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> But I don't feel inspired when I see extraordinary. I feel disappointed, jealous. These are the words of a young person who was trained to see everyone else'

> But I don't feel inspired when I see extraordinary. I feel disappointed, jealous. These are the words of a young person who was trained to see everyone else's success as an implicit criticism of their own ability and effort. It is not the author's fault. A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. I have never thought that "participation trophies" do any damage to young people. Young people are smart and know that participation trophies are bullshit. What actually hurt young people was the constant reinforcement that "anyone can do anything/anyone can be the best". The corollary of "anyone can be the best" is "if you are not the best, then something is wrong with you/you're not trying hard enough". Not everyone can be the best; many people have genetic and network-based advantages that will guarantee them better results at a skill than 99% of their competitors. Young people have very little free time. The time they spend actually focused on their responsibilities is constantly overshadowed by fear and anxiety about The Future (grades, college, etc.) The remaining time they have is spent on their phones and computers, which is the only reliable way to make the fear and anxiety turn off for a few minutes. When they do have free time for extracurriculars, they're in sports playing against future D1 athletes and having metrics and social status tracked against them, or in theater getting cast as extras while the good roles go to the handsome kids, or in music listening to the musicians' kids and the international students play like professionals. If you want to be okay with not being extraordinary, you need a lot of free time to get properly bored, and a social network with which to practice your hobby completely free from the judgement of The System. Practicing to try to beat a rival school headed by a college-bound athlete is stressful, but practicing to try and impress your friends at pickup soccer purely for fun is not.

