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> ... to solve your problem. I find that the more I focus on my problems, the stickier ennui is. It is specifically being forced to solve other people's proble

> ... to solve your problem. I find that the more I focus on my problems, the stickier ennui is. It is specifically being forced to solve other people's problems that slackens its grip and allows for escape.

Legogris 6y ago
Volunteering or getting involved in some other NPO can also get at this.
daxfohl 6y ago
Agreed, but when you're forced to solve the same person's same problems day after day after day after day after day, results on your own psyche can vary.
j65d7jdt7uy 6y ago
Your child's problems are your problems. Whereas your child's joys are often ... also your problems.
- ShroudedNight 6y ago
  I appreciate this answer, it sounded facile at first, but hints at a significant ambiguity when calling something 'my' problem. You are absolutely correct that my daughter's problems are my problems, but their motivation and the manner in which they must be dealt with are fundamentally different from the rumination that causes [me?] ennui. Taking a fundamentally trite example: my daughter wants a pencil so that she might draw. Fundamentally, she's not concerned about me solving the 'pencil problem' utterly, for all time, but rather wants one 'now'; that is, ideally within ~30s but definitely within ~5 minutes. There is no time to dwell on the merits of STAEDTLER vs Caran d'Ache, or whether I should be provisioning a set focused on soft or hard lead, or a lifetime supply of Ticonderogas. Instead, you find the first one that you already have around that has a reasonable chance of keeping its lead intact long enough to allow her to finish her doodle and move on to the next thing. So yes, I agree with your premise, but I also argue that the problems you inherit by proxy are materially different from the ones I [at least] find cause ennui.
ashtonkem 6y ago
“Idle hands belong to the devil”.
- scns 6y ago
  This is probably the worst thing i read on HN ever. If you grew up with people saying stuff like this i feel sorry for you.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

Legogris 6y ago

Volunteering or getting involved in some other NPO can also get at this.

daxfohl 6y ago

Agreed, but when you're forced to solve the same person's same problems day after day after day after day after day, results on your own psyche can vary.

j65d7jdt7uy 6y ago

Your child's problems are your problems. Whereas your child's joys are often ... also your problems.

ShroudedNight 6y ago
I appreciate this answer, it sounded facile at first, but hints at a significant ambiguity when calling something 'my' problem. You are absolutely correct that my daughter's problems are my problems, but their motivation and the manner in which they must be dealt with are fundamentally different from the rumination that causes [me?] ennui. Taking a fundamentally trite example: my daughter wants a pencil so that she might draw. Fundamentally, she's not concerned about me solving the 'pencil problem' utterly, for all time, but rather wants one 'now'; that is, ideally within ~30s but definitely within ~5 minutes. There is no time to dwell on the merits of STAEDTLER vs Caran d'Ache, or whether I should be provisioning a set focused on soft or hard lead, or a lifetime supply of Ticonderogas. Instead, you find the first one that you already have around that has a reasonable chance of keeping its lead intact long enough to allow her to finish her doodle and move on to the next thing. So yes, I agree with your premise, but I also argue that the problems you inherit by proxy are materially different from the ones I [at least] find cause ennui.

ashtonkem 6y ago

“Idle hands belong to the devil”.

scns 6y ago
This is probably the worst thing i read on HN ever. If you grew up with people saying stuff like this i feel sorry for you.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]