To me it feels kinda unpleasant to stop and think about myself. (Bertrand Russell said most people are unhappy because they think about themselves too much...) I feel happier when I’m bouncing from one activity to the next, forgetting about myself as much as possible. Sometimes that happens naturally when my life is full, but I also know how to jump-start it from zero, sitting in a grey room with nobody calling.
The idea is to start with some tiny action, like clapping my hands or hitting a piano key, trying to make it short and snappy. Somehow that gives me a tiny amount of energy in the next moment, like the universe is saying “Nice!” Normally it would dissipate, but instead I can quickly channel the energy into another action, making it a bit easier. Once you get good enough at timing and catching the “recoil” without fumbling it, you can keep going for a while, gradually increasing the amplitude and consequence of your actions. It feels easy because you don’t need to apply force constantly, only at the short moments of “bounce”, and the rest of the time you’re metaphorically flying through the air. If you’ve played any video games where you can go faster and faster by using precisely timed jumps starting from almost nothing, that’s exactly how it feels. I think successful people are the people who can keep such a combo going for years on end, flying to the sky with each bounce, with so much momentum that nothing can stop them.
I’m a bit skeptical though, because psychology is in a bad state now, and LW is feeding off the self-help cottage industry which is even worse. Even Kahneman’s work which is central to LW has been hit hard by the replication crisis. I don’t think any of us are equipped to answer why some mind trick works or doesn’t.
I have read 5LL and GPP, as well as I’m okay, you’re okay—also by Eric Berne
5LL was poor Christian filled book, where the core 5 are handy approximations of a good idea. 5 apology languages are rubbish.
GPP was okay and I read it more than ten years ago. Was skeptical of it back then but it also does have a place in a framework of models of other minds.
Ioyo is neat and old psychology from the 70s. Similarly aged psychology but still something of use there. Tying that model together and more starts pointing to good things.
To me it feels kinda unpleasant to stop and think about myself. (Bertrand Russell said most people are unhappy because they think about themselves too much...) I feel happier when I’m bouncing from one activity to the next, forgetting about myself as much as possible. Sometimes that happens naturally when my life is full, but I also know how to jump-start it from zero, sitting in a grey room with nobody calling.
The idea is to start with some tiny action, like clapping my hands or hitting a piano key, trying to make it short and snappy. Somehow that gives me a tiny amount of energy in the next moment, like the universe is saying “Nice!” Normally it would dissipate, but instead I can quickly channel the energy into another action, making it a bit easier. Once you get good enough at timing and catching the “recoil” without fumbling it, you can keep going for a while, gradually increasing the amplitude and consequence of your actions. It feels easy because you don’t need to apply force constantly, only at the short moments of “bounce”, and the rest of the time you’re metaphorically flying through the air. If you’ve played any video games where you can go faster and faster by using precisely timed jumps starting from almost nothing, that’s exactly how it feels. I think successful people are the people who can keep such a combo going for years on end, flying to the sky with each bounce, with so much momentum that nothing can stop them.
Would you be interested in a post that explains what you are doing in a broader sense with more of a map as to what is going on here?
It’s just a trick that works for me, I don’t know enough psychology to figure out the right theory of why it works.
Let me say differently—I think I know why. Will try to find some time to write.
I’m a bit skeptical though, because psychology is in a bad state now, and LW is feeding off the self-help cottage industry which is even worse. Even Kahneman’s work which is central to LW has been hit hard by the replication crisis. I don’t think any of us are equipped to answer why some mind trick works or doesn’t.
I have read 5LL and GPP, as well as I’m okay, you’re okay—also by Eric Berne
5LL was poor Christian filled book, where the core 5 are handy approximations of a good idea. 5 apology languages are rubbish.
GPP was okay and I read it more than ten years ago. Was skeptical of it back then but it also does have a place in a framework of models of other minds.
Ioyo is neat and old psychology from the 70s. Similarly aged psychology but still something of use there. Tying that model together and more starts pointing to good things.