ip26 4y ago
Perhaps it should be; everyone can be the best at something. You have to find your something. On the whole though, the entire concept of “best” is a mess in a world of eight billion. At this point it’s more up to the whims of the contest, and doesn’t seem very correlated with life outcomes. Better by far to be one of the best, working shoulder to shoulder with the others, and forget entirely about who holds the podium.
- afarrell 4y ago
  Or “do not compare yourself with others, for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
  - laidoffamazon 4y ago
    Doesn’t help when people like me are just terrible at everything, have accomplished nothing and considered subhuman by the rest of society! This is a “thanks I’m cured” statement, no different from saying depressed people should smile more.
    - cwmoore 4y ago
      Legitimately though, the act of smiling whenever you can pull it off, will elevate mood. At times it isn’t possible. Similar with choosing instead of discovering what you can excel at and flow with.
    - afarrell 4y ago
      The statement is in fact useless. Changing your mental actions is what is useful. When you notice you brain doing it, then imagine you are a kind kindergarten teacher guiding a child to take crayons out of his mouth. Kindly tell your brain to think of something else. Then patiently tell your brain again. Put down the internet drama machine and go do small good things in the real world. ————— > considered subhuman by the rest of society! Unless you are literally an AI, then as a member of society I can tell you that this is factually inaccurate. I think you are a human. I also know that there is a tiny fraction of society that consider me subhuman. HP Lovecraft would be horrified by my very existence. The fraction of society that calls people subhuman is really bad at maintaining healthy relationships and so they don’t tend to hold onto power so I don’t care about them. > just terrible at everything and have accomplished nothing Do you have solid evidence that this is factually accurate, or does it only feel true? If it feels true, then get up and go for a walk or roll outside, occasionally doing pushups or waving your arms about. That will help you see reality more clearly. Also, teach yourself how to make scrambled eggs well. That way when you remember the parts of your life that do suck, you’ll at least be able to remind yourself of your ability to make scrambled eggs for someone.
awillen 4y ago
I think the other part of it is that even if you can be the best at something, there's an enormous opportunity cost to that. We look up to Olympians, but it's tough to fully grasp the amount of sacrifice it takes to win an Olympic gold. You're not going to have a normal social life or other hobbies - you're just doing your sport (or related practice) for as many hours a day as you can without sustaining injuries that would impact your ability to train more. Same thing with the best musicians, lawyers, researchers and a whole lot of other professions, particularly those that we hold in high esteem - there are a lot of people who want to be at the top, and you can't stop to take a break because plenty of those people will be working more while you rest. I'd rather be good at a bunch of different things and have enough free time to read a book or play videogames on the weekends than be extraordinary at one thing.
- oneoff786 4y ago
  I think this is wrong. The olympians aren’t clearly working harder than other people who are trying hard but not naturally talented or well endowed. They are working hard, but many people are for far less impressive feats.
  - awillen 4y ago
    Olympians are a combination of both - they have the natural talents/endowment, but they also put in the maximum amount of work. Michael Phelps has an enormous wingspan, but he also trained 5-6 hours a day. If he dropped that to 3 hours a day, he would lose to someone with a slightly smaller (but still well above average) wingspan who's training 5-6 hours a day.
    - badpun 4y ago
      > Michael Phelps has an enormous wingspan, but he also trained 5-6 hours a day Whereas a postman or police officer work 8 hours a day...
      - RadiozRadioz 4y ago
mirror_maze 4y ago
> A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. The way I’ve expressed this sentiment before in the context of music was to find hope when I hear outstanding musicians, as my thought was usually, “we now know there is at least one human capable of such expression, so it’s possible for us to reach this level,” or simply to say “such an individual does exist.” I think the author has deeper seated issues to deal with, especially if they spend time languishing over this, and then writing these posts to justify/circumvent their negative emotional reactions by reframing and then echoing their internal troubles to the rest of us like we need to be enlightened.
- quacked 4y ago
  I agree. I used to feel very jealous whenever hearing superior musicians, but after a while it just becomes exciting, especially when you're often playing with people within the same sphere of talent as you rather than binging YouTube videos of the best of the best. The author does have deep-seated issues to deal with, but I really don't think the author is uniquely broken. I would bet that at least half of the modern western population struggles with similar feelings.
  - mirror_maze 4y ago
    Yeah it’s a blight of origins I cannot comprehend, to be blunt. Upbringing? Harsh parents? Bullying? Whenever I do see it however it’s a self destructive force, and people who have directly expressed these feelings to me before often have another more sinister feeling to go with it, usually in the sphere of arrogance, contempt, malice, or some sort of righteous indignation that the world isn’t fair. Give these people the opportunity to cast others out, I’ve little hope they would hold themselves back from lashing out at those they perceive as “worse, but seen in more positive light” than them. Seen as such, these articles do little to show the authors attempting to turn the other cheek as much as they try to justify and reframe their negativity.
  - agentwiggles 4y ago
    My brother is in a band in the neighboring metro. Each year they do a show at one of their houses, and the same core group of 6 or 7 guys shows up in different permutations in various acts. They also tend to bring in one or two "away team" bands as well. This year, they put on a show with a total of 8 acts. Last year, when I went, I was in awe of what they'd built together. In a very punk DIY ethos kind of way, they've assembled their own little music fest. There were probably something like 60 people there through the night. Seeing these guys run through their music was so impressive to me. The level of technical skill and musicianship varies between the group, but none of them are what you'd think of as professional musicians. Some of the songs lack polish, or do awkward chord changes. There's plenty of sloppy guitar work. The vocalists are generally less than amazing. But damn it, they're out there making music and sharing it with people. Don't like their stuff? Well, it's their house and their show! In my own musicianship I've always been overly perfectionistic. How can these guys get up in front in random people and play these imperfect songs? And how can it be that the net result turns out to be the best show I've seen all year? Because all of them care more about making music than being perfect at it. They'd rather be on stage with imperfect material than relegate their playing to the bedroom or garage trying to polish technique for no one. I got the opportunity to jam with them after the show, and felt intimidated after having watched them all play. How was I going to stand up to these guys who just put together an entire concert? But the thing is, I was able to hang with them. I was probably the worst player in the room, but I have enough skill to get up there and make music. It doesn't have to be perfect. We played the same chord for almost 20 minutes and the 6 people left in the crowd danced like we were the greatest show on earth Sorry, this got long - but here's my point: Put yourself around people who do what you love. Don't worry about who's 'better' - there are so many dimensions that it's meaningless anyway. The joy of life comes from going out into the world and playing your heart out whether you're great or terrible. I've been so much more inspired to play in the weeks since that show, and I hope to have some of my own imperfect original material to play next year.
