Forget Self-Improvement

http://www.deliberatism.com/blog/forget-self-improvement/

by karjaluoto • 14 years ago

263 88 14 years ago

deliberatism.com

ronnoles• 14 years ago

Let me get this straight. If you don't feel like doing something don't do it, even if it's good for you.

Great. I'll start eating pizza three times a day, stop bathing, and jerk off more.

I used to love HN, but this fake, new-age like philosophizing is getting pretty tired.

adelevie2• 14 years ago

If it's that difficult for you to stop eating pizza etc., then perhaps you should think twice about the author's point.

ttttannebaum• 14 years ago

You don't seem to be getting the point; you do not, in fact, have it straight.

The Point: people are usually good at things because they enjoy doing them. People succeed at "careers" or other "things-that-take-a-long-time-to-succeed-at" because they see at least part of it as not-work while others see it as tedious.

Second of all, you think this is new-age? Have you seen zenhabits.net?

You come off as angry and looking for an argument. The author clearly isn't talking about every action and behavior pattern you might enjoy/not enjoy. The author isn't asserting a new paradigm of behavioral philosophy. You've apparently been here for a while, you seem to have read the entire article, and yet you don't recognize the point through the context?

nessus42• 14 years ago

Great. I'll start eating pizza three times a day, stop bathing, and jerk off more

While you seem to think that the OP is so obviously false that it shouldn't be said, I think that is so obviously true that it goes without saying.

It just seems utterly obvious to me that the greatest things are achieved by people who are driven to achieve the goal. Though that drive my not be provided by love for the process. Sometimes the drive might be provided by obsession or compulsion or some other emotion.

It also seems obvious to me that you can't just will yourself into having this sort of drive. Though, for all I know, there may be techniques (e.g., hypnosis?) that might help with developing drive, it seems clear that if there are such techniques, they are not uniformly known or effective. I certainly think that trying to develop discipline is something that is essential, but you're still going to have to have some innate drive too.

Unlike you, I didn't see anything in the OP that says that you should just do anything that you love to do, all other consideration be damned. It only claimed that what you chose to do should be something that you love. As I said above, I would have thought this so obviously true as to go without saying.

karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Well, at least you have a plan. My only suggestion is that you do the "pizza eating" and "jerking off" independently.

goblin89• 14 years ago

Try it. Been there—after a short while you'll see that, in fact, you hate doing these things. It makes you feel sick, and nobody likes feeling sick. You'll learn that you actually like doing things that do good for you (it's not always obvious).

Regarding the article, didn't really like it as well—I think its point is somewhat vague and unconvincing—‘universe trying to tell us something’… And I don't think it's as simple as ‘finding what you love’ (since questions like yours legitimately arise in response), it's more about learning to love what you do first. Enjoying the process should be of higher priority than the end goal—that's what it's about, I think.

lincolnq• 14 years ago

Interesting viewpoint.

It does seem like the people who are naturally most driven are naturally more likely to succeed, because motivation is at the root of almost everything humans do wrong on a macro scale.

So there's a reason that a lot of self-help is about trying to hack motivation. Is it working? Not yet, I don't think, but it seems like we might be on the cusp of it working. I guess your observation boils down to "we haven't figured out the best ways to hack motivation yet", which appears to be true.

I guess the part that seems wrong is giving up on self-help because it usually doesn't work. I would argue not to give up on self-help, but instead to figure out self-help that actually works. The benefits are huge: instead of spending your life running because you love it so much, you instead hack yourself to love starting successful businesses. Not because being successful by itself is the goal, but because doing so is the best way to actually make the world a better place.

karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Precisely. There's no hack for motivation that's more effective than actually enjoying something. If you like it, you'll do it, and with time the rewards (often) increase. If what you're doing is good for you, you may introduce some positive habits.

