New url is here: https://www.aisafety.com/map
rambip
Karma: 9
Examples I can relate to:
- Fixing this keyboard issue that would lead to type the wrong accent each time, or any kind of quick software fix.
- buying a bigger cupboard / a pan
- setting up a whiteboard in your room
- unsubscribe from this spammy mailing-list
But while I agree they are satisfying and fun to look into, I don’t think they are the main point of the article, far from it. First, they DO require willpower. While fixing your wobbly chair or unsubscribing from your mailing list does not take you a lot of energy and time, you first need to a) notice this is a problem b) decide to fix it and c) create a plan to actually fix it. These 3 phases require a lot of willpower. As evidence, they are phases of my life (when I am rested, motivated and in a good social environment) where I can fix multiple such problems in a single day. But they are phases where I can’t do once, It’s just too tiring intellectually.
Second, such low-hanging fruits are pretty rare. Most problems are hard to fix, and require careful planning and try/error. The reason why they are important though, is that fixing these “easy problems” set the right dynamic to try fix more challenging ones.
And last, focusing on the cheap wins in this way underplays the importance of habits. The number one reason why it is hard to fix your chair is that you took the habit of using it anyway. The reason why you won’t buy this cupboard is that you are used to the smaller impracticable one. When I analyze all the examples the author cites with this glance (breaking habits → new dynamic), I see that they are very similar. And very often, a series of “cheap wins” adds up to a full transformation.
Pretty interesting, thank’s for sharing that !
I’m surprised that you did not talk at all about vitamins. Given what you described about your diet, “I’m back to eating hamburger and cajun fries every day”, my best guess would be that you’re deficient in some vitamins (or minerals).
The culprits could be:
- B1 (causes fatigue and low energy after meals)
- D vitamin (low mood)
- magnesium
I personally had a pretty intense feeling of fatigue after every meal, and after eating more B1-dense foods (some nuts and seeds), it completely went away.
Another “good insurance design” would be to test for vitamins deficiencies right away, since they can worsen so much processes in your body …
I think many people are doing meditation in order to reflect on what really matters to them. But let’s focus on the case where meditation is only strength training for a particular goal, for the sake of argument.
I think there are a lot of structural differences between physical strength training and meditative training. In fact, I think meditation is more “resting” than “training” in some ways.
- Figuring out what you really need (why you’re anxious, why you can’t speak in public, why you can’t create long-lasting relationships...) is really hard, and noticeably harder than just doing the meditation.
- Meditation really is that good. We don’t have to guess about whether meditation alone is useful in different domains; it’s a well-studied phenomenon now. It helps regulate your emotions, helps you sleep, can help with obesity and just with general mood. Nobody does meditation to get better at writing emails, but it certainly does help me stay motivated while I write them.
- You can make meditation your fallback state; you can’t make physical training your fallback state. When you’re exhausted and you don’t know what to do next, meditating really helps clean up your thoughts. And once you make it a habit, it does not require any motivation or planning: you just do it.
- I heard the testimony of one guy who said that he developed persistent awareness (a strong meditative state after the end of his meditation) after doing, well, only meditation. If being more aware while you’re working is your goal, then doing just meditation may be enough.