verst 4y ago
> These are the words of a young person who was trained to see everyone else's success as an implicit criticism of their own ability and effort. It is not the author's fault. A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. I don't think that's universally accurate. While this is something I have observed living in the US, growing up in Germany was a completely different story: The people in small town Northern Germany went so far as to criticize and attack you for your achievements that far surpassed what they have accomplished. It appears to make them feel jealous and threatened, which in their view is best dealt with by making you less threatening instead of feeling inspired themselves.
- random314 4y ago
  Wow. In what way did they attack? Were they neighbors or colleagues?
- _jal 4y ago
  > The people [...] went so far as to criticize and attack you for your achievements I've seen this personally, including from family. Actually managed to get to a point with one family member where we could honestly talk about it, and it was a complicated sort of jealousy. In their case, they correctly noted that I'm not so much smarter or otherwise distinguished as to "deserve" what I've accomplished so much more than them, and they felt cheated. When asked why they didn't do something like what I did, it came down to personal conservatism and fear. I was willing to risk moving to the "big city" without support (my family is poor). They were afraid to try. You become evidence of their missed opportunities, and that makes them angry at you. So much worse if you are childless and have the temerity to be happy about it - that really pisses off some of them, too.
- BirdieNZ 4y ago
  We call this "Tall Poppy Syndrome" in New Zealand. If you're a tall poppy you get cut down to size. The only successful New Zealanders that are approved of are those that elevate NZ as a whole on the international stage and attribute it to the country rather than their own individual talent and ability.
multjoy 4y ago
>A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. What's your definition of mentally healthy, then?
- bjornsing 4y ago
  Mental health is always assessed through the lens of cultural norms. Where I am (in Sweden) feeling jealous and acting on it is the cultural norm [1]. (Personally I agree with the GP though and see my own culture as sick.) 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante
- quacked 4y ago
  A mentally healthy person is content to live their own life, is honest, and doesn't hurt people around them. Negative emotions aren't necessarily an indicator of mental unhealthiness; resentment, disgust, rage, anger, etc. are all healthy responses to the right set of circumstances. However, when these feelings are experienced when there's no danger, deceit, harm, or violation of a bargain or relationship, it implies an inability of the person experiencing the feelings to be content with their own life, and a desire for goodness to go out of the world (I'd rather you not be excellent at all then have to sit here and compare myself to your excellence).
fidesomnes 4y ago
pclmulqdq 4y ago
I guarantee that the person who wrote this article doesn't get jealous of Olympic Snowboarders (to use a contrived example). The jealousy comes from thinking that you are competing with other people for a limited pool of money/ideas/success. When people start to realize that the pool isn't limited, and that you aren't actually competing with anyone else (except in certain circumstances), it's a lot more freeing. You can differentiate yourself, your product, or your startup along any lines, and you will be unique and extraordinary. The only thing that's left is finding other people who think that. It's human to struggle with jealousy like this, but the competition isn't reality. It's all a social construct.
ozim 4y ago
Participation trophies are not bullshit. I think most damage to kids is done by people who claim participation trophies are bullshit. These trophies are for encouraging people to try and do something and not thinking: "I am not going to win anyway so why bother trying at all". Kids are smart and they also know that running that 5km run and finishing first is hard work. They might not be happy about participation trophy but still they should be praised for the effort of putting on shoes and trying. There is a lot of psychology about effects of encouraging positive behaviors that is misunderstood. Even if you have employees it is much more effective to praise them on positive behaviors than scolding them for mistakes. Because scolding for mistakes will push them into direction "I am not going to do this task at all because if I make mistake I will get scolded, so why bother doing this task at all".
- UncleEntity 4y ago
  Participation trophies are 100% bullshit. The reward you get is learning that hard work is its own reward.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - pm90 4y ago
    > The reward you get is learning that hard work is its own reward. Maybe for some people the internal feeling is good enough, for others, some token (however worthless you might think it is) works. Why make people feel bad when its so easy to make them feel good?
    - foobiekr 4y ago
      Maybe because the goal isn't feeling good?
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - 4y ago
blooalien 4y ago
> "A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated." I would add "inspired" to your list … I frequently visit digital art sites well known for the excellence of the work of their many artists, and scroll through the "showcase" areas especially, seeking out that specific thing. That which impresses me also often inspires me. Helps get the "creative juices" flowing before working with any of my favorite art creation tools (Blender 3D, Inkscape, Krita, Godot game engine, etc…).
- jawzz 4y ago
  What digital art sites are these? Been looking for some good ones.
  - blooalien 4y ago
    A couple of my favorite inspirational art sites are SketchFab and DeviantArt. Both have some amazing talent on display on a regular basis, and both have given me inspiration when I'm running short on ideas or creativity. Both also have a quite wide variety of liberally licensed content (creative commons, etc) that you can legally re-use as a starting point for your own works, as long as you conform to the requirements of any given license.
mitchdoogle 4y ago
I don't think these feelings are restricted to young people.
- quacked 4y ago
  They certainly are not, but most people learn them when they're young. I've found that motivated healthy, competent young people rarely turn into bitter adults without a major tragedy.
apocadam 4y ago
> What actually hurt young people was the constant reinforcement that "anyone can do anything/anyone can be the best" I think Ratatouille corrects this idea well - Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.