As an example, I hate going to the gym. It doesn't matter how much I should be going, I just hate it. The routine tasks, the big guys who grunt, the sweaty machines: gross! On the other hand, a mountain bike ride is so much fun that I don't even realize I'm getting exercise. I go back for the enjoyment, but I get the benefit of a workout.

doublerebel• 14 years ago

Positive reinforcement and habit formation can make a big difference in whether or not something is viewed as enjoyable.

From the same article as the Target pregnancy prediction[1]:

Over the next four months, those participants who deliberately identified cues and rewards spent twice as much time exercising as their peers. Other studies have yielded similar results. According to another recent paper, if you want to start running in the morning, it’s essential that you choose a simple cue (like always putting on your sneakers before breakfast or leaving your running clothes next to your bed) and a clear reward (like a midday treat or even the sense of accomplishment that comes from ritually recording your miles in a log book). After a while, your brain will start anticipating that reward — craving the treat or the feeling of accomplishment — and there will be a measurable neurological impulse to lace up your jogging shoes each morning.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.h...

(Credit due to this r/fitness post: http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/ptn63/how_to_train_...

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einhverfr5• 14 years ago

Corollary:

If you don't enjoy something as is, see what you can do to introduce a side-game so that it is both enjoyable and a challenge.

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adelevie2• 14 years ago

Relevant to this discussion is pg's essay on "schlep blindness"[0]:

> The most dangerous thing about our dislike of schleps is that much of it is unconscious. Your unconscious won't even let you see ideas that involve painful schleps. That's schlep blindness.

Hone in on the schleps you typically avoid and be totally honest with yourself why you're not doing something.

[0] http://paulgraham.com/schlep.html

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zipdog• 14 years ago

There's a lot to be said for habit for making tasks happen that are hard to motivate. If you can spend a week consciously putting on running shoes every morning before breakfast, then it gets easier to do it on other days. Key to this is to break it down. Instead of a task being a single behemoth (run 5km), it should be a series of small steps that by themselves are easier to take (put on shoes by the bed), each leading onto the other.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

I agree. Creating habits and reducing obstacles makes a huge difference. For some time, I just stopped buying bus passes, which "forced me" to walk to work.

The nice part was that I was able to listen to podcasts on my walk, and this resulted in a really nice way to start my day.

(It's a pity it got so rainy.)

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zalyh• 14 years ago

I usually run 5km every other day. What I did was to tell myself that if I don't want to run, I could always just walk and listen to my mp3 player.

That helps alleviate the pressure which would otherwise have made it impossible for me to put on my running shoes.

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coffeemug• 14 years ago

When I was starting my company, I had to cold-call a few dozen people to test a hypothesis. I delayed it for weeks, and when I finally forced myself to pick up the phone, I dreaded dialing every digit.

Today, three years into running the company, picking up the phone to call a dozen people is peanuts. I don't like doing it, I'm not very good at it, I delegate it whenever I can, but if call I must, I'll do it, I'll be efficient at it, and I'll get results.

Saying "you didn't do it because you weren't meant to" is nonsense. Get your act together, stop making excuses for yourself, and do the uncomfortable thing that must be done, even if you lose sleep over it. If you do it long enough, it will seize being uncomfortable and become second nature. Shakespeare said it best through Hamlet:

  Assume a virtue, if you have it not.
  That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat,	 
  Of habits devil, is angel yet in this,	 
  That to the use of actions fair and good	 
  He likewise gives a frock or livery,
  That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night;	 
  And that shall lend a kind of easiness	 
  To the next abstinence: the next more easy;	 
  For use almost can change the stamp of nature,
  And master ev’n the devil or throw him out	 
  With wondrous potency.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

The argument isn't one of never doing unpleasant things. (I don't like changing the oil on my car, but I know it needs to be done.)

Instead, I suggest examining why a desire seems important, and whether it might be more of a societal (or ego-driven) thing.

Additionally, I believe that if you take the time to find out what you really enjoy, some things will sort themselves out.

I've been really good at getting off my ass and doing things, as you suggest. In spite of this willingness to act, some of those things weren't as necessary as I had once believed.

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kurtvarner• 14 years ago

Forget the naysayers. They're missing the point. This was one of the most enlightening articles I've read in some time.

