3 ms·

> Some people who push these values on social media care way more about the image of being a "successful person" than actually doing what it takes to achieve su

> Some people who push these values on social media care way more about the image of being a "successful person" than actually doing what it takes to achieve success (which rarely involves bragging about how hard you work on social media). Devil's advocate but you can measurably tell if you are financially successful (from working hard/long hours) and our healthy fitness wise (from going to the gym/eating clean/going for a run/etc.) you can also measurably tell if you are in a good headspace from meditation/yoga/reading I'm the first person to poop on people who "do it for the Gram" but... Most people I know who post about being successful are the same people who wouldn't want their image hurt by being caught in a lie. aka... they aren't really "fronting", they are really "about it" when it comes to living a "let's talk about it" lifestyle

Retric 4y ago
It's really tempting to assuming the things you think are important are what actually result in success. Nobody sees all the possible lives they could have had. Daily jogging seems like a healthy choice when you wheren’t hit by a car etc etc. Add in all the actual lying and it's easy to get an incredibly distorted view of reality.
- MuffinFlavored 4y ago
  Avoiding jogging (in lieu of gaining obesity/any various degree of issues that come from lack of exercise) in fear of getting hit by a car seems irrational, wouldn't you agree? You should strive for "perfect". If "perfect" is healthy and healthy means go for a run (with risks), you have to weigh it against the alternative (don't run, be unhealthy).
  - Retric 4y ago
    That's hardly the only options. If you want to give useful advice it’s worth considering what might happen to those reading it not just your lucky history of avoiding problems. Avoiding jogging outside in favor of a treadmill is a net increase in safety without negative health impacts. Replacing it with an elliptical further reduces risks etc. On the other hand if you want sell a lifestyle then treadmills etc are boring. Which is why a major reason so much popular advice is terrible.
CSMastermind 4y ago
I think time helps shape perspectives here. It can be really hard to tell someone's career or life trajectory in the moment or even in 1, 2, or 5 years. I'm 35 now so I have the benefit of hindsight looking back on the decisions different people my age have made and while I'd be the first to caution against potential bias in data I can say definitively that the people who were into FIRE or grindset or whatever before those terms even existed have ended up markedly worse off by their own definition of success than people who took more traditional routes. There are exceptions, I know one person who made millions on cryptocurrency for example. But he's the one exception to the rule I can think of. The rest ended up no better off than their peers who weren't out there posting every motivational quote on social media or eliminating their social lives to write and ebook about credit card reward points. So was it worth it? I doubt it. The ROI seems to be negligible or even negative to me. It turns out there was no shortcut to wealth and happiness after all.
- godmode2019 4y ago
  I think you are forgetting to factor in risk, Those paths are much more risky, a few make it big most don't. But that's the trade off people willingly make, a small shot at making it big, or living a normal upper middle class fully employed lifestyle. The way I think about it is, if you are on a deserted island, but you have made a nice life for yourself, shelter, water, food. Do you risk pulling it all down to make a raft to sail into the unknown searching for somewhere better. May people stay put and justify their stagnant lifestyle by how they are slightly ahead of the people whos raft sunk and had to swim back and start over. Those people are the movers the shakers of the world, they take in the risk for something more in life. Every time you fail you are failing upwards, learning skills you didn't have before becoming stronger and building better rafts.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    But that's never how it's sold - "do all these things and maybe increase your chance of becoming phenomenally successful by 1%". Almost by definition a tiny percentage of people will ever be "phenomenally" successful. And the ones that do probably would do so with or without these sorts of "tips".

Retric 4y ago

It's really tempting to assuming the things you think are important are what actually result in success. Nobody sees all the possible lives they could have had. Daily jogging seems like a healthy choice when you wheren’t hit by a car etc etc. Add in all the actual lying and it's easy to get an incredibly distorted view of reality.

MuffinFlavored 4y ago
Avoiding jogging (in lieu of gaining obesity/any various degree of issues that come from lack of exercise) in fear of getting hit by a car seems irrational, wouldn't you agree? You should strive for "perfect". If "perfect" is healthy and healthy means go for a run (with risks), you have to weigh it against the alternative (don't run, be unhealthy).
- Retric 4y ago
  That's hardly the only options. If you want to give useful advice it’s worth considering what might happen to those reading it not just your lucky history of avoiding problems. Avoiding jogging outside in favor of a treadmill is a net increase in safety without negative health impacts. Replacing it with an elliptical further reduces risks etc. On the other hand if you want sell a lifestyle then treadmills etc are boring. Which is why a major reason so much popular advice is terrible.

CSMastermind 4y ago

I think time helps shape perspectives here. It can be really hard to tell someone's career or life trajectory in the moment or even in 1, 2, or 5 years. I'm 35 now so I have the benefit of hindsight looking back on the decisions different people my age have made and while I'd be the first to caution against potential bias in data I can say definitively that the people who were into FIRE or grindset or whatever before those terms even existed have ended up markedly worse off by their own definition of success than people who took more traditional routes. There are exceptions, I know one person who made millions on cryptocurrency for example. But he's the one exception to the rule I can think of. The rest ended up no better off than their peers who weren't out there posting every motivational quote on social media or eliminating their social lives to write and ebook about credit card reward points. So was it worth it? I doubt it. The ROI seems to be negligible or even negative to me. It turns out there was no shortcut to wealth and happiness after all.

godmode2019 4y ago
I think you are forgetting to factor in risk, Those paths are much more risky, a few make it big most don't. But that's the trade off people willingly make, a small shot at making it big, or living a normal upper middle class fully employed lifestyle. The way I think about it is, if you are on a deserted island, but you have made a nice life for yourself, shelter, water, food. Do you risk pulling it all down to make a raft to sail into the unknown searching for somewhere better. May people stay put and justify their stagnant lifestyle by how they are slightly ahead of the people whos raft sunk and had to swim back and start over. Those people are the movers the shakers of the world, they take in the risk for something more in life. Every time you fail you are failing upwards, learning skills you didn't have before becoming stronger and building better rafts.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  But that's never how it's sold - "do all these things and maybe increase your chance of becoming phenomenally successful by 1%". Almost by definition a tiny percentage of people will ever be "phenomenally" successful. And the ones that do probably would do so with or without these sorts of "tips".