I really feel that pressure from society that the idea that being content only counts if it’s tied to a tangible achievement. It often feels like personal peace doesn't matter to the outside world as long as you have something to show for your time.
Yes, that's how it seems to work. They don't understand what you need, and they don't care – they see only what in their world map would be the right way to go, and then it never occurs to them that your map may be different.
It can feel like a big step to take, at first, but when first you have broken free of some of those expectations from the surroundings and taken some time for pursuing your own wishes, you'll feel free. Not fully, but during the time you spend on that, you may completely forget about all the exterior demands while it lasts. And if needed, you can just keep it for yourself – or share it with some other people, who are not in the immediate surroundings and, hence, will not try to stop you.
When you have taken that first step, it is easier to take the next. And you'll feel good about it.
I couldn't name those executing the plan either, it's just more of a feeling I can't shake...
Instigating chaos to distract people from other actions being taken that are disadvantageous for them seems like an effective strategy...
So much progress could be made if fewer people decided to no longer just run with ideas but instead chose to question them...
I think the biggest mistake people make is not fulfilling their individual potential. When they do set that half hour aside, they use it to do exactly what others are doing - the gurus and so-called-influencers - in the hopes of mimicking their "success". A significant number of those who claim to be doing what they want to do are just doing what they think they should be doing...
I think we're much less genetically programmed to conform than conditioned to do so. Unfortunately, one result of that conditioning is that almost no one would fully embrace genuine personal freedom because they don't really know what to do if they're not following the herd. True freedom is uncomfortable and therefore scary. I think very few would really want to incorporate it.
Yes, considering the amount of chaos in the world, there must be a lot to distract people from.
And definitely, people should go for their own wishes rather than just filling their lives with the same as everybody else. But, I can't help thinking that we really are not that individual, when it comes to it. Almost anything we can imagine is due to inspiration from some other people – I couldn't play the flute if I hadn't heard of others who did it, and flutes being available to buy, course material too.
We have, though, so many thoughts and ideas, that we can pick those to work with that will do more for us than the others. And that's an area where we are often not good at doing it right. I agree that going with the flock is the common, and it is probably because it takes away a burden from us to choose. We let the others pick the topic, follow along, and then we become as good and happy as they are, seems to be the rationale.
That's the thing about being free: it comes with responsibility; or a need for this. You are probably right in this – not many really want it. When I look around on the thousands of people I've met in my life, most are 95% doing what others are doing.
There's very little drive of their own, and you'll only meet it when you tell them that you have just learned French, and they will tell you that "oh, I always wanted to learn French" – but from there on, nothing further happens. I guess that was the 5% being occupied with the idea, so nothing is left for actually doing anything.
It really isn't difficult, but it often becomes kind of a game instead of a development. Do you know the app Duolingo? With this, you can play your way through a language study, and perhaps it works for some, but even though I have tried, I can't help thinking that it is mostly a fun time with the app, and no real language learned takes place.
Playing games are probably a way of downplaying the seriousness of it all. We don't dare to stick out by doing some thing truly valuable, so we stick to the game instead, and can tell others that it is just for fun. Then they will not see us as freaks, and we are allowed to fail, without anybody telling us that we did so.
You're probably right, it's extremely difficult to be a real "individual" these days... There's a term in German ("üebersättigt"), which, in the sense, translates to "overfed". We live in a society that's overfed, where pretty much everything has been done (or so we think) and we are bombarded with it everyday (through media), so there is little to no drive or ambition to do something different. We take our "inspiration" from that which has been done a million times over, leading to this kind of fatigue that one can observe on a daily basis.
Yes, of course, I'm familiar with Duolingo, but I've never tried it. I always assumed it doesn't compare to actually learning a language in a classroom setting, but I wasn't sure...
With Duolingo, I have learned the word "ragno" in Italian – and I have noticed that others, who took the Italian course there, also had paid attention to exactly that word. "Ragno" is a spider, and the small texts in the app tend to include such words more than others, even though I would say it's not the most useful word for a beginning Italian speaker. "There is a spider in the sugar", could be such a text. Weird!
