lydiascribe.bsky.social
Future author, future podcaster, future miracleworker. Someday I'll be someone.
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That too, yes.
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The "punchline" as I understood it is that the doctor must not be very busy if their office is all the way on the ass-end of the hospital. It's more of a "God, the medicalsystem for trans people sucks, right?" ending than a "haha funny" kind.
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I don't remember which pundit said this, but I remember hearing someone say, "If all Democrats care about is winning and appealing to the Republican base, why didn't they just also run Donald Trump as their candidate? That would certainly get them a lot of right-wing votes!"
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Cool: Doing the Akira slide on a motorcycle
Next-level cool: Doing the Akira slide on your girlfriend.
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When I look at the alkali metals, I'm imagining that stock explosion effect.
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Git gud!
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Something something "a potato already has lots of eyes."
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This is what it made me think of!
music.youtube.com/watch?v=IfIO...
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That being said, I think I figured out the solution to ensure I always have a motivating reason. It's, uh... a Pro/Con list? You know, that thing we teach to children?? š
Somehow, I keep re-inventing the wheel on these things. I've known about these techniques forever but never bothered to use 'em.
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It's interesting how both are equally resistant to being changed. With the right reason, nothing below heaven or above hell can stop me; with the right excuse, nothing can get me started. An easy enough concept, of course. But it doesn't help me with my goals that are already stuck. š
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"You don't have enough time to write it!"
"That's okay. I'll write as much as I can, then keep thinking about it."
"But you have other stuff you need to do!"
"No problem; I'll just write and do that at the same time!"
"But what if people don't like it?"
"Pfft, I don't care. It's for fun."
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The times I've been successful with something I've wanted to do, I've done the exact opposite thing. I get a really strong motivating reason--"I really need to tweet this idea!"--which is impervious to any argument against it. I do what I can, or even change my circumstances to make it happen.
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For example, suppose I want to go running, but I say, "Well, it's too hot/cold outside." If I check the weather and realize it's actually perfect running weather, I switch to a new excuse: "Well, now it's too late in the day." And if I wait until the next day, suddenly it's, "I'm not ready."
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Itās obvious heās so capitalism-brained that he thinks āDoing what makes you happyā and āBe the best at what you doā are the same thing. Only being happy when youāre the best is a mugās game. Donāt fall for it.
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He just says it in such a weird way. Like, at one point, he literally says, āMost salespeople spend ~five sessions to convince a buyer, but most customers wait ~seven sessions before committing to a purchase.ā
Thatāsā¦ thatās literally the ā90% of gamblers quit right before making it bigā meme!
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If youāre in the Dip, ask yourself: āwould I be happy to be at this level for the rest of my life? Or do I want to keep persevering until I get past this Dip and make it to the big leagues?ā
The key thing, the thing Godin is trying to convey, is that both answers are totally fine!
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Anyway, hereās my alternative to whatever the fuck Godin is trying to say:
1. Anything that earns you more value than it costs is worth retaining.
2. When calculating values and costs, include your disappointment at your current competence, but ALSO include your hope at potential improvement.
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And also, what does the Jack Welch story have to do with anything??? Quitting because you canāt get out of the Dip is completely different than quitting because your company is doing its best, but thatās just not as good as some other company.
This book is very weird.
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But as Godin himself knows, sometimes you never get out of the Dip, or sometimes itās really, REALLY long. Itās cold comfort to say āeventually youāll make it to the other sideā if it means not making enough money to put food on the table for months or years.
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This book is ostensibly about āthe dip,ā being the point in between dabbling and becoming a serious professional with the greatest effort and least payoff. In Scouting, we called it the āStormingā point of group dynamics. Iām sure weāre all familiar with it.
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But itā¦ it IS okay to not be the best in the world. By definition, only one person or group can be the best. Only one team gets to win the Super Bowl; only one movie can win Best Picture each year. Thatās the nature of competition, for better or for worse.
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You caught me. I should have said something like "non-Christian" or "atheist" instead of "secular." Also, First Unitarian Society is a bit of an odd duck in the Unitarian circles. They call themselves "congregational humanists."
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I confess, I don't know. Maybe I'm too pessimistic. Maybe it's already been done, and I'm calling it impossible for nothing. If it can be done the other way ("Greensleeves" to "What Child is This?"), surely it can be accomplished. I may just not be creative enough. š«¤
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Like, imagine changing the lyrics to "O Holy Night." First, what would you even change them to? And then, would you still feel that sense of awe and wonder on those high notes? Or is the lyric "O Night Divine" beautiful because of its proximity to divinity?
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I had this idea, inspired by other songs I've heard at First Unitarian Society, to simply change the lyrics to something more secular, more atheist-friendly. But I'm not sure it would work. The melody is a reflection of the lyrics, and vice-versa. It seems like it'd clash.
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(The Second Verse of that song doesn't really gel with what I'm saying here; it shifts into the first topic I discussed, "Someday God will come back and fix all this mess." But I hope you get what I'm saying.)
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See? It's not about God, not really. It's about the splendor of the universe, the magnificence and sublimity of the profound. But when you write a song like that, you have to credit God for it to count. The universe can't be beautiful for it's own sake; it has to be tribute to The Big Guy Upstairs.
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Here's an example of what I mean:
"O Lord My God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder--
Thy Pow'r throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
'How Great Thou Art,
How Great Thou Art!"
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Or maybe... these songs aren't really about God. They're really about something else, but smuggling that in through the only acceptable form of music at the time. You can praise the beauty of the world by cloaking it in praise of its so-called Creator.
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But the pinnacle of this is, of course, praise and worship songs about how amazing God is. They're always ostentatious and powerful, to match the message they're conveying. But, like, what are we doing here? Reminding God of how powerful He is? Or reminding ourselves how powerLESS we are?
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I feel the same way about songs that involve God providing comfort or healing to people. Anything based on Psalm 23, "There's Power in the Blood," "Amazing Grace," "You Raise Me Up." (Man, if you haven't listened to "You Raise Me Up," you really should. It's sweeping and grand!)
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Like, one of my favorites is "The Canticle of the Turning." It's a song of hope and trust, for the day when God comes down, topples tyrants, and uplifts the poor and suffering.
But... God's not real. He isn't coming to turn the world around. If we want the world to turn, we have to do it ourselves.