Over the next few days, I am not sure what kind of connectivity I am going to have, which puts my seven-plus-year posting streak at risk. I guess I could schedule a post, but it isn't really my style to do that, because it doesn't feel "fresh" to me. I am one of those people who writes and submits all in one motion for the most part, because that way, I am invested and connected at that moment.
I am hoping for calm seas.
I have tried to imagine what it would be like to miss a day, but it is a tossup as to whether I would be disappointed, or relieved. I think that initially I might be relieved, but the thing with having such a long streak is, it is very unlikely I would ever accomplish it again. If I tried, it would be daily posting until around 2033, before I would be able to extend it by another day. That is pretty crazy.
The problem with streaks - they always end.
(The winning ones at least)
The losing streaks could have no end. Would be good to have winning streaks in something that really mattered though. You know, just image having a genie in a bottle grant three wishes. In the movies people always seem to struggle with what they are going to choose, often wasting them - but is it so hard?
Healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Wouldn't having those three things be about as prepared as you can be for whatever lays ahead? Wealth is relative of course, but with health and wisdom, it wouldn't matter if it is moderate wealth or extreme wealth, there would be the energy and the brains to do well with it. It isn't totally about how much, but how it is utilised.
Size does matter though.
Starting from scratch is not a pleasant experience, especially if ill and stupid, like me. For years I struggled through and then finally as things were coming together, I had a stroke. A few more years of struggling and as things were coming together again, I lost my job. It seems to be cyclical for me, where just as things start to look up, I hit another downhill section. The climb takes years, the fall takes weeks.
I have a pretty wide circle of friends and over the years, I haven't really come across anyone that has this kind of cycle. Yeah, I know people who are worse off than me, but for a lot of them, it is pretty clear why they end up in that condition. I am all for consequence of action, but sometimes it seems that the severity of the consequences are not aligned with the behaviour. It is like using a hammer to fix a crack in a windscreen.
Sometimes I feel it would be easier to be able to believe in some higher power and have the "everything happens for a reason" approach, but my reason has voided that possibility and instead, everything happens due to some unknown randomness. I can make up a reason of course, which is pretty much the same as believing in a god (in my opinion), because it is a fantasy, unprovable, but also actionable. Believing in something, having hope, gives the direction to move in.
I am directionless.
I guess I can go to hell.
I won't qualify for heaven apparently.
Heaven is reserved for good believers, not good people.
It is quite presumptuous of me to say I am a good person.
There are worse.
It is a funny asymmetry isn't it? If someone says "my life sucks", people will say to remember that there are people worse off out there. However, if someone is a terrible person, no one says that it is okay because there are even worse people out there.
Selective morality.
I find the people who believe themselves to be the most moral, tend to be the ones who struggle with their own immorality. The people who tend to be the best people ethically, are the ones who don't have to be told what or how to be ethical, they just do it. They don't have a list of commandments or rules in front of them to obey, they just look at the world, use their senses, and make a judgement. Most children do it naturally also, until, they are conditioned to make judgements based on a predetermined set of rules.
Doing the right thing isn't hard.
Until social conformity comes into make its judgement. Then, doing the right thing often comes with group judgement and also group cost, as well as costs of those who benefit from the wrong things being done - and that cost is punishment. Punishment is a good way to influence behaviour, and social punishment acts at the core of our personality as social animals. We don't want to be punished, so we will often avoid doing the right thing. You might not believe it in yourself, but if you follow your behaviours and look at the times you remained silent to avoid some kind of discomfort, that is it. It might not be a big thing, but over time, who knows where you will end up.
History is filled with slippery slopes in society.
We are experiencing a big one now, and because it is so so engaging, so influential, and so convenient, we just keep sliding down in a race to the bottom of the bottomless abyss. I believe that most people don't change negative behaviours until they hit rock bottom, but what if there is not bottom to hit?
Well, that can be a topic to explore for another day.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Even if you believe in a higher power it doesn't make the everything happens for a reason thing easier to take or more true. The people who actually believe that are either lying to themselves or they are delusional. I'm just not buying it. Sometimes shit just happens. I hope you can maintain your streak, though if you can't, it probably won't matter too much to your family and I know that's what really matters the most to you.