It is possible to learn something, but my personal experience points in the direction that above and beyond the very initial exercises, you'll probably spend your time better and learn more, in a more solid way, with most other methods.
I like the übersättigt word :) i didn't know it, even though I speak German, but what fascinates me about it just now is that it suddenly (after a long life) explains to me the origin of one of the South Danish dialect words (probably in common with Plattdeutsch/Low German) "sat" – meaning "to be full", as when you are dining and have reached the point where you can't eat more.
Of course, also related to English "saturated".
Your assessment of what drives us, our inspiration, points us in the direction of the idea of "The Matrix" – with everything done several times before, then a reset, and a new copy of the humanity appears, doing all the same things again.
This really is what fills up most of our lives, that's true.
Ok 🤨 Depending upon how prevalent spiders are in Italy, maybe that sentence could prove useful when there??!! 😅
Yes, I assumed that Duolingo would suffice as a fun way to pass the time but will not lead to fluency...
Exactly, "satt" means "I'm full"... "Saturated" would be a fitting English translation for übersättigt, but I always think of "overfed" when I hear it because that term calls forth more vivid images in my mind...
So, we've finally arrived in the Matrix! It was bound to happen sooner or later...
He he – The Matrix is a brilliant story, which can help explain almost anything that we might wonder about in our world :)
Spiders are common everywhere, I guess, but I have never needed to say that there was one in the sugar. While I like that they add a bit of humor, I prefer to learn some beginner's stuff that is actually useful. Then, when getting better, there will be room for the more weird stuff, and with Italian, there are such as the writer Stefano Benni to read, and probably many more.
About Duolingo: I should say, that even if it, to me, isn't the most efficient way to learn a language, it can easily be exactly what is needed to get started. Because it's lightweight, and you don't need any books, pocket calculators or other tools – just your computer or mobile phone. And you can spend as much or as little time you have available each time you use it.
Another good thing about the app is that it contains very many languages, so you can get an impression of a new language you might be interested in learning, to see if it is for you – I found out this way that Hungarian had a serious learning curve for me, so I put it further down the list, while I got started again on French and Italian, after a long while without studying them. That was several years ago, so the app might have changed since then – anyone interested shouldn't be scared off by the spider ;)
But when learning a language, nothing beats actually using it while you are learning – so, better find some people to talk to, and/or write with, if at all possible. It could be a teacher, other students, a community of some kind – or the real life, if you are in a place where the locals actually want to talk to you, even if you are all new on the language.
That's what makes Esperanto interesting to learn (apart from being very easy): there are communities in all countries, and everybody is friendly and helpful. That's sort of inherent of the idea of the language. People learn it because they want to be part of a world society of people who are interested in communicating, and assisting each others, as needed. A free course exists at lernu.net, and the local organization can probably help with more resources.
Yes, I imagine introducing sentences like the one you mentioned right from the beginning is intended to make the learning process more fun and appealling...
Oh sure, I'm certain Duolingo is a great way to get started and to just generally explore different languages... I've heard on more than one occassion that Hungarian is the most difficult European language to learn (assuming that assumption can be made objectively; I know many who say German is terrible to learn as well and I'm grateful I was raised bilingual so I didn't have to acquire it later on)... I agree that the only way to become sure and fluent in any language is speaking it consistently...
I don't know much about Esperanto, but I like the idea of a "universal" language that everyone speaks along with their native tongue!
I agree with all the points made here. The fact that we feel the need to assess every activity we engage in and every skill we aquire by metrics designed to measure professional and economic performance/success essentially prevents personal progress and growth instead of fostering it.
Exactly – and a perspective of that is, that the professional evaluation is moving in all directions, so when you push your personal wishes aside to pursuit those, you can easily end of having wasted the time, because business now wants something else instead.
Then it is important to have things in your life that aren't connected to any exterior goals, but solely represent something you feel for, something that will make you happy to work with.
