3 ms·

Educated guess: mood swings. When you succeed, you're on top of the world and can do no wrong. When you fail, you're a loser who can do nothing right.

AlexandrB 16y ago
Even when you fail one could argue that it's not all bad - at least you would feel in control of your life. What about when both success and failure are externalized? I think that kind of helplessness would be a much worse feeling.
- winestock 16y ago
  Perhaps those suffering from paranoia externalize both success and failure. Failure is proof that They are out to get you. Success is proof that They are setting you up for a fall.
invalidOrTaken 16y ago
Which sounds like an exact description of the emotional life of a founder.
- winestock 16y ago
  I see that you've posted about starting your venture: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1519002 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1519002 So you're speaking from experience. Have an upvote. I've started my own business, too. I commiserate.
lsc 16y ago
There is a big difference between saying: "Wow, I really screwed the pooch there. It's going to take a while for me to live this one down. I better get to work." and "Wow, I really screwed the pooch there. I'm worthless and I can't do anything right. I should go drink." One of those, I think, is a healthy way of accepting responsibility for failure. The other is not. The same, really, goes on the upside.
- winestock 16y ago
  True. I was making a shoot-from-the-hip guess. The difference between the two approaches which you mentioned is a correct sense of proportion. Of course, the same applies to the other ways in which one internalizes/externalizes both success and failure.
  - lsc 16y ago
    It's got nothing to do with proportion. Assuming you don't consider suicide a rational choice, the first is always going to result in better outcomes for the individual who screwed up than the second, no matter how dramatic the failure. I mean, proportion has something to do with how publicly and how strongly you repent for your mistakes, but I don't see any case where it is in your best interest to accept that you are worthless. To be clear, I can see cases where it may be in other people's best interest to give up on you, but I don't see any case where it's in your own interest to give up on yourself.

AlexandrB 16y ago

Even when you fail one could argue that it's not all bad - at least you would feel in control of your life. What about when both success and failure are externalized? I think that kind of helplessness would be a much worse feeling.

winestock 16y ago
Perhaps those suffering from paranoia externalize both success and failure. Failure is proof that They are out to get you. Success is proof that They are setting you up for a fall.

invalidOrTaken 16y ago

Which sounds like an exact description of the emotional life of a founder.

winestock 16y ago
I see that you've posted about starting your venture: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1519002 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1519002 So you're speaking from experience. Have an upvote. I've started my own business, too. I commiserate.

lsc 16y ago

There is a big difference between saying: "Wow, I really screwed the pooch there. It's going to take a while for me to live this one down. I better get to work." and "Wow, I really screwed the pooch there. I'm worthless and I can't do anything right. I should go drink." One of those, I think, is a healthy way of accepting responsibility for failure. The other is not. The same, really, goes on the upside.

winestock 16y ago
True. I was making a shoot-from-the-hip guess. The difference between the two approaches which you mentioned is a correct sense of proportion. Of course, the same applies to the other ways in which one internalizes/externalizes both success and failure.
- lsc 16y ago
  It's got nothing to do with proportion. Assuming you don't consider suicide a rational choice, the first is always going to result in better outcomes for the individual who screwed up than the second, no matter how dramatic the failure. I mean, proportion has something to do with how publicly and how strongly you repent for your mistakes, but I don't see any case where it is in your best interest to accept that you are worthless. To be clear, I can see cases where it may be in other people's best interest to give up on you, but I don't see any case where it's in your own interest to give up on yourself.