all my accounts, I am the greatest value-adder in the forum's history, second only to MJ himself, whose value cannot be counted since without him nothing would exist.

 

[Timmy C]

What is it with people that show up to a restaurant and grow some kind of superiority complex and treat servers like crap?

I always make it a point to thank my server every time they come to the table and do something.

We used to go to dinner frequently with my fathers sister and her husband.

Her husband was the biggest a**hole on the planet and did this stuff all the time.

We would get so embarrassed and apologised on his behalf multiple times a night.

We don't associate with them anymore.

God I hated that prick, and yes I hated him.

I will go that far, just a terrible human being to everyone.

 

[RicardoGrande]

When found, both users are banned and the content removed.

Oof, glad I haven't made my BigRichard69 account yet.

 

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[Consolation]

Very disappointed in myself after getting into a car accident for the first time.

Was driving back from a night meeting, and the damned road was so narrow with tons of cars parked everywhere. Till I ended up misjudging distance, and tried to slip past another car on the other lane...and got too close for comfort and made contact.

My car's side only got a paint scratch, but the other driver's back bumper got busted.

Thankfully the other driver was cooperative, as we took photos and exchanged contacts. No one was hurt.

But this really shook me up and made me wonder what on earth was I doing out there at night...if only I had taken a Grab ride...had enough budget to hire a private driver who can drive WAY MORE SAFELY than me...or had enough FU money to not need to go out at night to keep up with 'diesel and coffee'...

I need to force in more WFH or online arrangements in my engagements.

This is going to cut deeply into my networking and opportunities unless I can keep paying for Grab rides or hire a driver.

Thank God nothing bad happens. But, I'm wondering. What night meeting? You took O.T. on your current job?

 

[Consolation]

Is it only me that sense something is wrong when a 6 year old lying on the sofa, holding a smartphone and eating at the same time?

I do remember sitting, watching TV as a kid while having snacks. But lying down on your back?

I'm not a parent yet, but isn't that makes your appendix to be removed faster? Second - isn't that like planting the early seeds of laziness? I mean it's the ultimate form of unwillingness to engage in physical or mental motions.

You're too lazy to eat so you choose to lie on your back. But you're hungry so you do it while your body inclined flatly. You don't want to use your mind much, hence the distractions towards the smartphone.

Do kids really have it super really really easy nowadays?

 

[BizyDad]

If you add up the User Power of all my accounts, I am the greatest value-adder in the forum's history, second only to MJ himself, whose value cannot be counted since without him nothing would exist.

BD check the editorial calendar. I was supposed to say that. I knew creating two BD accounts was going to get confusing. The "voice" is just too similar.

I'm going to need one of the computer nerds from this thread to break to multi-account industry. Posting from the same IP really should be easier by now. It's almost 2024.

Of course I can just do it myself better than anyone has ever done it, but I think bigger so delegate delegate delegate.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Amazon's DSP Delivery Driver training really tries to cram a lot of information in your head within 3 days. Oh if you fail the test I was 5% off from passing, you'd have to restart your training all over again...

 

[ZF Lee]

Thank God nothing bad happens. But, I'm wondering. What night meeting? You took O.T. on your current job?

Not overtime.

Some church meeting with some older men whom I consider mentor figures because they were able to share many things that weren’t just surface-level rehash of the Holy Writ.

In that meeting, we were finishing the last chapter of a book study.

That evening I actually didn’t want to go because it was raining hard, but I felt I still had to honor that commitment and not be like those young kids who avoid everything that needs effort.

Oddly that accident occurred when the rains were far gone.

In future, these night meetings could be for anything else— yes, even for work. I need to figure out how to eliminate accidents…either I quit doing night outings, or it’s Grab all the way.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Just wanted to swing by and show my appreciation for @MJ DeMarco for answering my questions. I truly appreciate it. Sadly though, I've known the answer for a while an increase in income.

FYI, got a contract offer for 3 months at $32 dollars an hour.

 

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[Ing]

After a 9 months break due to a disc prolapse today first gym visit.
Holy moly, i feel my muscles

 

[KiwiEC]

I'm currently reading Unscripted and it refers several times to the movie Timeout, so I decided to watch it.

I expected another hollywoodian sci-fi thriller, in the end it was one of the best dystopia I've seen. We are not living in a very different world (we just don't have the timer on the arm).

Another reason to focus on what matters and to get back to work (the real one, not the 9-5). Very nice reference for the book!