We could call it a hobby, even though that sounds a bit like just spending time on something fun – there is no problem in that hobby actually moving forward. It just needs to be on your terms, and with you in the lead.
Whatever – waking up with the thought already on my mind from the very first second that I ought to do something else than what I want to do, is not good. It shows an unhealthy (lack of) balance in life. And I believe that many people experience that.
This is true, especially considering how fast-paced work environments continue to become. You're usually behind before you've even started...
Doing things for the sake of doing them is definitely the key to a fulfilling life... And, yes, I think one has better chances of it leading to "success", if that is not the focus while one does it...
I'm certain that having to do so much of what we don't want and so little of what we do is the main reason for imbalance in society as a whole.
You said that exactly right: we are behind before we even get started, and we never catch up, because the goals change all the time, so we must pursue a new one, and again, and again, always starting by being behind.
That is very unfulfilling for a human mind.
And the fast pace of society is a given, on that condition. The "fast" then refers to the speed by which we move, not the speed by which we develop anything, because most of the fastness is not leading to anything, it is just running on the spot.
And I fully agree with you that society would work better if people had more of their own thoughts and wishes involved in their decisions on how to spend their time – it would, mainly, lead to a less fluctuous life in the short term, but also to a broader coverage of topics in the longer term.
We would become mentally richer people, and more interesting to talk to, because we have passions, and knowledge about our passions. We are not behind on everything, but ahead on our selected topics.
And that, for once, will make it relevant to talk about a "personality" – a much abused word today that often just focuses on how well you adapt to the changing priorities of the business world – and how much behind you are.
At the risk of sounding conspirative, I think this is a conscious strategy to keep us distracted by the constant need to keep up. It leaves us with little to no time to think and question...
Modern humans are like zombies. I'm afraid few people have any real interests when you exclude the activities they engage in as a means to completely numb themselves from the reality you've accurately described. It's seldom one meets another person who is genuinely well-rounded and enjoys speaking about a variety of topics. I don't mean that in a judgemental way, it's just how most have been conditioned... And conditioning ultimately eliminates "personality".
I have thought the same, about the conscious strategy, but I struggle to put names on those who make the strategy. What I have seen in companies is that almost everybody take part in making it happen.
Only, some of the managers will have the explicit idea that the organization must be reorganized often, to keep people alert. I have also heard it expressed by some of those, that in the chaos, it makes, is time to get rid of those people you don't like (read: those of your employees).
So there is an element of it, but most of the fuzz is caused by people who run with the idea, but, honestly, do not benefit from it themselves. Because, they are in the lower or middle part of the hierarchy, and they will be victims of the speed and stress, just like everybody else on those levels.
About the well-rounded people: yes, I agree. Most people can tell, if you get them into the right mood, about unfulfilled dreams. These dreams still exist in them, but there are never any real chances to make them come true. I believe that people to a large extent are restricting themselves, in that they actually could set aside those half hours I speak about to get somewhere they would like to be, but they don't – they are being misled, allowing themselves to be misled, by all the "fake gods" in the shape of cable TV and those ever-changing business skills they believe that they must pursue.
There's also a bit of fear in people to be considered kind of freaks if they have a hobby. Or, at least, not serious people. Not hiring-material.
So, people make sure to have those "hobbies" that everybody else have, such as going out drinking with their friends on Friday evenings, and watching football on TV. And going to the gym, and other exercise activities. But nothing that will develop themselves. Nothing for the mind.
People do have interests, is my experience, but they suppress them, and it is partly that "selfshittification" that we expose ourselves for – making us behave like slaves of the big firms, rather than individuals who might, if we choose to, be occasional customers of those.
Real, personal freedom means doing what you want to do, because you want to do it – not because everybody else do it, and therefore it seems like a thing to do. And not because you are told to do it, "or else...!" which is what the business demands basically tell.
The question then remains: do we at all want personal freedom? Do we want to develop that personality? Or are we perhaps genetically programmed to be slaves, and, hence, someone's useful and thoughtless fools?
