How do you feel about the progress of your life?

[Vexen]

My progress is underwhelming.

[Phi for All]

43 minutes ago, Vexen said:

My progress is underwhelming.

And how do you feel about that? Whose fault is it?

Progress is a positive proposition. It's doubtful you can achieve it with a predominantly negative outlook. Is there anything you can think of that makes you less bleak about your future? If you can't fix that, then it makes it look like you just enjoy whining online. Frustrating for those looking to help.

Why don't you fire the current you, the one that complains all the time but won't lift a finger to change, and hire someone more effective? Nobody, including you, really cares much for that guy. He seems like he wants everything handed to him. Surely there's a version of you that cares enough about progress to actually work towards it?

[QuantumT]

I always thought I was more or less an average semi idiot. Someone who could understand little and achieve less.
But then the internet came and after a few years I built a business. By 2002 it had turned into big business. Apparently I was smarter than I thought.

But science was still not a thing I considered within my reach. One day I decided to watch the docu series 'Cosmos - A spacetime odyssey' with Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Much to my surprise I understood it all, and it gave me an urge to learn more. So I watched 'Through the wormhole'. Very enjoyable, educational and thought provoking.

They left me with a desire to learn the sciences behind the facts and amazing stories. And that is where I am today. Trying to get the details straight.
It sometimes gives me a headache to try to grasp especially the math behind the facts, but I am beyond being the hopeless fool I once thought I was. Now I believe I can learn it. That I am capable. It might take a while, but I will eventually get there.

[Ten oz]

2 hours ago, Vexen said:

My progress is underwhelming.

Underwhelming in what sense? What a person places value on plays a big role in how they feel about progress in their lives. 

[Sayonara]

 

14 hours ago, Vexen said:

My progress is underwhelming.

That thought will eventually become a corrosive force in your life if you let it. We are living through a time when cultural perception is saturated by illusory examples of great achievement and success but 99% of it is media-enhanced BS. Everyone thinks they’re starring in the film adaptation of their own life. Everyone presents themselves as a glamorous high-flier on social media. It’s no wonder there’s this feeling of dejection and insufficiency spreading throughout western society.

The first thing you should do, immediately, is consciously make the effort to stop comparing yourself to other people. We do that all the time without realising it, and from a psychological health perspective it is deeply unhelpful. The likelihood is that this is the largest single factor contributing to your sense of being underwhelmed at yourself 

Instead, compare yourself to who you were 1, 5 and 10 years ago. What’s changed? Why? What do you like and dislike about that? What steps can you take to duplicate and enhance the useful changes and phase out the mistakes?

Edited March 16, 2019 by Sayonara
Weird formatting

[StringJunky]

57 minutes ago, Sayonara said:

 

That thought will eventually become a corrosive force in your life if you let it. We are living through a time when cultural perception is saturated by illusory examples of great achievement and success but 99% of it is media-enhanced BS. Everyone thinks they’re starring in the film adaptation of their own life. Everyone presents themselves as a glamorous high-flier on social media. It’s no wonder there’s this feeling of dejection and insufficiency spreading throughout western society.

The first thing you should do, immediately, is consciously make the effort to stop comparing yourself to other people. We do that all the time without realising it, and from a psychological health perspective it is deeply unhelpful. The likelihood is that this is the largest single factor contributing to your sense of being underwhelmed at yourself 

Instead, compare yourself to who you were 1, 5 and 10 years ago. What’s changed? Why? What do you like and dislike about that? What steps can you take to duplicate and enhance the useful changes and phase out the mistakes?

Great expression and sadly true.

[dimreepr]

4 hours ago, StringJunky said:

Great expression and sadly true.

great expectations are seldom true.

[Royston]

23 hours ago, Vexen said:

My progress is underwhelming.

Having been through an underwhelming progress rut (I was also mentally ill at the time), my solution was to find a subject that got me excited, was challenging and gave me the tools to better myself and think more rationally about the world...and study it.

I ended up enrolling on a general sciences course to find out what really rocked my boat and after taking the plunge it became clear that physics was my subject. So I kept enrolling for courses (I was on a low wage at the time so I was studying for free due to an earnings threshold). Indeed, you're at a time where there are so many free resources at your disposal due to the internet that a formal as well as self taught education is easily at your disposal.

After studying and thoroughly enjoying the distant learning experience, I walked away with a degree, new friends and an abundance of ideas on how I could utilise what I had learned. At present I'm a test engineer for F1 and I get to play around with the skills I picked up through studying mathematics and physics. I'm now in the process of forming a start up company that deals with tabletop gaming assets using photogrammetry, 3D printing and 3D modelling. 

My point is that you can hit absolute rock bottom, which is where I was and have the ability to claw yourself out of it if you can focus on, not only what you're good at but use the abundance of resources that are free, to climb out of that rut. As a starting point I would think of what really gives you a mental hard on and do an introductory course ...I studied computer science through edx, I highly recommend it

[Itoero]

My progress is retreat.

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, Royston said:

Having been through an underwhelming progress rut (I was also mentally ill at the time), my solution was to find a subject that got me excited, was challenging and gave me the tools to better myself and think more rationally about the world...and study it.