ip26 4y ago

Perhaps it should be; everyone can be the best at something. You have to find your something. On the whole though, the entire concept of “best” is a mess in a world of eight billion. At this point it’s more up to the whims of the contest, and doesn’t seem very correlated with life outcomes. Better by far to be one of the best, working shoulder to shoulder with the others, and forget entirely about who holds the podium.

afarrell 4y ago
Or “do not compare yourself with others, for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
- laidoffamazon 4y ago
  Doesn’t help when people like me are just terrible at everything, have accomplished nothing and considered subhuman by the rest of society! This is a “thanks I’m cured” statement, no different from saying depressed people should smile more.
  - cwmoore 4y ago
    Legitimately though, the act of smiling whenever you can pull it off, will elevate mood. At times it isn’t possible. Similar with choosing instead of discovering what you can excel at and flow with.
  - afarrell 4y ago
    The statement is in fact useless. Changing your mental actions is what is useful. When you notice you brain doing it, then imagine you are a kind kindergarten teacher guiding a child to take crayons out of his mouth. Kindly tell your brain to think of something else. Then patiently tell your brain again. Put down the internet drama machine and go do small good things in the real world. ————— > considered subhuman by the rest of society! Unless you are literally an AI, then as a member of society I can tell you that this is factually inaccurate. I think you are a human. I also know that there is a tiny fraction of society that consider me subhuman. HP Lovecraft would be horrified by my very existence. The fraction of society that calls people subhuman is really bad at maintaining healthy relationships and so they don’t tend to hold onto power so I don’t care about them. > just terrible at everything and have accomplished nothing Do you have solid evidence that this is factually accurate, or does it only feel true? If it feels true, then get up and go for a walk or roll outside, occasionally doing pushups or waving your arms about. That will help you see reality more clearly. Also, teach yourself how to make scrambled eggs well. That way when you remember the parts of your life that do suck, you’ll at least be able to remind yourself of your ability to make scrambled eggs for someone.

awillen 4y ago

I think the other part of it is that even if you can be the best at something, there's an enormous opportunity cost to that. We look up to Olympians, but it's tough to fully grasp the amount of sacrifice it takes to win an Olympic gold. You're not going to have a normal social life or other hobbies - you're just doing your sport (or related practice) for as many hours a day as you can without sustaining injuries that would impact your ability to train more. Same thing with the best musicians, lawyers, researchers and a whole lot of other professions, particularly those that we hold in high esteem - there are a lot of people who want to be at the top, and you can't stop to take a break because plenty of those people will be working more while you rest. I'd rather be good at a bunch of different things and have enough free time to read a book or play videogames on the weekends than be extraordinary at one thing.

oneoff786 4y ago
I think this is wrong. The olympians aren’t clearly working harder than other people who are trying hard but not naturally talented or well endowed. They are working hard, but many people are for far less impressive feats.
- awillen 4y ago
  Olympians are a combination of both - they have the natural talents/endowment, but they also put in the maximum amount of work. Michael Phelps has an enormous wingspan, but he also trained 5-6 hours a day. If he dropped that to 3 hours a day, he would lose to someone with a slightly smaller (but still well above average) wingspan who's training 5-6 hours a day.
  - badpun 4y ago
    > Michael Phelps has an enormous wingspan, but he also trained 5-6 hours a day Whereas a postman or police officer work 8 hours a day...
    - RadiozRadioz 4y ago

mirror_maze 4y ago

> A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. The way I’ve expressed this sentiment before in the context of music was to find hope when I hear outstanding musicians, as my thought was usually, “we now know there is at least one human capable of such expression, so it’s possible for us to reach this level,” or simply to say “such an individual does exist.” I think the author has deeper seated issues to deal with, especially if they spend time languishing over this, and then writing these posts to justify/circumvent their negative emotional reactions by reframing and then echoing their internal troubles to the rest of us like we need to be enlightened.

