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Maybe you’re not trying

(usefulfictions.substack.com)
448 points eatitraw | 1 comments | 16 Nov 25 10:14 UTC | HN request time: 0.212s | source
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Etheryte ◴[16 Nov 25 11:43 UTC] No.45944348[source]▶
This is an idea that philosophers have played with in countless varieties, perhaps the one closest to the author's wording is Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of bad faith. Faced with anxiety, guilt or overwhelming weight of responsibility, it's often easier to subconsciously sidestep the problem and pretend you don't have a choice, even if you do. This is not even a conscious decision, it's hard to be aware of our own quirks and biases.
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1. lazide ◴[16 Nov 25 12:07 UTC] No.45944495[source]▶
When it’s adaptive (stepping around or over a pothole that you have neither the power nor incentive to fix), it’s what we do with 95%+ of all our input.

When it’s maladaptive (ignoring a serious red flag in a relationship, or not fixing that pinhole in the roof before it causes major damage in the house!), it leads to other serious problems and long term costs.

The biggest challenge in life is having the capacity to understand when it is going too far in the bad direction, and doing something about it before it tips over into overwhelm/overload.