I ended up enrolling on a general sciences course to find out what really rocked my boat and after taking the plunge it became clear that physics was my subject. So I kept enrolling for courses (I was on a low wage at the time so I was studying for free due to an earnings threshold). Indeed, you're at a time where there are so many free resources at your disposal due to the internet that a formal as well as self taught education is easily at your disposal.

After studying and thoroughly enjoying the distant learning experience, I walked away with a degree, new friends and an abundance of ideas on how I could utilise what I had learned. At present I'm a test engineer for F1 and I get to play around with the skills I picked up through studying mathematics and physics. I'm now in the process of forming a start up company that deals with tabletop gaming assets using photogrammetry, 3D printing and 3D modelling. 

My point is that you can hit absolute rock bottom, which is where I was and have the ability to claw yourself out of it if you can focus on, not only what you're good at but use the abundance of resources that are free, to climb out of that rut. As a starting point I would think of what really gives you a mental hard on and do an introductory course ...I studied computer science through edx, I highly recommend it

Dude, that's amazing! Congratulations on the progress.

The plunge is scary but how else could your story have ended so well? If someone had come along 10 years ago and handed all of this to you on a silver platter, it wouldn't mean as much to you as it does right now. Along with the experience, you showed yourself your own capabilities, and built the necessary levels of confidence every day. 

A round of applause for taking the plunge! Great to have you back, btw. 

[Royston]

13 hours ago, Phi for All said:

A round of applause for taking the plunge! Great to have you back, btw. 

Thanks, Phi !

Vexen, if you're interested here is the link to the edx site... edx .

I completed two courses through edx after my degree, they were both very insightful and well paced. So if you feel your lacking focus, I think this would be an excellent start. 

[dimreepr]

On 3/17/2019 at 11:37 AM, Royston said:

Thanks, Phi !

Vexen, if you're interested here is the link to the edx site... edx .

I completed two courses through edx after my degree, they were both very insightful and well paced. So if you feel your lacking focus, I think this would be an excellent start. 

5

4

im not suggesting your wrong but what of us, the less talented?

It could be argued that this type of narrative is what vexed us in the first place.

Edited March 18, 2019 by dimreepr

[Phi for All]

59 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

It could be argued that this type of narrative is what vexed us in the first place.

If you won't accept advice from people who have changed the way they look at their life's progress, and you won't change it yourself, what kind of narrative will be effective? Where are you going to find more motivation than someone who has been at rock bottom and managed to change what was wrong? How is it in any way meaningful to complain about something, and also reject all suggestions about how to deal with it? If you want a different lifestyle, don't you have to be willing to change your lifestyle? 

So yeah, you could argue that way. It's pretty vexing when you realize you've painted yourself into a corner. But unless you're willing to wait until it dries (which would be stupid, since you obviously don't like the color), you're just going to have to suck it up, relish the experience, and start the job over. Don't let the extra work vex you. Start now, so in ten years you can be talking about your new life instead of how you wished you'd started ten years ago.

[dimreepr]

35 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

If you won't accept advice from people who have changed the way they look at their life's progress, and you won't change it yourself

 

 

When did I suggest that?

Edited March 18, 2019 by dimreepr

[Bufofrog]

I was born, I reproduced and all I have left to do is die - at that point mission accomplished!

[Phi for All]

4 hours ago, dimreepr said:

When did I suggest that?

When you lumped yourself in with the OP by claiming Royston's narrative might be what vexed you at the start. I suppose one could read that you were claiming Royston had talent you lack, but I didn't. 

Does not being as talented change the necessity of trying to better your situation? Don't you still have to be the person in charge of driving your own progress, even if you get help from others? 

[koti]

On 3/16/2019 at 10:50 AM, Sayonara said:

 

That thought will eventually become a corrosive force in your life if you let it. We are living through a time when cultural perception is saturated by illusory examples of great achievement and success but 99% of it is media-enhanced BS. Everyone thinks they’re starring in the film adaptation of their own life. Everyone presents themselves as a glamorous high-flier on social media. It’s no wonder there’s this feeling of dejection and insufficiency spreading throughout western society.

The first thing you should do, immediately, is consciously make the effort to stop comparing yourself to other people. We do that all the time without realising it, and from a psychological health perspective it is deeply unhelpful. The likelihood is that this is the largest single factor contributing to your sense of being underwhelmed at yourself 

Instead, compare yourself to who you were 1, 5 and 10 years ago. What’s changed? Why? What do you like and dislike about that? What steps can you take to duplicate and enhance the useful changes and phase out the mistakes?

This right here is why I like SF, you sir have made my day with your post, this is why I’m coming back here except for the physics section ofcourse and for trolling the crackpots from time to time.

On 3/16/2019 at 4:52 PM, dimreepr said:

great expectations are seldom true.

Oh shut up Dim.

On 3/16/2019 at 9:02 PM, Royston said:

Having been through an underwhelming progress rut (I was also mentally ill at the time), my solution was to find a subject that got me excited, was challenging and gave me the tools to better myself and think more rationally about the world...and study it.