I really feel that pressure from society that the idea that being content only counts if it’s tied to a tangible achievement. It often feels like personal peace doesn't matter to the outside world as long as you have something to show for your time.
Yes, that's how it seems to work. They don't understand what you need, and they don't care – they see only what in their world map would be the right way to go, and then it never occurs to them that your map may be different.
It can feel like a big step to take, at first, but when first you have broken free of some of those expectations from the surroundings and taken some time for pursuing your own wishes, you'll feel free. Not fully, but during the time you spend on that, you may completely forget about all the exterior demands while it lasts. And if needed, you can just keep it for yourself – or share it with some other people, who are not in the immediate surroundings and, hence, will not try to stop you.
When you have taken that first step, it is easier to take the next. And you'll feel good about it.
I couldn't name those executing the plan either, it's just more of a feeling I can't shake...
Instigating chaos to distract people from other actions being taken that are disadvantageous for them seems like an effective strategy...
So much progress could be made if fewer people decided to no longer just run with ideas but instead chose to question them...
I think the biggest mistake people make is not fulfilling their individual potential. When they do set that half hour aside, they use it to do exactly what others are doing - the gurus and so-called-influencers - in the hopes of mimicking their "success". A significant number of those who claim to be doing what they want to do are just doing what they think they should be doing...
I think we're much less genetically programmed to conform than conditioned to do so. Unfortunately, one result of that conditioning is that almost no one would fully embrace genuine personal freedom because they don't really know what to do if they're not following the herd. True freedom is uncomfortable and therefore scary. I think very few would really want to incorporate it.
Yes, considering the amount of chaos in the world, there must be a lot to distract people from.
And definitely, people should go for their own wishes rather than just filling their lives with the same as everybody else. But, I can't help thinking that we really are not that individual, when it comes to it. Almost anything we can imagine is due to inspiration from some other people – I couldn't play the flute if I hadn't heard of others who did it, and flutes being available to buy, course material too.
We have, though, so many thoughts and ideas, that we can pick those to work with that will do more for us than the others. And that's an area where we are often not good at doing it right. I agree that going with the flock is the common, and it is probably because it takes away a burden from us to choose. We let the others pick the topic, follow along, and then we become as good and happy as they are, seems to be the rationale.
That's the thing about being free: it comes with responsibility; or a need for this. You are probably right in this – not many really want it. When I look around on the thousands of people I've met in my life, most are 95% doing what others are doing.
There's very little drive of their own, and you'll only meet it when you tell them that you have just learned French, and they will tell you that "oh, I always wanted to learn French" – but from there on, nothing further happens. I guess that was the 5% being occupied with the idea, so nothing is left for actually doing anything.
It really isn't difficult, but it often becomes kind of a game instead of a development. Do you know the app Duolingo? With this, you can play your way through a language study, and perhaps it works for some, but even though I have tried, I can't help thinking that it is mostly a fun time with the app, and no real language learned takes place.
Playing games are probably a way of downplaying the seriousness of it all. We don't dare to stick out by doing some thing truly valuable, so we stick to the game instead, and can tell others that it is just for fun. Then they will not see us as freaks, and we are allowed to fail, without anybody telling us that we did so.
You're probably right, it's extremely difficult to be a real "individual" these days... There's a term in German ("üebersättigt"), which, in the sense, translates to "overfed". We live in a society that's overfed, where pretty much everything has been done (or so we think) and we are bombarded with it everyday (through media), so there is little to no drive or ambition to do something different. We take our "inspiration" from that which has been done a million times over, leading to this kind of fatigue that one can observe on a daily basis.
Yes, of course, I'm familiar with Duolingo, but I've never tried it. I always assumed it doesn't compare to actually learning a language in a classroom setting, but I wasn't sure...
With Duolingo, I have learned the word "ragno" in Italian – and I have noticed that others, who took the Italian course there, also had paid attention to exactly that word. "Ragno" is a spider, and the small texts in the app tend to include such words more than others, even though I would say it's not the most useful word for a beginning Italian speaker. "There is a spider in the sugar", could be such a text. Weird!
