I’m Growing Tired of a life of Entertainment, and Increasingly Interested in Creation & Connection

I’ve had a variety of posts in the past that touch on some of these themes, but more than ever, I feel myself becoming less interested in simply being entertained or consumption and more interested in creating things of my own or genuine connection with others.

This is particularly evident after a night where I just stayed in and played games or watched shows or movies. If that’s all I did, the next day I always just kind of feel hollow. Like I wasted the whole day.

Conversely, when I focus on improving myself – whether that’s reading, developing a hobby like guitar or disc golf or another sport – or just socializing and connecting with others, it feels much more rewarding.

I think I’m at a point in my life now where I just really need to focus on improving myself more and getting into the habit of almost exclusively engaging in activities that are going to bring me long-term improvement and satisfaction.

And simply consuming entertainment is not going to do that.

It’s not to say I can never just enjoy things. And particularly at this moment, I feel like it still has a place as I feel like I improve after my sleep apnea diagnosis. I don’t want to be too hard on myself, and sometimes it’s totally fine to just relax and enjoy something.

But I want to continue moving towards creation and improvement. I think that is going to really help me long-term.

I want to cultivate a sense that I’m providing value to the world and to myself beyond just my job. That I am inherently talented and capable.

I suspect it may just be human nature to desire that. Regardless of why I want it, I feel that it is quite important and I’d like to achieve it.

Historically, it has often felt overwhelming to focus on anything difficult after work. It has sort of felt like just doing my work and working out were the only things I had the bandwidth for, and so the rest of the time all I could do was just enjoy entertainment.

But as my energy returns, I’m starting to feel like I can and should be doing way more than that. So that’s what I’ll do!

I’m sure similar ideas and updates on this same one will come up over time.

 

People Dig In Once they’ve Stated an Opinion, and the Internet Makes this a Terrible Thing

I had the realization that people tend to commit to a thing once they’ve actually said it aloud or typed it. It’s as if they trust themselves that they’ve fully thought through something by the time they are willing to actually state it.

This is helpful to realize, but also demonstrates some areas in which this is absolutely a terrible thing.

First, I want to point out that, in general, people tend to be a lot more careful with what they say in person. People are likely to react immediately if someone says something stupid or totally out-of-line. And in-person, if you get scolded or called-out, you tend to care more.

But online, people will say whatever comes to their mind. They don’t fear the consequences. They don’t care if someone calls them out. They have anonymity to shield them if what they said is stupid.

Not to mention the fact that they are likely to post in places where everyone is bound to agree with them anyway. It would seem that the method of choice by social media networks to avoid hostility and toxicity is to separate everyone into silos of people that already agree.

In person, people are far more likely to listen, to think, to gather information. Only after they’ve done those things are they comfortable giving an opinion.

And that’s a great thing!

They’re also more likely to change their opinion. If someone they respect and value is explaining something to them, they will be way more likely to listen with an open mind and work to find common ground.

Online, people just dig in. And when they inevitably fail to change any minds, they just go back to their silo and say the same things with people they know already agree.

As a result, people are more divided than ever, but just don’t talk about anything in person. They come to conclusions quickly and never have their ideas questioned. They then seek information that confirms their existing beliefs, and things just get worse.

I really hope that the newer generations that were raised on the internet can see through these things clearly, and that they are able to develop strategies to combat these things. Otherwise, I’m not exactly sure how humanity is supposed to recover.

It does seem like there is hope though. The boomers – who obviously had no experience with the internet and social media until they were already middle-aged, seem to be the least equipped to deal with this, and it shows.

Younger people do seem to be inherently tuned-in to these problems and as a result, might be able to avoid the worst of it.

It’s hard to say. I just hope things improve, because I don’t think the world is in a good place right now.