I ended up enrolling on a general sciences course to find out what really rocked my boat and after taking the plunge it became clear that physics was my subject. So I kept enrolling for courses (I was on a low wage at the time so I was studying for free due to an earnings threshold). Indeed, you're at a time where there are so many free resources at your disposal due to the internet that a formal as well as self taught education is easily at your disposal.

After studying and thoroughly enjoying the distant learning experience, I walked away with a degree, new friends and an abundance of ideas on how I could utilise what I had learned. At present I'm a test engineer for F1 and I get to play around with the skills I picked up through studying mathematics and physics. I'm now in the process of forming a start up company that deals with tabletop gaming assets using photogrammetry, 3D printing and 3D modelling. 

My point is that you can hit absolute rock bottom, which is where I was and have the ability to claw yourself out of it if you can focus on, not only what you're good at but use the abundance of resources that are free, to climb out of that rut. As a starting point I would think of what really gives you a mental hard on and do an introductory course ...I studied computer science through edx, I highly recommend it

I love you man. Please keep being who you are. 

[dimreepr]

15 hours ago, Phi for All said:

When you lumped yourself in with the OP by claiming Royston's narrative might be what vexed you at the start. I suppose one could read that you were claiming Royston had talent you lack, but I didn't. 

 

sorry, not my intent.

15 hours ago, Phi for All said:

Does not being as talented change the necessity of trying to better your situation? Don't you still have to be the person in charge of driving your own progress, even if you get help from others?

 

Don't I get to decide my own success? my point is, we all write our own narrative and talent has its part to play. Instead, we're told, you can do anything you want.

 

[dimreepr]

17 hours ago, koti said:

On 3/16/2019 at 9:50 AM, Sayonara said:

 

That thought will eventually become a corrosive force in your life if you let it. We are living through a time when cultural perception is saturated by illusory examples of great achievement and success but 99% of it is media-enhanced BS. Everyone thinks they’re starring in the film adaptation of their own life. Everyone presents themselves as a glamorous high-flier on social media. It’s no wonder there’s this feeling of dejection and insufficiency spreading throughout western society.

The first thing you should do, immediately, is consciously make the effort to stop comparing yourself to other people. We do that all the time without realising it, and from a psychological health perspective it is deeply unhelpful. The likelihood is that this is the largest single factor contributing to your sense of being underwhelmed at yourself 

Instead, compare yourself to who you were 1, 5 and 10 years ago. What’s changed? Why? What do you like and dislike about that? What steps can you take to duplicate and enhance the useful changes and phase out the mistakes?

3

This right here is why I like SF, you sir have made my day with your post, this is why I’m coming back here except for the physics section ofcourse and for trolling the crackpots from time to time.

On 3/16/2019 at 3:52 PM, dimreepr said:

great expectations are seldom true.

Oh shut up Dim.

2

Do you see the irony?

Edited March 19, 2019 by dimreepr

[Phi for All]

4 hours ago, dimreepr said:

Don't I get to decide my own success?

I was talking about life progress. Success is yours to measure for yourself, and might reach a plateau where you're most comfortable. Progress, to me at least, is an ongoing process of accumulating knowledge through learning and experience in order to best adapt your behavior to your environment (and perhaps vice versa) and improve the outcome of your endeavors.  

4 hours ago, dimreepr said:

my point is, we all write our own narrative and talent has its part to play. Instead, we're told, you can do anything you want.

You never know what passion a human is going to stumble upon as they try to figure out what "anything you want" should be. Passion is probably more closely tied to progress (and success maybe) than talent is. 

[Royston]

On 3/18/2019 at 2:38 PM, dimreepr said:

im not suggesting your wrong but what of us, the less talented?

It's not necessary to have an innate skill to start studying an introductory course...prerequisites maybe but not talent. So that is a bit of a moot point. 

Quote

It could be argued that this type of narrative is what vexed us in the first place.

I get that, but the entire thrust of my first post was, if you're in a funk and wasting time in front of a pc, that pc and time could be utilised to progress somewhere. It was merely to widen his eyes to that fact...context is everything I guess.

[dimreepr]

19 hours ago, Royston said:

I get that, but the entire thrust of my first post was, if you're in a funk and wasting time in front of a pc, that pc and time could be utilised to progress somewhere. It was merely to widen his eyes to that fact...context is everything I guess.

1

fair point.

20 hours ago, Phi for All said:

Success is yours to measure for yourself, and might reach a plateau where you're most comfortable. Progress, to me at least, is an ongoing process of accumulating knowledge through learning and experience in order to best adapt your behavior to your environment

1

They don't seem mutually exclusive.

Edited March 20, 2019 by dimreepr

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, dimreepr said:

They don't seem mutually exclusive.

Why would they be? Progress seems to be "the road" and success seems to be "the destination". It's important to acknowledge both. 

[dimreepr]

7 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

Why would they be? Progress seems to be "the road" and success seems to be "the destination". It's important to acknowledge both. 

 

can't argue with that.