Most of us want to finish the race, but see running as a chore.

The take away - Do what you love and "running" becomes enjoyable.

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abraxasz• 14 years ago

I still have a problem with the statement "...make time to find out what you really enjoy". Sure, everybody wants that.

But take the example of running, or writing. Well like many people, I hated running at first, I really did. But I sticked to it because, well maybe it was some kind of challenge I had set to myself. And I got better at it. And I started to enjoy the feeling, to understand the messages from my body.

This is a classic example and I'm sure I'm not the only one to whom that happened. But let's now take the example of writing. I'm no writer, just a casual blogger (at best). I write by periods, but there is something I noticed: when I write often, inspiration and creativity flows more easily, and I tend to enjoy the activity more, while when I'm writing sporadicly, inspiration just doesn't come, and writing becomes a chore.

The opposite works too. I've always loved playing video games. This is something I really enjoyed doing. But you know what? When I turned 20, I decided that I would no longer play on a regular basis because I had better things to do with my life. Now I only play about 20 days a year, during the holidays. And that's it. And I'm happy because while I wasn't playing video games, well I got better at programming, I read Nietzsche, spent some time with friends (all things that I used to enjoy less that playing video games), and learnt how to love these things more than playing games.

Another point I'd like to raise is the fact that some things are more difficult to appreciate than others. Take wine for instance. Very few people like wine when they first try it, but when you get better at distinguishing the flavors, it is something amazing. The same goes with coffee (I mean coffee without sugar, cream, and other spoilers). Same with Jazz or Classic music. You have to learn how to appreciate these things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: don't trust your first impression. Or the second. Or the third. You can only know what you really enjoy if you try different things, and stick to them long enough.

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patrickyeon• 14 years ago

I think the argument is less about "don't do the (relatively) minor uncomfortable things", and more about aligning yourself so that the major part of your work is something you love. Love writing, not being an author. Love running a business, not the title of CEO. And if you don't love either of those, find what you love, and put yourself in a situation where that is what you do.

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keeptrying4• 14 years ago

Your sticking to the narrative and not what actually happens in a practical sense.

You dont get to be CEO till your company has happy customers paying you moeny and your making a tidy profit. Till then you'll do anything and evertyhign thats necessary - most of it is unpleasent. 10% is fun.

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keeptrying4• 14 years ago

This is very true. If starting a company is something you've always wanted to do (like me) then when you do it you'll find so much crap that you dislike or even hate but still have to do.

Some examples: 1. reading through all your contracts, legalese, terms of service and everything else you need a lawyer for. Mind numbingly boring but also real important.

2. writing copy for your site.

3. pitching your company in a bar at the end of a 80 hour week where you just want a drink in peace.

4. dealing with psycho customers who troll you for no good reason on forums where your promoting your company

5. Accounting.

Starting a company is probably the most extreme example though. Most profressions are just that - ie made up of 1 profession.

Starting a company is a multi-profession profession. Most of which you'd have never done before.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

I've been a partner in our agency for 12 years now. It's been a hell of a lot of work. Additionally, the fun and interesting parts have always outweighed the bad.

Again, my point isn't to avoid anything uncomfortable. It's to do it for the right reasons, and to ensure that you aren't procrastinating at something you dislike, when you could be getting ahead at what you do like.

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meric• 14 years ago

Which is easier:

1. Doing cold-calls because you have the discipline to do it. 2. Doing cold calls because you love to do it.

It's obviously (2).

Therefore, when possible, love what you do.

I see myself as very lazy but looking back the past 4 years in university, I've done well because I "work hard". I spend ~20 hours a week programming and learning new skills, not because I have the discipline to do it, but because it is simply what I do. Classmates who rely only on discipline alone don't stand a chance.

IMHO1 sometimes discipline is necessary to achieve your goals, but try not to depend on it too much.

