5 ms·

Why even try to be "the best at a combination of things unique to you"? It sounds like those headlines which try to shoehorn "the best in the world" followed b

Why even try to be "the best at a combination of things unique to you"? It sounds like those headlines which try to shoehorn "the best in the world" followed by enough qualifier to make the statement true. I think it's enough to recognize you can appreciate a skill at any level. Even when you completely suck at something you can still enjoy doing it.

howaboutnope 5y ago
"The forest would be pretty quiet if only the best birds sang." I suck at singing, but still love it, and when I sing, I get a totally different kind of joy than I get from listening to someone else sing well.
- munificent 5y ago
  I am now envisioning a forest filled with birdsong... and one dude belting out an offkey version of "More Than a Feeling". I love it.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Stevie Nicks is a "bad" singer by most metrics, but her albums sell very very well, and I enjoy them, too. (When her singing debuted, music critics dismissed her voice as raspy and unpleasant.)
- Noos 5y ago
  People don't seem to mind when it comes to sports. When was the last time you played baseball or football? People don't also seem to care that average people sing songs, make movies, write books, etc. Why, when we have an endless amount of people making high quality goods well above what they could do? We end up with what we have now, a producer and consumer culture. You can't make an economy that optimizes for the best and has all the birds in the forest sing, too.
  - circlefavshape 5y ago
    Erm ... I don't know how you missed this, but millions of people sing songs and play sports just for fun
    - Noos 5y ago
      ...no, nowhere as much as you think. If you think so, go out and try to find it. In the USA, most people only do sport in high school, and after those that do are usually on some kind of professional track. There are a few exceptions, like golf, but it was nothing like when I was a kid. Singing, nah; again, things like Christmas caroling or teaching music in lower grades have declined massively.
      - circlefavshape 5y ago
        erm ... this probably depends on where you live, and on your cultural milieu, but a great many of my friends are amateur musicians (or members of choirs (or art groups))
ZephyrBlu 5y ago
I like to take pride in being good at things that I do. Some things I just do for fun and don't care, but I'm quite competitive so a lot of the time my enjoyment comes from getting/being good at something.

howaboutnope 5y ago

"The forest would be pretty quiet if only the best birds sang." I suck at singing, but still love it, and when I sing, I get a totally different kind of joy than I get from listening to someone else sing well.

munificent 5y ago
I am now envisioning a forest filled with birdsong... and one dude belting out an offkey version of "More Than a Feeling". I love it.
WalterBright 5y ago
Stevie Nicks is a "bad" singer by most metrics, but her albums sell very very well, and I enjoy them, too. (When her singing debuted, music critics dismissed her voice as raspy and unpleasant.)
Noos 5y ago
People don't seem to mind when it comes to sports. When was the last time you played baseball or football? People don't also seem to care that average people sing songs, make movies, write books, etc. Why, when we have an endless amount of people making high quality goods well above what they could do? We end up with what we have now, a producer and consumer culture. You can't make an economy that optimizes for the best and has all the birds in the forest sing, too.
- circlefavshape 5y ago
  Erm ... I don't know how you missed this, but millions of people sing songs and play sports just for fun
  - Noos 5y ago
    ...no, nowhere as much as you think. If you think so, go out and try to find it. In the USA, most people only do sport in high school, and after those that do are usually on some kind of professional track. There are a few exceptions, like golf, but it was nothing like when I was a kid. Singing, nah; again, things like Christmas caroling or teaching music in lower grades have declined massively.
    - circlefavshape 5y ago
      erm ... this probably depends on where you live, and on your cultural milieu, but a great many of my friends are amateur musicians (or members of choirs (or art groups))

ZephyrBlu 5y ago

I like to take pride in being good at things that I do. Some things I just do for fun and don't care, but I'm quite competitive so a lot of the time my enjoyment comes from getting/being good at something.