It is possible to learn something, but my personal experience points in the direction that above and beyond the very initial exercises, you'll probably spend your time better and learn more, in a more solid way, with most other methods.
I like the übersättigt word :) i didn't know it, even though I speak German, but what fascinates me about it just now is that it suddenly (after a long life) explains to me the origin of one of the South Danish dialect words (probably in common with Plattdeutsch/Low German) "sat" – meaning "to be full", as when you are dining and have reached the point where you can't eat more.
Of course, also related to English "saturated".
Your assessment of what drives us, our inspiration, points us in the direction of the idea of "The Matrix" – with everything done several times before, then a reset, and a new copy of the humanity appears, doing all the same things again.
This really is what fills up most of our lives, that's true.
Ok 🤨 Depending upon how prevalent spiders are in Italy, maybe that sentence could prove useful when there??!! 😅
Yes, I assumed that Duolingo would suffice as a fun way to pass the time but will not lead to fluency...
Exactly, "satt" means "I'm full"... "Saturated" would be a fitting English translation for übersättigt, but I always think of "overfed" when I hear it because that term calls forth more vivid images in my mind...
So, we've finally arrived in the Matrix! It was bound to happen sooner or later...
He he – The Matrix is a brilliant story, which can help explain almost anything that we might wonder about in our world :)
Spiders are common everywhere, I guess, but I have never needed to say that there was one in the sugar. While I like that they add a bit of humor, I prefer to learn some beginner's stuff that is actually useful. Then, when getting better, there will be room for the more weird stuff, and with Italian, there are such as the writer Stefano Benni to read, and probably many more.
About Duolingo: I should say, that even if it, to me, isn't the most efficient way to learn a language, it can easily be exactly what is needed to get started. Because it's lightweight, and you don't need any books, pocket calculators or other tools – just your computer or mobile phone. And you can spend as much or as little time you have available each time you use it.
Another good thing about the app is that it contains very many languages, so you can get an impression of a new language you might be interested in learning, to see if it is for you – I found out this way that Hungarian had a serious learning curve for me, so I put it further down the list, while I got started again on French and Italian, after a long while without studying them. That was several years ago, so the app might have changed since then – anyone interested shouldn't be scared off by the spider ;)
But when learning a language, nothing beats actually using it while you are learning – so, better find some people to talk to, and/or write with, if at all possible. It could be a teacher, other students, a community of some kind – or the real life, if you are in a place where the locals actually want to talk to you, even if you are all new on the language.
That's what makes Esperanto interesting to learn (apart from being very easy): there are communities in all countries, and everybody is friendly and helpful. That's sort of inherent of the idea of the language. People learn it because they want to be part of a world society of people who are interested in communicating, and assisting each others, as needed. A free course exists at lernu.net, and the local organization can probably help with more resources.
Like so many other dystopian novels and films 😬
Yes, I imagine introducing sentences like the one you mentioned right from the beginning is intended to make the learning process more fun and appealling...
Oh sure, I'm certain Duolingo is a great way to get started and to just generally explore different languages... I've heard on more than one occassion that Hungarian is the most difficult European language to learn (assuming that assumption can be made objectively; I know many who say German is terrible to learn as well and I'm grateful I was raised bilingual so I didn't have to acquire it later on)... I agree that the only way to become sure and fluent in any language is speaking it consistently...
I don't know much about Esperanto, but I like the idea of a "universal" language that everyone speaks along with their native tongue!
I agree with all the points made here. The fact that we feel the need to assess every activity we engage in and every skill we aquire by metrics designed to measure professional and economic performance/success essentially prevents personal progress and growth instead of fostering it.
Exactly – and a perspective of that is, that the professional evaluation is moving in all directions, so when you push your personal wishes aside to pursuit those, you can easily end of having wasted the time, because business now wants something else instead.
Then it is important to have things in your life that aren't connected to any exterior goals, but solely represent something you feel for, something that will make you happy to work with.