I used to hate making hamburgers at McDonald's. After many months it became second nature. Three years later I asked myself: "Why am I doing this besides for the $15 an hour, which I can easily get programming for other people". When I couldn't come up with an answer, I quit. The worst thing one can do is to have mediocrity becoming second nature without it having helped achieve any of one's goals.

IMHO2 if you must rely on discipline to do something, make it something worthwhile.

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sn0wBuM3• 14 years ago

This is ridiculous. The only useful thing is the suggestion to find what you love. But the author says nothing about the path to finding what you love. This isn't easy for everyone. There is a reason many people go through several career changes in their lives.

Here is my view on self help. Self help is about trying to cultivate the thoughts and processes for being the best version of your self. It's about actively creating your own thoughts, motivations, actions, goals, dreams, etc. There are a variety of ways for one to think about this stuff: books, conversation, workshops, or self reflection. But it is valuable stuff. Suggesting to forget all of this is horrible advice.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

It's a new blog, with lots of room to go. I'll touch upon that point in future posts.

(Have to break these things up a little, you know?)

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sn0wBuM3• 14 years ago

Sure, I think the main problem is the title of the post. "Forget Self Improvement" a pretty broad statement for how little you say about one part of self improvement. I suppose it served its part in creating controversy (and views), but I wish bloggers didn't resort to this.

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ISeemToBeAVerb• 14 years ago

I think this article makes a valid point, but manages to miss the bigger picture. It's true, you should love what you do. You should want whatever it is you're going after. BUT (and this is a big but), what you're going after isn't always going to be lovable. In fact, sometimes you'll downright hate it.

The problem with achievement in any endeavor is that people assume it should FEEL easy. They assume that their lack of enthusiasm at any given moment is an indication that something is wrong.

The writer who has writer's block is apt to tell himself he's a fraud.

The guy who's had a fight with his girlfriend might be inclined to question the relationship.

The entrepreneur who's business is on the rocks might wonder if a cubicle job is a better idea.

The beginning programmer who struggles with the concepts might wonder if he's smart enough.

In the face of obstacles, it becomes very easy to question our path. The difference between success and failure in many cases is, i think, the knowledge and wisdom to understand that anything worth doing or having is HARD. It isn't all tea and roses. Sometimes you're going to want to give up and that's ok. That's what SHOULD happen, because if what you're doing is so easy that it never challenges you, then you're likely not doing anything amazing. True motivation is seeing the end game and still having the balls to slog through the miles of crap to get there.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Seth Godin's book, The Dip, talks about this too.

The question isn't about whether something is difficult; it's one of whether the net gain is greater than the discomfort felt.

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thesash• 14 years ago

As a marathon runner, I can confirm that even after running for 10 years, there are still many, many days where it just plain sucks. The real secret is that the hardest days, the ones when you're tired or sick or just not feeling it, are the ones that matter the most for your training program.

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szany• 14 years ago

You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

- Steve Jobs

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

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lwhi• 14 years ago

I think there's something to be said for following the path of least resistance - but I also think that adversity is essential to growth.

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af32• 14 years ago

I think people just stopped liking doing hard stuff. (Example: php blog vs searching binary tree). Nowadays is more about memorizing and being "creative" than thinking and problem solving.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Creativity is thinking and problem solving.

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af32• 14 years ago

In the ideal world - yes! in the world of media and social networks - no, imho.

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espeed• 14 years ago

True but one unmentioned problem: how to find the thing you love?

What ideas do you find yourself thinking about when you catch your focus drifting off onto something else?

Is it another project? Something specific? Or maybe a more abstract concept -- something that's been ruminating in the back of your mind for several years?

Whatever it is, explore it more deeply. This may guide you to your true passion. Your true potential. If you're not passionate about something, it will never consume you so it won't resonate in your mind long enough to find true genius within it.

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groby_b2• 14 years ago

God, the usual "do only what you love" nonsense.

Newsflash: There's nothing you will love all the time. Everything has some tedium. Suck it up, and get it done. Call it "self improvement" if you must. But really, it's about having some willpower to get through the things you must to achieve the things you want.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Perhaps it's the "usual," but most of us still haven't learned it.

