I tried to get to bed early last night and went around 23:30, but as the rule goes for me, it didn't stick. This time I wasn't up again at 1:30 however, I made it all the way through to 4:30 instead -
Progress?
What I should have done was get up immediately and start writing, because at least that way I am doing something productive, but instead I tried to get back to sleep for 45 minutes, then scrolled some random sites, then got up and had some cereal and coffee, and then wasted time and ECR getting rekt on Splinterlands. Finally, here I am...
Doing something productive.
I try to be productive, but don't we all, and what does it even mean?
Well of course, literally it means to produce something, but what production is has changed over the years, as has the way we define it. For example, producing something physical like a good or service has changed where there needn't be the physical anymore, it is just essentially what someone is willing to pay for. And then, it doesn't even have to be for someone else, where we believe being productive can be something that makes us feel better too. We don't need to necessarily produce any quantifiable output, as long as we feel that there is a positive gain.
But when we have such a wide definition of personal productivity, are we able to really understand the impacts they make on our lives, or is it our "intuition" that is doing the evaluation as to whether what we are doing is worth it or not?
In a business, it is important to understand the quantifiable impact of activity, as those numbers are necessary to make business decisions and guide directions. It also allows for more accurate forecasting, where all kinds of various numbers can be analyzed and predictions can be made. But in our personal lives, this kind of systematic approach seems to be largely frowned upon, though most people apply it in some areas of their lives, especially where money is concerned.
I won't get out of bed for less than...
Some people rarely get out of bed.
However, this is a quantified approach to decision making and when it is applied in terms of earnings, people generally see this as just making good sense. But this is funny isn't it? Because a lot of the time people end up doing a lot of stuff that they don't like doing for work, because they have made the decision on the earning potential alone. But, at the same time, a lot of people in other aspects of their life do a lot of activities that they think they enjoy, but it ends up costing them in areas that given the opportunity, they would like to expand.
For a simple example, there is the large amount of people who consume a lot of Streaming programs and content. This can bring immediate satisfaction, but for the most part, doesn't improve us in any quantifiable way, as very little of it can be applied to produce something.
Combining these two things however, means that if we are able to consume what we enjoy and get something applicable out of it, we can more likely use our consumption to produce something that is valuable, both to us and to the marketplace, meaning, we can more likely have a job that satisfies us emotionally and quantifiably.
Sure, it is unlikely that we can all do what we love and get paid for it, because unfortunately, a lot of the things that need to be produced in this world are just not fun to do for most people. This is the same for the jobs that are "easy" to do, because then many people will try to do it, saturating the employment market, which is why jobs like "social media marketing professional" are so diluted.
Throw a stone and you will hit some under-30 who identifies as a digital marketing professional.
It doesn't matter that they have never actually produced anything of value, giving them zero real-world experience in their "profession" - but that is beside the point, as long as they feel that what they doing is meaningful, that is enough.
But is it?
Perhaps.
Maybe it is okay to go through this life doing nothing of consequence, but feeling like what is done matters. It definitely feeds into the paradigm of "life is meaningless" after all and that is something to which I subscribe. But at the same time, I don't think I can find meaning in doing something that I feel isn't productive, which means that I am going to have to follow my conditioning in what I do. And yes, we are conditioned to value what we value, through cultural learning and experiences of mass activity that influence us to think, speak and act in quite uniform ways.
I have been hacked.
Since a child, I have ben influenced into thinking that I have to do something useful in order to earn my way through life. This is very much like being indebted to society for life, a life I didn't actually choose to be a part of. I was forced into it. And, it is a debt that can't actually be repaid, as there is no quantifiable amount that is enough or too little. This means that it becomes a personal amount where some people will produce a massive amount and still be in debt, whilst another might produce nothing or only take from others, believing that they are owed even more.
And I think this is what makes it a challenge, because while one person can sit on the couch and be a burden on society in many ways, they can actually feel that their life is meaningful, while they spend what energy they have on criticizing people who are actually producing something of what is at least, perceived value.
At the end of the day, it is hard to quantify value in so many areas, which is why we tend to limit it to financial areas. However, I wonder if we were able to get an accurate appraisal of all aspects of value in our life and be given an undisputable rank, where would we lay? What activities would score highly and what would return nothing or, provide a negative? Would it be worth more if what we did made us feel fantastic, or would a higher value come from improving the lives of others instead?
If nothing in this world ultimately matters and we can't even prove that anyone else exists outside of our own imagination, it means that it would be folly to do anything other than what is in our own best interest, because that would be in our own best interest. However, if we could quantify without a shadow of a doubt that it would be in our own best interest for our own life experience to take a win-win hybrid approach and produce something that has value to others too, would we do it?
To each their own.
Sure.
We each make our own decisions (arguable) in this life, which means we are able to produce how we want or, not produce anything at all. I wonder if those who choose not to do anything of much consequence for others feel that they are beating the debt system I weas speaking of earlier, that they are getting more out of this life than what it is worth?
At least in my personal experience though, the people who I have met who seem to be the most fulfilled from the life they have, might not be the richest or most successful, but they do tend to do what they find meaningful and for most, that involves adding value to people other than themselves. Of course, this gives the return to them of satisfaction too, so what they are producing, isn't for free.
Over the last few years, I have changed my understanding of what is "doing something productive" for me and as a result, I have drastically reduced my consumption and massively increased my workload, with "work" being activity that I feel adds value to my life and those of others. It is debatable how much or if it is valuable at all, but I feel far better for it, even though my life has actually become increasingly difficult in many ways. It has become easier in one aspect at least though and that is,
There is always something to do.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