We could call it a hobby, even though that sounds a bit like just spending time on something fun – there is no problem in that hobby actually moving forward. It just needs to be on your terms, and with you in the lead.
Whatever – waking up with the thought already on my mind from the very first second that I ought to do something else than what I want to do, is not good. It shows an unhealthy (lack of) balance in life. And I believe that many people experience that.
This is true, especially considering how fast-paced work environments continue to become. You're usually behind before you've even started...
Doing things for the sake of doing them is definitely the key to a fulfilling life... And, yes, I think one has better chances of it leading to "success", if that is not the focus while one does it...
I'm certain that having to do so much of what we don't want and so little of what we do is the main reason for imbalance in society as a whole.
You said that exactly right: we are behind before we even get started, and we never catch up, because the goals change all the time, so we must pursue a new one, and again, and again, always starting by being behind.
That is very unfulfilling for a human mind.
And the fast pace of society is a given, on that condition. The "fast" then refers to the speed by which we move, not the speed by which we develop anything, because most of the fastness is not leading to anything, it is just running on the spot.
And I fully agree with you that society would work better if people had more of their own thoughts and wishes involved in their decisions on how to spend their time – it would, mainly, lead to a less fluctuous life in the short term, but also to a broader coverage of topics in the longer term.
We would become mentally richer people, and more interesting to talk to, because we have passions, and knowledge about our passions. We are not behind on everything, but ahead on our selected topics.
And that, for once, will make it relevant to talk about a "personality" – a much abused word today that often just focuses on how well you adapt to the changing priorities of the business world – and how much behind you are.
At the risk of sounding conspirative, I think this is a conscious strategy to keep us distracted by the constant need to keep up. It leaves us with little to no time to think and question...
Modern humans are like zombies. I'm afraid few people have any real interests when you exclude the activities they engage in as a means to completely numb themselves from the reality you've accurately described. It's seldom one meets another person who is genuinely well-rounded and enjoys speaking about a variety of topics. I don't mean that in a judgemental way, it's just how most have been conditioned... And conditioning ultimately eliminates "personality".
I have thought the same, about the conscious strategy, but I struggle to put names on those who make the strategy. What I have seen in companies is that almost everybody take part in making it happen.
Only, some of the managers will have the explicit idea that the organization must be reorganized often, to keep people alert. I have also heard it expressed by some of those, that in the chaos, it makes, is time to get rid of those people you don't like (read: those of your employees).
So there is an element of it, but most of the fuzz is caused by people who run with the idea, but, honestly, do not benefit from it themselves. Because, they are in the lower or middle part of the hierarchy, and they will be victims of the speed and stress, just like everybody else on those levels.
About the well-rounded people: yes, I agree. Most people can tell, if you get them into the right mood, about unfulfilled dreams. These dreams still exist in them, but there are never any real chances to make them come true. I believe that people to a large extent are restricting themselves, in that they actually could set aside those half hours I speak about to get somewhere they would like to be, but they don't – they are being misled, allowing themselves to be misled, by all the "fake gods" in the shape of cable TV and those ever-changing business skills they believe that they must pursue.
There's also a bit of fear in people to be considered kind of freaks if they have a hobby. Or, at least, not serious people. Not hiring-material.
So, people make sure to have those "hobbies" that everybody else have, such as going out drinking with their friends on Friday evenings, and watching football on TV. And going to the gym, and other exercise activities. But nothing that will develop themselves. Nothing for the mind.
People do have interests, is my experience, but they suppress them, and it is partly that "selfshittification" that we expose ourselves for – making us behave like slaves of the big firms, rather than individuals who might, if we choose to, be occasional customers of those.
Real, personal freedom means doing what you want to do, because you want to do it – not because everybody else do it, and therefore it seems like a thing to do. And not because you are told to do it, "or else...!" which is what the business demands basically tell.
The question then remains: do we at all want personal freedom? Do we want to develop that personality? Or are we perhaps genetically programmed to be slaves, and, hence, someone's useful and thoughtless fools?