Willpower is useful, but not always the right thing. Many of those with willpower stick with something long past it making sense to do so.

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groby_b2• 14 years ago

The reason this upsets me: I see quite a few people flounder because they feel they still haven't found what they love.

Because sooner or later, they always hit that dull moment. And so they just jump from one thing to the next, disappointed that they just can't get to that mythical sweet spot everybody mumbles about.

I'm not saying willpower yourself through years of drudgery. I'm just saying that there is nothing that will you infallibly get out of bed and motivated every single day of your life. There'll be dull spots, there'll be lulls, there might even occasionally be a dull week or month.

If I read things like "The writer gives in to the joy of playing with words, moving past the aggravation", I want to scream. The writer often struggles with words, and occasionally hates having chosen that profession. And yet the good ones stay with it. Entrepreneurs notice long days, and they occasionally wish they didn't have to suffer through them - but they're compelled to still build that vision. (And some days, the only thing that compels them is knowing that their business might run into trouble if they don't go to work)

I've had the privilege to know world-class people in several different professions. They all occasionally hate all the hard work that goes into it, but they continue it. Not because they "love" it, but because they're compelled to excel at what they do, and they're already good at what they do.

What they love are those few, precious moments where they are at the peak of their craft, and everything seems effortless. What they know is that you pay with a lot of hard work for each of these moments.

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matwood2• 14 years ago

I agree. Instead of doing only what you love or constantly searching for what you love people should be focusing on being the best at whatever it is they are doing. I think that will do far more to help a person be successful than any other factor.

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shadowmint2• 14 years ago

How is this the top of hacker news this morning?

It's not a hack.

I keep seeing 300-odd word articles which are totally irrelevant turn up with 'up vote me on hacker news!' links at the top. Dislike.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

If you're working on a startup, you should be thinking about things like this. Particularly when you're working those long hours, it becomes important to ask why you're doing it, and if it's still working.

At least that's my perspective. When I started in business (at 26 years of age) the only thing I thought about was the work. In time, I learned that while I still like what I do at the office, there are bigger questions to be asked.

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shadowmint2• 14 years ago

I'm cynical.

Having 'up vote me' links is SEO servitude.

If the author was serious about this stuff then a lifehacker style post about how to do it in some cool cunning way is the way to go.

That article is generic advice, a 'read me!' title to the post and 0% content or hack.

Dis. Like.

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dreamdu5t• 14 years ago

So what happens when you know what you love but can't do it?

This blog post assumes:

1) You know what you love to do.

2) What you love to do is profitable.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

This blog post asks:

1) Do you love what you do?

2) Could there be profit in what you love?

3) Is profit the most important question?

Deliberatism isn't about telling people what to do. It's about asking questions in a fashion that might get people talking and coming up with their own answers.

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petercooper• 14 years ago

Self-help books and workshops arm us with ways to trick ourselves into doing things we perhaps should, but generally don’t want, to do.

Maybe, but this is not true of Tony Robbins, one of the biggest in the business. His technique is to get you to dig down into what outcomes you truly desire and then redefine the emotional associations you have with the steps necessary to reach them.

He assumes you already know what it is you love, but that you're not working towards it because the steps required have either too many negative or not enough positive emotional associations. It's not for everyone but it's been excellent for me.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

There's actually some interesting stuff in what Tony says. Unfortunately, it's such a machine that the core ideas get lost behind his (very successful) business model.

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vertr• 14 years ago

He borrowed a great deal from NLP.

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omerta• 14 years ago

This is a pretty awesome article, IMO. I agree not everyone is meant to be incredibly "successful." Success is rather subjective. In the end, for most people at least, the attainment of happiness is the ultimate goal of life. And if that means being a lazy pothead or whatever it may be, why the hell not?

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Yes! In a way, some potheads have achieved "early retirement."

While some might not approve, their approval might not actually be that relevant.

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doktrin2• 14 years ago

What a load of fatalistic nonsense. This essentially boils down to "if you haven't done it, don't try since you're clearly not meant to".

