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The only person you are ever in competition with is yourself. Our 'competitors' are just the measurements against which we compare and test ourselves. Think o

The only person you are ever in competition with is yourself. Our 'competitors' are just the measurements against which we compare and test ourselves. Think of your life as a sand castle. Sure, others have nicer ones (or worse ones), but in the end they will all be swept away by the tide. The existence of other castles in no way diminishes the value of your own. All that matters is that you are happy with the castle are building, because that's the only person you are building the castle for. Life is a game, but it does not have a high score screen at the end. (Or, to sound more down-to-earth: no use crying over spilled milk.)

sandcastles 9y ago
Did you just make up the sand castle analogy?
- anvandare 9y ago
  To the best of my knowledge, yes. It's possible I once overheard/read it somewhere, and have forgotten the source, but it lingered in my brain somewhere. In addition, with 100 billion+ people existing throughout the entirety of the human race, it's unlikely I was the first to think of anything I've ever thought.
  - jaggederest 9y ago
    It's a genuinely great analogy though, and your particular version is excellent. There's a reason similar sayings have echoed through history. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27 KJV
  - rytill 9y ago
    (100 billion people) * (the amount of thoughts a person has their life) is quite large, but I think nowhere near the amount of permutations of thoughts and emotions to go with them someone can reasonably have. I bet your thoughts are more unique than you think.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - lgas 9y ago
      But the thoughts people think aren't evenly distributed -- they primarily center around the same things.
- Bootvis 9y ago
  It reminds of the Jimi Hendrix song 'Castles made of sand'. Not exactly the same but definitely some common ground. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimihendrix/castlesmadeofsand.html https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimihendrix/castlesmadeofsan...
TeMPOraL 9y ago
I prefer: We do what we must because we can. For the good of all of us Except the ones who are dead. But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake. And the science gets done and you make a neat gun. For the people who are still alive. (https://wiki.jonathancoulton.com/Still_Alive/Lyrics https://wiki.jonathancoulton.com/Still_Alive/Lyrics) The point being, it shouldn't be about comparing castles, it should be about making everyone's castles ever better (until eventually, at some point, we discover concrete and the castles will no longer get swept away by the tide). (And for those not knowing the context, the "gun" in the song is a tool, not a weapon.)
eli_gottlieb 9y ago
Sounds like our real competitor is entropy.

sandcastles 9y ago

Did you just make up the sand castle analogy?

anvandare 9y ago
To the best of my knowledge, yes. It's possible I once overheard/read it somewhere, and have forgotten the source, but it lingered in my brain somewhere. In addition, with 100 billion+ people existing throughout the entirety of the human race, it's unlikely I was the first to think of anything I've ever thought.
- jaggederest 9y ago
  It's a genuinely great analogy though, and your particular version is excellent. There's a reason similar sayings have echoed through history. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27 KJV
- rytill 9y ago
  (100 billion people) * (the amount of thoughts a person has their life) is quite large, but I think nowhere near the amount of permutations of thoughts and emotions to go with them someone can reasonably have. I bet your thoughts are more unique than you think.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - lgas 9y ago
    But the thoughts people think aren't evenly distributed -- they primarily center around the same things.
Bootvis 9y ago
It reminds of the Jimi Hendrix song 'Castles made of sand'. Not exactly the same but definitely some common ground. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimihendrix/castlesmadeofsand.html https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimihendrix/castlesmadeofsan...

TeMPOraL 9y ago

I prefer: We do what we must because we can. For the good of all of us Except the ones who are dead. But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake. And the science gets done and you make a neat gun. For the people who are still alive. (https://wiki.jonathancoulton.com/Still_Alive/Lyrics https://wiki.jonathancoulton.com/Still_Alive/Lyrics) The point being, it shouldn't be about comparing castles, it should be about making everyone's castles ever better (until eventually, at some point, we discover concrete and the castles will no longer get swept away by the tide). (And for those not knowing the context, the "gun" in the song is a tool, not a weapon.)

eli_gottlieb 9y ago

Sounds like our real competitor is entropy.