4 ms·

I think the problem I have with perfectionism, is that in a fairly connected world of 7+ billion people, the people that get "acclaim" are truly some of the mos

I think the problem I have with perfectionism, is that in a fairly connected world of 7+ billion people, the people that get "acclaim" are truly some of the most talented/lucky/good people in the world. You never see mediocrity anymore, everyone has curated Instagram and Facebook feeds of their best moments. If you do see it, it's the process of something like America's Got Talent where it's laughed at. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters said it really well [0]. Everyone that we see doing almost anything online is really really good at it, so people get intimidated that they can't do what 8 year old prodigies are doing. There is such a gap between good and great that people are afraid of taking the time to make the jump since the other side feels so far away. It's ok to be bad at things, it's ok if your art or passion doesn't change the world. It's ok if you enjoy the journey and the destination isn't the top of the charts or a world championship in whatever. [0] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/dave-grohl-rants-its-destroying-the-next-generation-of-musicians/article11746664/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/dave-gro...

some_account 8y ago
Solution: Stop watching TV and stop following celebrities and social media. They call it TV programming for a reason. Not everyone is curating profiles, not everyone cares what other people are doing, not everybody wants to be told what to think from someone else. But you will never know if you don't turn that shit off and start to do what you want to do without fear.
blt 8y ago
graduate school has been crushing in this way.
darpa_escapee 8y ago
If you ever get the chance to peek behind the curtain of these superstar online personas, it's refreshing to say the least. People like to imagine that most gained popularity organically, but there's a lot of expensive marketing, gaming of algorithms and outright cheating (paying for followers/comments/reviews/likes, paying other personas to promote their own without disclosure etc). It's a reminder that there are probably a lot of very capable, talented people out there who aren't as dedicated to making an online presence for themselves.
nikofeyn 8y ago
i don’t understand this viewpoint at all. you and i must live in a completely different world, as i feel i am surrounded by mediocrity with myself included. everywhere you look are humans acting more like humans the animal instead humans the “thinking being”. and i feel, more often than not, people in the positions of acclaim and power got there more by luck and being in the right place at the right time while having supplemented this with hard work and some intelligence, and not the other way around. it is much more difficult to exist as a person who thinks outside the box versus one who thinks inside the box but knows the right people.

some_account 8y ago

Solution: Stop watching TV and stop following celebrities and social media. They call it TV programming for a reason. Not everyone is curating profiles, not everyone cares what other people are doing, not everybody wants to be told what to think from someone else. But you will never know if you don't turn that shit off and start to do what you want to do without fear.

blt 8y ago

graduate school has been crushing in this way.

darpa_escapee 8y ago

If you ever get the chance to peek behind the curtain of these superstar online personas, it's refreshing to say the least. People like to imagine that most gained popularity organically, but there's a lot of expensive marketing, gaming of algorithms and outright cheating (paying for followers/comments/reviews/likes, paying other personas to promote their own without disclosure etc). It's a reminder that there are probably a lot of very capable, talented people out there who aren't as dedicated to making an online presence for themselves.

nikofeyn 8y ago

i don’t understand this viewpoint at all. you and i must live in a completely different world, as i feel i am surrounded by mediocrity with myself included. everywhere you look are humans acting more like humans the animal instead humans the “thinking being”. and i feel, more often than not, people in the positions of acclaim and power got there more by luck and being in the right place at the right time while having supplemented this with hard work and some intelligence, and not the other way around. it is much more difficult to exist as a person who thinks outside the box versus one who thinks inside the box but knows the right people.