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You nailed it. The article contains a lot of good advice but unfortunately seems to be based on the incorrect assumption that you are either successful in your

You nailed it. The article contains a lot of good advice but unfortunately seems to be based on the incorrect assumption that you are either successful in your job or unsuccessful in your job (a false dichotomy), or that you always need to strife to be more and more successful. Maybe they should read Heinrich Böll's Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral - Anecdote Concerning the Lowering of Productivity.

kavalg 10y ago
The anecdote was really insightful. Would you elaborate a bit more on the false dichotomy? It looks to me that it is not a that much about a false dichotomy, but more about who is the one that decides if you are successful enough - you or somebody else.
- jonathanstrange 10y ago
  Success comes to a degree. You don't need to be among the top x percent to be a productive member of society or have a fulfilled life, and by definition only x percent people can be in this group anyway. In most professions, being moderately successful is more than enough, and if a company wants you to constantly surpass expectation and grow, there is maybe more wrong with that company than with yourself. That was all my point, nothing big, in a sense it's a truism.
rawland 10y ago
Didn't read this one for quite a while. Thank you, jonathanstrange. :-) Pasting it here from wikipedia [0]: The story is set in an unnamed harbor on the west coast of Europe.[1] A smartly-dressed enterprising tourist is taking photographs when he notices a shabbily dressed local fisherman taking a nap in his fishing boat. The tourist is disappointed with the fisherman's apparently lazy attitude towards his work, so he approaches the fisherman and asks him why he is lying around instead of catching fish. The fisherman explains that he went fishing in the morning, and the small catch would be sufficient for the next two days. The tourist tells him that if he goes out to catch fish multiple times a day, he would be able to buy a motor in less than a year, a second boat in less than two years, and so on. The tourist further explains that one day, the fisherman could even build a small cold storage plant, later a pickling factory, fly around in a helicopter, build a fish restaurant, and export lobster directly to Paris without a middleman. The nonchalant fisherman asks, "Then what?" The tourist enthusiastically continues, "Then, without a care in the world, you could sit here in the harbor, doze in the sun, and look at the glorious sea." "But I'm already doing that", says the fisherman. The enlightened tourist walks away pensively, with no trace of pity for the fisherman, only a little envy. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbeitsmoral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbei...
TeMPOraL 10y ago
This criticism misses the context of the article - 80000hours doesn't publish "how to be happy" guides, but "how to have most positive social impact on the world with your career" guides. The fisherman from the story may be living a happy life, but he's not exactly helping anyone either. Which is fine as a life choice, but this guide is aimed at people who make a different choice.
- rawland 10y ago
  The fisherman [is] not exactly helping anyone either. In fact, he does: By leading through example. And now, let's get back to work. I'm procrastinating on HN already long enough. :-) Thanks for your comments!

kavalg 10y ago

The anecdote was really insightful. Would you elaborate a bit more on the false dichotomy? It looks to me that it is not a that much about a false dichotomy, but more about who is the one that decides if you are successful enough - you or somebody else.

jonathanstrange 10y ago
Success comes to a degree. You don't need to be among the top x percent to be a productive member of society or have a fulfilled life, and by definition only x percent people can be in this group anyway. In most professions, being moderately successful is more than enough, and if a company wants you to constantly surpass expectation and grow, there is maybe more wrong with that company than with yourself. That was all my point, nothing big, in a sense it's a truism.

rawland 10y ago

Didn't read this one for quite a while. Thank you, jonathanstrange. :-) Pasting it here from wikipedia [0]: The story is set in an unnamed harbor on the west coast of Europe.[1] A smartly-dressed enterprising tourist is taking photographs when he notices a shabbily dressed local fisherman taking a nap in his fishing boat. The tourist is disappointed with the fisherman's apparently lazy attitude towards his work, so he approaches the fisherman and asks him why he is lying around instead of catching fish. The fisherman explains that he went fishing in the morning, and the small catch would be sufficient for the next two days. The tourist tells him that if he goes out to catch fish multiple times a day, he would be able to buy a motor in less than a year, a second boat in less than two years, and so on. The tourist further explains that one day, the fisherman could even build a small cold storage plant, later a pickling factory, fly around in a helicopter, build a fish restaurant, and export lobster directly to Paris without a middleman. The nonchalant fisherman asks, "Then what?" The tourist enthusiastically continues, "Then, without a care in the world, you could sit here in the harbor, doze in the sun, and look at the glorious sea." "But I'm already doing that", says the fisherman. The enlightened tourist walks away pensively, with no trace of pity for the fisherman, only a little envy. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbeitsmoral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbei...

TeMPOraL 10y ago

This criticism misses the context of the article - 80000hours doesn't publish "how to be happy" guides, but "how to have most positive social impact on the world with your career" guides. The fisherman from the story may be living a happy life, but he's not exactly helping anyone either. Which is fine as a life choice, but this guide is aimed at people who make a different choice.

rawland 10y ago
The fisherman [is] not exactly helping anyone either. In fact, he does: By leading through example. And now, let's get back to work. I'm procrastinating on HN already long enough. :-) Thanks for your comments!