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This kind of response is not generally productive, because the people asking the questions are obviously looking for help getting organized / motivated / produc
by bpodgursky 6y ago
This kind of response is not generally productive, because the people asking the questions are obviously looking for help getting organized / motivated / productive.
If you're able to focus on ideas you are passionate about, that's great, but not everyone is the same. Some people have issues focusing, AD/HD, or self-destructive procrastination habits. If they are posting on HN asking for help, saying "I'm just able to do it naturally, why don't you try that?" isn't really helpful.
We've built a society where being distracted by mindless consumption is by far the easiest path through life. Some people need help getting out of that swamp, and the way to help is not to say, "don't bother".
- corytheboyd 6y agoYou’re right. I’ll leave my comment but yeah it comes across the wrong way. Sorry everyone, and OP, I didn’t really add anything here. I’d go so far as to say I basically said “the secret to getting over depression is to to just not be sad” which is insensitive and not helpful
- bpodgursky 6y agoI mean, I don't think the advice of "work on projects you're passionate about" is wrong. It's just that personally... I feel the passion maybe 10% of the time, even on projects I'm really excited by. I feel passion sharing stuff, hitting big milestones, etc. But I need more than that to get myself through the grind of the unpleasant bits.
- corytheboyd 6y agoIn the context of doing work for others I completely agree, I just can’t create passion to power through work for some other benefactor. I find I can do it for my own projects still though, which is mostly where I am coming from. I must had misinterpreted OPs prompt because I assumed it was general and not about projects for a company, d’oh