Read on Twitter
My feed is full of success porn.
It looks like this: thirst trap photos, book announcements, personal breakthroughs, thanking the fans, project success photos, photos of babies and/or pets.
1/n
It looks like this: thirst trap photos, book announcements, personal breakthroughs, thanking the fans, project success photos, photos of babies and/or pets.
1/n
This is normal and expected.
This is how we build identity. âX worked so I Am the One Who Does Xâ
This is how we broadcast our value to others.
People reacting affirmatively or empathetically confirm our identity.
2/n
This is how we build identity. âX worked so I Am the One Who Does Xâ
This is how we broadcast our value to others.
People reacting affirmatively or empathetically confirm our identity.
2/n
Society is build on the winner narrative. Someone outstanding. The Great Man. Above and beyond.
But we canât all be outstanding. Plenty of people are mediocre.
3/n
But we canât all be outstanding. Plenty of people are mediocre.
3/n
People who are not outstanding and have no recent achievements have no language to speak of themselves.
There are no recipes for average intros. Result? Vague personal bios and profiles:
âHaha, Iâm just a normal guy.â
âI donât like talking about myself. Just say hi.â
4/n
There are no recipes for average intros. Result? Vague personal bios and profiles:
âHaha, Iâm just a normal guy.â
âI donât like talking about myself. Just say hi.â
4/n
âThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ckâ exploded because it admitted the dilemma of the mediocre majority - and the terror of it driving people to identify as âthe worst at Yâ when they have no X to be best at.
Then it changes tack: you have to give a fuck about SOMEthing.
5/n
Then it changes tack: you have to give a fuck about SOMEthing.
5/n
(To be continued; work happened.)
Aight, I lost the context a bit, but if I don't continue now I'm gonna lose it completely. Here goes.
Having a Thing central to your identity makes you significant and memorable to others.
They assume that if you've had self-discipline to achieve success in one area, you will be able to repeat it elsewhere.
Success is a meta-momentum.
https://twitter.com/fvathynevgl/status/1239557951033094150
6/n
They assume that if you've had self-discipline to achieve success in one area, you will be able to repeat it elsewhere.
Success is a meta-momentum.
https://twitter.com/fvathynevgl/status/1239557951033094150
6/n
A competent but not outstanding person has not built success-momentum.
There is little difference between them, and people who we'd consider less socially functional.
Like the working poor, they're doing too well for charity, but too poorly to gain momentum (savings.)
7/n
There is little difference between them, and people who we'd consider less socially functional.
Like the working poor, they're doing too well for charity, but too poorly to gain momentum (savings.)
7/n
The state of "no-longer-promising-but-not-a-success" is an energy valley.
It's really hard to get out. The skills that keep you stable are working against you.
It would be better to crash flamboyantly, because then at least you'd have a redemption story. But it's risky.
8/n
It's really hard to get out. The skills that keep you stable are working against you.
It would be better to crash flamboyantly, because then at least you'd have a redemption story. But it's risky.
8/n
In order to have a chance, poor people have to exert a much greater degree of discipline than well-off people, because any small setback can completely upset their budget.
They are intensely vulnerable.
But they are not more virtuous than the rest of the population.
9/n
They are intensely vulnerable.
But they are not more virtuous than the rest of the population.
9/n
As a result, we have a significant population of people who are:
1. too functional to fail
2. not virtuous enough to succeed
(Their poverty may be any kind of resource restriction: financial, social, physical or mental health-related, or just belonging to a minority.)
10/n
1. too functional to fail
2. not virtuous enough to succeed
(Their poverty may be any kind of resource restriction: financial, social, physical or mental health-related, or just belonging to a minority.)
10/n
These people are effectively invisible. The value they contribute remains unnamed, because it's too commonplace. The suffering they endure is laughed off as trivial.
Insignificant is what they are. We convey to them that if they disappeared, nobody would notice.
11/n
Insignificant is what they are. We convey to them that if they disappeared, nobody would notice.
11/n
The one thing we *haven't* done is make euthanasia legal, because we're cruel like that.
(To be clear, because it's an inflammatory term I mean a voluntary, self-initiated procedure.)
12/n
(To be clear, because it's an inflammatory term I mean a voluntary, self-initiated procedure.)
12/n
