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the words we use to describe ourselves have a way of becoming self-reinforcing. I used to often casually describe myself as "broke", and if I tried to do the math I think it might have cost me something like... oh gosh, I don& #39;t want to think about it... it might exceed 6 figures
this class of "word magic" has a certain "range". It has to operate within your own range of believability. I don& #39;t think it& #39;ll work if you& #39;re currently "skinny" and you describe yourself as "muscular" when you& #39;re not. That degrades the value of your words https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1171655563190685696">https://twitter.com/visakanv/...
via second-order effects. A powerful thing about social reality is the powerful idea "people like us do things like this". people who self-identify as broke, for eg, go on to self-regulate their behavior by avoiding dissonant contexts, ideas, people https://twitter.com/FredRKozlowski/status/1312849480056795136">https://twitter.com/FredRKozl...
I have to be careful: I don& #39;t mean to say "you can stop being broke by deciding to stop calling yourself broke! it& #39;s that simple!" it& #39;s not. it& #39;s the start of the journey, which involves tinkering and changing literally every single facet of your identity
i bought the glasses on the left when I was a soldier, around 2011 or so. they were the cheapest, durable glasses I could find. I kept using them until late 2017, when I *finally* bought a nice pair. I could& #39;ve afforded to buy a nice new pair by mid2013. but I didn& #39;t, cuz "broke"
wearing cheap "soldier glasses" (basically a pair you wouldn& #39;t mind damaging or losing) made me feel... cheap myself. like I didn& #39;t own anything of value, anything worth taking good care of. If you watch Queer Eye (I only really watched the first season) I think they convey this
it& #39;s not abt the superficial frills, or being some kind of slick salesman shyster (though you *could* take it in that direction if you wanted... ew). it& #39;s about your genuine self-image, your self-concept, and where/how you direct yourself.
"People like me do things like this"
"People like me do things like this"
over the years I& #39;ve started to get really very sensitive to the words people use. in a sense we really are all casting spells all the time, which control the overton windows of our self-perception. and this is a multiplayer coop game, we do it together! https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1291469563578597377">https://twitter.com/visakanv/...
now – this is the part people love to hear – this extends all the way to your coping mechanisms, your jokes, and so on. In fact, I& #39;d argue that the things you say when you& #39;re "not serious", when you& #39;re drunk, etc etc... they represent you even more accurately than your "resume"
I don& #39;t mean *literally*. This is "vibe" territory. Dreamscape stuff. Mythology! It doesn& #39;t have to make literal sense, just like how dreams don& #39;t. It& #39;s more about, what do you get upset about? What do you get angry about, before you say haha jk?
re "the overton window of self-perception" – this is why the most effective way to do behavior change I.M.H.O. is to figure out something you can do that will change your *identity*, even by a tiny bit
"People Like Us Do Things Like This" https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/536346231472013312">https://twitter.com/visakanv/...
"People Like Us Do Things Like This" https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/536346231472013312">https://twitter.com/visakanv/...