quacked 4y ago
I agree. I used to feel very jealous whenever hearing superior musicians, but after a while it just becomes exciting, especially when you're often playing with people within the same sphere of talent as you rather than binging YouTube videos of the best of the best. The author does have deep-seated issues to deal with, but I really don't think the author is uniquely broken. I would bet that at least half of the modern western population struggles with similar feelings.
- mirror_maze 4y ago
  Yeah it’s a blight of origins I cannot comprehend, to be blunt. Upbringing? Harsh parents? Bullying? Whenever I do see it however it’s a self destructive force, and people who have directly expressed these feelings to me before often have another more sinister feeling to go with it, usually in the sphere of arrogance, contempt, malice, or some sort of righteous indignation that the world isn’t fair. Give these people the opportunity to cast others out, I’ve little hope they would hold themselves back from lashing out at those they perceive as “worse, but seen in more positive light” than them. Seen as such, these articles do little to show the authors attempting to turn the other cheek as much as they try to justify and reframe their negativity.
- agentwiggles 4y ago
  My brother is in a band in the neighboring metro. Each year they do a show at one of their houses, and the same core group of 6 or 7 guys shows up in different permutations in various acts. They also tend to bring in one or two "away team" bands as well. This year, they put on a show with a total of 8 acts. Last year, when I went, I was in awe of what they'd built together. In a very punk DIY ethos kind of way, they've assembled their own little music fest. There were probably something like 60 people there through the night. Seeing these guys run through their music was so impressive to me. The level of technical skill and musicianship varies between the group, but none of them are what you'd think of as professional musicians. Some of the songs lack polish, or do awkward chord changes. There's plenty of sloppy guitar work. The vocalists are generally less than amazing. But damn it, they're out there making music and sharing it with people. Don't like their stuff? Well, it's their house and their show! In my own musicianship I've always been overly perfectionistic. How can these guys get up in front in random people and play these imperfect songs? And how can it be that the net result turns out to be the best show I've seen all year? Because all of them care more about making music than being perfect at it. They'd rather be on stage with imperfect material than relegate their playing to the bedroom or garage trying to polish technique for no one. I got the opportunity to jam with them after the show, and felt intimidated after having watched them all play. How was I going to stand up to these guys who just put together an entire concert? But the thing is, I was able to hang with them. I was probably the worst player in the room, but I have enough skill to get up there and make music. It doesn't have to be perfect. We played the same chord for almost 20 minutes and the 6 people left in the crowd danced like we were the greatest show on earth Sorry, this got long - but here's my point: Put yourself around people who do what you love. Don't worry about who's 'better' - there are so many dimensions that it's meaningless anyway. The joy of life comes from going out into the world and playing your heart out whether you're great or terrible. I've been so much more inspired to play in the weeks since that show, and I hope to have some of my own imperfect original material to play next year.

verst 4y ago

> These are the words of a young person who was trained to see everyone else's success as an implicit criticism of their own ability and effort. It is not the author's fault. A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. I don't think that's universally accurate. While this is something I have observed living in the US, growing up in Germany was a completely different story: The people in small town Northern Germany went so far as to criticize and attack you for your achievements that far surpassed what they have accomplished. It appears to make them feel jealous and threatened, which in their view is best dealt with by making you less threatening instead of feeling inspired themselves.

random314 4y ago
Wow. In what way did they attack? Were they neighbors or colleagues?
_jal 4y ago
> The people [...] went so far as to criticize and attack you for your achievements I've seen this personally, including from family. Actually managed to get to a point with one family member where we could honestly talk about it, and it was a complicated sort of jealousy. In their case, they correctly noted that I'm not so much smarter or otherwise distinguished as to "deserve" what I've accomplished so much more than them, and they felt cheated. When asked why they didn't do something like what I did, it came down to personal conservatism and fear. I was willing to risk moving to the "big city" without support (my family is poor). They were afraid to try. You become evidence of their missed opportunities, and that makes them angry at you. So much worse if you are childless and have the temerity to be happy about it - that really pisses off some of them, too.
BirdieNZ 4y ago
We call this "Tall Poppy Syndrome" in New Zealand. If you're a tall poppy you get cut down to size. The only successful New Zealanders that are approved of are those that elevate NZ as a whole on the international stage and attribute it to the country rather than their own individual talent and ability.

