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3MM: Cynicism, Poor People & Marriage
3 MINUTE MONDAYHi friend, “On social media, fools feel clever by mocking bigger fools, and scoundrels feel virtuous by condemning bigger scoundrels.
We feel good simply by portraying others as worse.
In an age of anxiety & inaction, many seek self-esteem not in their own abilities, but in other's failures.” — Gurwinder Bhogal
This is one of my least favourite trends. I am so bored of cynicism on the internet. I'm sick of seeing comment sections just filled with self-defeating, world-hating nihilists who are adamant that the world is against them and it's people who have goals that are the issue. People whose only successes involve standing on the shoulders of others’ shortcomings. Gesturing at the public failure of any everyone else in the hope that their legitimacy never gets scrutinised. This is the Cynicism Safety Blanket. “Cynicism is a guarded response.
You're setting yourself up against disappointment.
Its role within the system is to protect you against experiencing anything bad.
It is a pre-emptive strike against a perceived threat.
If I tell myself that 'all women are bad', then I'm less likely to seek a relationship with women and, as a consequence, I'm never going to feel the pain of rejection.
If I tell myself that 'everything is shit' or that 'things will never get better', then I am excused of ever having to try at anything.
It's more comfortable to get fatalistic and call it pragmatism.
The cope is framing hope as pathetic and embarrassing and optimism as delusion.
It’s “sour grapes" at an existential level.
If everything sucks, and everyone is horrible, and reality is disappointing and you know that for a fact, it's the people acting like things can be better that are dumb, delusional and the problem.
The upside of never trying is never having to feel the pain of failure.”
Get fucked bro. I don't want your influence within 1000 miles of my life. “It’s good to criticise the vile aspects of the world, but there is nothing more vile than to do nothing about it and convince others to do the same.” — Ryan Lazarus I believe in hope. I want to be around people who have a positive vision for themselves, and others, and the world. I advise you do the same. “Choosing to see the good in things (while not being naive) is a superpower.” — Chasing Adaptation MODERN WISDOMI do a podcast which has had 500 million+ downloads. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This week’s upcoming episodes: Monday. Thursday. Saturday. THINGS I'VE LEARNED1. Researchers studied 1,500-4,000 incidents of air rage that occurred on 1-5 million flights. After controlling for factors such as legroom, flight delays, and travel time, the researchers found that the chances of an air rage incident in the economy cabin are nearly four times higher when there is a first-class cabin on the plane. This is the same increase in odds as when there is an additional nine-and-a-half hour delay. The data also showed that when passengers boarded through the front of the plane, through first class (as opposed to boarding from the middle of the plane), episodes of air rage in economy more than doubled. “The Poverty Parade.” “Our frustration with airlines has increased, but it becomes more salient when we see what we have and what other people have” said the researchers. Interestingly, the researchers found that the first-class passengers were affected by visible inequality as well. When all passengers boarded through the front of the plane via first class, incidents of air rage in the first-class cabin increased by a factor of nearly 12. — h/t CNTraveler 2. “Number of unmarried men per 100 unmarried women, by age: 25 year olds: 118 men for every 100 women 45 year olds: 98 men for every 100 women 64 year olds: 62 men for every 100 women” — h/t Rob Henderson 3. “Per day, according to DataReportal, the average American spends 5 hours and 30 minutes sleeping (an all-time low) and 7 hours and 11 minutes on screens (an all-time high).” — Dylano from Essayful LIFE HACKNomatic’s Travel Pack Backpack. Here’s my philosophy on luggage: You often carry your daily life in a bag. Therefore the design of that bag can further limit or enable your life. So choose wisely. The best backpack I’ve ever found is Nomatic’s 20L Travel Pack. I lived an entire month out of this thing + hand luggage during an entire month on tour. Lifetime guarantee so it’ll be the final backpack you ever have to buy. 30 day free returns in case you don’t like it for any reason. International Shipping. 20% discount: MODERNWISDOM Big love, Try my productivity drink Neutonic. PS |
3 Minute Monday
Podcaster with 1bn+ plays. I write about the most important lessons from the best thinkers on the planet. 300,000+ people read my free newsletter. Press subscribe to join.
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, The brand new Modern Wisdom Reading List Vol. 2 is live, featuring 100 more books to read before you die. Download it now - https://chriswillx.com/morebooks/ I saw a comment on one of my videos this week that really struck me. I wish I could remember who posted it but I can’t. Thank you for inspiring this essay <3 “Why is it that when I mess up it’s my fault but when other people mess up it’s also my fault?” Let’s call this The Atlas Complex. If you care too much...
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3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, Humans have an asymmetry of errors. We over-index exceptions - we use things that break the pattern we’ve come to expect as a serious learning opportunity. But we tend to only learn much faster from errors of commission (things we do), not errors of omission (things we don’t do). You only learn the sting of misplaced trust when someone betrays you, but when you refuse to trust and miss out on love, partnership, or help, the loss leaves no scar to remind you. It’s...