Yeah, I get it doesn't make it easier to take, but it is something to hold on to. I used to have it, but it was unsustainable for me.
Yep. They don't care if I miss a day or a year, as long as the bills are paid :)
Just do what you can! Don't get me wrong, I believe in a higher power, but I also believe in free will, and free will can upend even the most divine of plans.
Imagine God saying "do this" and I would be the one going Nah, I think I might do that instead... :D
You wouldn't be alone! Thank goodness for mercy and grace though (if you believe in that sort of thing). 😀
Yeh unfortunately it's not like Duolingo where you have streak freezes for the days where connectivity is flaky or something else major comes up that prevents you from getting around to it XD
I guess it's a case of how important is it to you in the grand scheme as while it would take you a while to build back up and continue if you lost it, it's not like the streak is as important as the actual process. It's just a number that works to hack people's brains for habit building because monkey brain likes big number go up or something.
Telling someone to remember there's worse off people is a blunt context shift usually intended to kick them out of a mental rut/depression spiral (and occasionally to tell someone to stop whining and feeling sorry for themselves and get on with it if they've been doing it for a while). Telling someone to remember that there's worse people out there is a pathetic reason to excuse awful behaviour.
The stroke was definitely on the extreme end of things. The insidious up/down cycles are otherwise relatable.
Hope your connectivity held :)
Has Duolingo helped you learn much? I have never tried it.
This is how I see it, but it has also become (weirdly) part of the process, because of the brain hack for habit - I am a monkey!
See! An asymmetry! I only killed seven people, the Nazis were much worse! :D
Yep. We all go through them, but it feels like that line from the Lion King with Zazu talking about Scar - "There's one in every family, two in mine" :)
Health, wealth and wisdom does cover it pretty well. Your experience of climbing taking years and fall taking weeks is really familiar. We build stuff for years and then it falls apart in days. That is just how it works. Also it is always harder to build than destroy...
Also, life tends to have white stripes and black stripes, black stripes are usually more impactful.
Also it is always harder to build than destroy...
As a kid I was more the builder type and then wanted to keep. But, a lot of kids were the destroy type. I think they did better in life :D
I agree with this. Black stripes seem like something is there, while white seems like it is a void. Funny, because it should probably be the opposite.
I have marvelled that you are able to do it at all! You managed through a dang stroke! I would not be surprised if you just jumped right back in after a day off and made that 2033 mark unscathed anyway.
I'll bet it will feel just like the day after a big number birthday - the next day will be just the same as the day before.
Good luck!
Ah! This is a pretty interesting way to look at it. A little bit deflated that nothing really has changed :)
I clicked to read immediately I saw the first sentence...honestly can't imagine you being absent from this platform for any reason whatsoever.
This is totally relatable, even though you probably have a more steady climb than I could currently dream of.
Depends how one looks at it I guess! :D
I am sure you will get back to your winning streak because you are consistent and have already made it a habit.
Life comes with ups and down but the most interesting and beautiful part of it is not to settle for less. Believe in yourself and you shall rise to the top.
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@tarazkp, I sent you anI believe in what I called myself a "divine intelligent" the creator, the one who create the whole universe. However, all race and culture around the globe has so many Gods, which makes it like a fairy tale.
Also, there is no hell because, in my opinion we are currently living in hell, look around us, there is all kind of pain, greed and famine. Wars and other conflict.
wow.. i hope u can keep ur streak going! 👊😉🤙
7 yrs is a loooooooong time!
I can tell you what it feels like to miss a day; first day you’ll keep saying to yourself that it’s perfectly fine, healthy even, but in the back of your head you’ll have a knacking feeling that you missed a step.
The second and third time it’ll be the same. Then you go two consecutive days of not posting, the feeling is the same. Slowly you acclimatice and it doesn’t feel like missing out that bad anymore. Sooner than you’ll realise, you’ll start gaining distance and it’ll be harder and harder to come back to it. It’s no longer a routine, but a task. You will forget (most of) the people, the flow, how everything works, you will miss out on changes and structure. You will forget.
Not saying either end of the spectrum is good or bad, it’s personal of course, but from experience I can tell you it’s really really hard to come back.