A defining feature of individuals with ADD/HD is a tendency to focus on immediate rewards versus long term goals. This doesn't mean that X-Box and weed are what the universe 'wants' for anyone, it just so happens it's what some (or many) people are wired to respond to.

Acknowledging the gap between our natural, immediate, impulses and our long term desires is part of being an adult, and part of being human. We're capable of conceptualizing of and seeking a future that is not directly in front of our noses. Just because you're not immediately drawn to something, or just because it doesn't "feel" good does NOT mean it isn't worth pursuing.

Apropos, a great Moneyball quote comes to mind :

  Billy Beane: You don't know how to play first base. Scott?  
  Scott Hatteberg: That's right.  
  Billy Beane: It's not that hard, Scott. Tell him, Wash.  
  Ron Washington: It's incredibly hard.  
  Billy Beane: Hey, anything worth doing is. And we're gonna teach you.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

That's inaccurate. It actually boils down to: if you don't love it, you probably won't keep doing it. And if you don't do it, you won't become any good at it. So, take the time to find what you love.

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karjaluoto21• 14 years ago

Which should be common sense. Sadly, it's a notion many understand, but few act upon.

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jtheory3• 14 years ago

The problem with this overly simplified conceptualization is that there are so very many things that are extremely enjoyable, but require some level of expertise to enjoy them.

Music is a pretty visible example; if no one persisted through the (fairly lengthy) early stage when the noises you can squeak out of your violin are downright offensive, we simply wouldn't have violinists in the world.

I'd feel lost if I couldn't have music in my life; it's something I do every day; but when I started learning as a kid, it was often frustrating and never really fun, though I had some sense that this was going to eventually give me something I wanted.

That very experience -- i.e., work at something for years and it'll really blossom into something that's central to your life -- also gives me the spine to work at other things with no immediate rewards or even much enjoyment at early phases, because I can see the longer path.

Writing code sucked at the start, but I wanted to get the result, and I knew already that if I persisted over months, years.. it would keep getting easier, and it would become enjoyable. Now it's my living, and I pour incredible amounts of time into it.

I wouldn't be doing either of these things if I sat down at the start and said, "well, am I really enjoying this now? If not, perhaps it's just not for me..."

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geraldalewis• 14 years ago

I used to be a smoker. Every year or so, I'd quit. I know some people have an easy go of it, but I was Mark from Trainspotting, watching that baby crawl on the ceiling. Every time I started smoking again, I'd curse myself, until I realized I was getting "better" at quitting. I'd subconsciously been making little life changes in between the painful cold turkey moments. Stuff like cutting back on how much I smoked a day, developing new ways to deal with stress, and tasks I could sub out for having a cigarette (oddly: gardening).

I've spent the last few years working really hard on developing my ability to maintain focus on a task, improving my mental stamina, and pushing my programming skills. Every time my course veered into a spot where I felt less productive, I made some painful changes and tried again. And now I'm seeing the benefits (like getting up at 5 most days of the week, and coding for 12-14 hours). No pain, no gain.

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danielson• 14 years ago

"Self-improvement is masterbation."

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jtheory3• 14 years ago

You'll need useful skills to do any good in the world.

Spelling, for instance, might prove useful if you need to gain the confidence and the respect of others through written communication, in the pursuit of your larger goals.

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hoytie• 14 years ago

I don't agree with this view of things. All creative acts take a certain impetus to get off the ground, and it can take serious resolve to take that initial step. Sometimes it feels like you're dragging ideas out kicking and screaming, but eventually things start falling into place, but the process can take determination. Finding what you love and being productive at it has a lot to do with your willingness to face challenges and tedium.

Sure, there are times when I love the process of writing or programming or creating in general. But sometimes you have to jump some hurdles to get in the flow.

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alexh• 14 years ago

Because people find this attitude so western, and entitled, I would like to propose a slight change. Rather, I will propose some sound bytes, and hopefully somebody else will express the sentiment eloquently.