multjoy 4y ago

>A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated. What's your definition of mentally healthy, then?

bjornsing 4y ago
Mental health is always assessed through the lens of cultural norms. Where I am (in Sweden) feeling jealous and acting on it is the cultural norm [1]. (Personally I agree with the GP though and see my own culture as sick.) 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante
quacked 4y ago
A mentally healthy person is content to live their own life, is honest, and doesn't hurt people around them. Negative emotions aren't necessarily an indicator of mental unhealthiness; resentment, disgust, rage, anger, etc. are all healthy responses to the right set of circumstances. However, when these feelings are experienced when there's no danger, deceit, harm, or violation of a bargain or relationship, it implies an inability of the person experiencing the feelings to be content with their own life, and a desire for goodness to go out of the world (I'd rather you not be excellent at all then have to sit here and compare myself to your excellence).

fidesomnes 4y ago

pclmulqdq 4y ago

I guarantee that the person who wrote this article doesn't get jealous of Olympic Snowboarders (to use a contrived example). The jealousy comes from thinking that you are competing with other people for a limited pool of money/ideas/success. When people start to realize that the pool isn't limited, and that you aren't actually competing with anyone else (except in certain circumstances), it's a lot more freeing. You can differentiate yourself, your product, or your startup along any lines, and you will be unique and extraordinary. The only thing that's left is finding other people who think that. It's human to struggle with jealousy like this, but the competition isn't reality. It's all a social construct.

ozim 4y ago

Participation trophies are not bullshit. I think most damage to kids is done by people who claim participation trophies are bullshit. These trophies are for encouraging people to try and do something and not thinking: "I am not going to win anyway so why bother trying at all". Kids are smart and they also know that running that 5km run and finishing first is hard work. They might not be happy about participation trophy but still they should be praised for the effort of putting on shoes and trying. There is a lot of psychology about effects of encouraging positive behaviors that is misunderstood. Even if you have employees it is much more effective to praise them on positive behaviors than scolding them for mistakes. Because scolding for mistakes will push them into direction "I am not going to do this task at all because if I make mistake I will get scolded, so why bother doing this task at all".

UncleEntity 4y ago
Participation trophies are 100% bullshit. The reward you get is learning that hard work is its own reward.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- pm90 4y ago
  > The reward you get is learning that hard work is its own reward. Maybe for some people the internal feeling is good enough, for others, some token (however worthless you might think it is) works. Why make people feel bad when its so easy to make them feel good?
  - foobiekr 4y ago
    Maybe because the goal isn't feeling good?
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - 4y ago

blooalien 4y ago

> "A mentally healthy person, when shown a display of excellence, is impressed, energized, and motivated." I would add "inspired" to your list … I frequently visit digital art sites well known for the excellence of the work of their many artists, and scroll through the "showcase" areas especially, seeking out that specific thing. That which impresses me also often inspires me. Helps get the "creative juices" flowing before working with any of my favorite art creation tools (Blender 3D, Inkscape, Krita, Godot game engine, etc…).

jawzz 4y ago
What digital art sites are these? Been looking for some good ones.
- blooalien 4y ago
  A couple of my favorite inspirational art sites are SketchFab and DeviantArt. Both have some amazing talent on display on a regular basis, and both have given me inspiration when I'm running short on ideas or creativity. Both also have a quite wide variety of liberally licensed content (creative commons, etc) that you can legally re-use as a starting point for your own works, as long as you conform to the requirements of any given license.

mitchdoogle 4y ago

I don't think these feelings are restricted to young people.

quacked 4y ago
They certainly are not, but most people learn them when they're young. I've found that motivated healthy, competent young people rarely turn into bitter adults without a major tragedy.

apocadam 4y ago

> What actually hurt young people was the constant reinforcement that "anyone can do anything/anyone can be the best" I think Ratatouille corrects this idea well - Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.