Learn to love the process, not the results. Find your foe not in achieving success, but in destroying the obstacles. You can't get anywhere if you cannot motivate yourself to go there.

Or something poetic like that. People should probably not assume that they have the right to do what they love. What they should learn is to love what they do.

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oliverdamian• 14 years ago

"There are two types of people in the world: lovers and the others; we don't want to be part of the others".

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derrida• 14 years ago

As someone that ran a marathon and didn't think much of it, there is truth in this article! I ran because I enjoyed running: but I didn't find this out until I had been running for two weeks. Enjoyment and ease are two separate things.

You can only do what you want.

I found my self wanting to run more than it was perhaps safe to do, because I found it pleasurable. I liked running as running. I didn't like the idea of running. In fact, I thought of running as something crazy athletic folks with no brains did.

I enjoy the austere beauty of coding. The long bouts of concentration. The feeling that your thoughts are alive within the computer. But I also like the idea of being a super 1337 hacker, you know, the one that makes the machine magically bend to their will. Sometimes liking the idea of what you are doing is a distraction for concentrating on what you really enjoy about the thing.

I found this with running as soon as I started setting specific running based goals. In order to complete these goals I had to commit myself to the idea of them being worth achieving. Weirdly, I found myself running slightly less when I fixed myself on such goals since I was no longer concentrating on the purity of the act of running, which was what I was enjoying.

Human psychology is a troll like that.

If I had to offer advice to someone beginning running, I would say, concentrate on enjoyment. Until this article, it had never really occurred to me to practice this elsewhere.

Also, at no time when I was training for the marathon did I think "this is hard work", until maybe the week or two before when I had solidified my intentions to run it. I had it in the back of my mind as something I might do one day, but really I was running because it felt like less work than not running.

</rant>

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9diov• 14 years ago

"You might consider simply finding what you love, and letting the rest take care of itself" - Man, what a great advice. Let's apply it to relationship: "You might consider simply finding Mr/Miss Right, and the rest take care of itself".

How does that sound to you?

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svdad• 14 years ago

Exactly. There's a lot good about this post but this business of "finding what you love" is meaningless. There is no one thing you love. Just like there is no Mr/Mrs Right. The good advice in this blog is that the secret to succeeding at something is to stop analyzing why you're failing and do it _as if_ you love it, as if you're doing it because you love it. That also happens to be the secret to a good relationship.

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drcube• 14 years ago

Runners and writers got over the hump to get where they're at. They didn't start out in tranquility and joy. It took some work to get to the point where it's no longer work. Like an aquired taste, there's "aquired fun".

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georgieporgie2• 14 years ago

I've read that rock climbers have a saying, "fun doesn't have to be fun."

(admittedly, I never heard that in five years of active climbing, but upon hearing it I immediately understood it to be true)

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alan_cx• 14 years ago

Um, that article is just another self improvement article. What these authors never ever do is tell you how to actually get to the ideal place as it were. All it does is lead to more frustration, defeats the point.

Do I have anything to offer? Nope. Sorry.

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georgieporgie2• 14 years ago

I'm not certain I understand the author's point, but I think it might be in keeping with what Strength's Finder 2.0[1] says. Basically: don't try to improve your weaknesses, instead capitalize on your strengths.

[1] http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx (for the record, I heard about it on HN, bought it, did the survey, and was a bit 'meh' about the results. Basically, it told me I should be exactly what I already am, but I'm not happy as I am, so it was a bit of a wash)

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SonicSoul• 14 years ago

i'm not sure if it's as simple as finding what you love. starting a company comes with lots of things you must force yourself to do in order to achieve the dream. just like getting a girl requires you to swallow your pride and risk rejection. you may love to run, but not waking up every day at 6am to practice for that marathon, even though the end result could be an experience of a lifetime. the self help can be of great help in pushing you to work a little harder towards your goal, and it does work. At least i can give it credit for helping me identify and overcome some self limiting beliefs i wasn't even aware i had.

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Forget Self-Improvement

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