Pancakes and Perfection

How to Become Comfortable with Failure

Welcome to The RNDM issue #19, your weekly source for the most interesting and thought-provoking content out there!

Each week, we curate a selection of articles, books, and other media that we think will pique your interest and stimulate your mind.

Whether you're looking for something to read on your commute, something to spark a conversation with friends, or just something to pass the time, we've got you covered.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the read!

TL:DR

  1. How to Be Happier Without Even Trying - Epicurus' philosophy suggests finding pleasure in daily experiences to achieve balance and tranquility.

  2. The Law of Reversed Effort - Balancing effort and relaxation is key to achieving proficiency and fulfilling goals.

  3. Pancakes and perfection - Consistent practice can reduce negative emotional response to failure when learning or improving a skill.

  4. How to Become Comfortable With Failure - Strategies for reducing stress and anxiety that often comes with failure by becoming more comfortable with it.

  5. Algorithms to Live By is a book that explores how principles from computer science can be applied to improve decision-making in everyday life.

This Week

In this article, the author discusses the philosophy of Epicurus and how it can be applied to modern life. Epicurus believed that pleasure should be the guiding principle of one's life and that people act unethically due to underlying anxieties. He argued that we should choose pleasure wisely and not succumb to disastrous "direct" hedonism. Instead, we should opt for "indirect" hedonism, in which we work now and experience pleasure later. The author also suggests that we should not be afraid to indulge in small pleasures and to find joy in the present moment.

Epicurus' philosophy offers a different perspective on how to find happiness and meaning in life. Rather than constantly feeling overwhelmed by the demands and responsibilities of daily life, we can focus on finding enjoyment and pleasure in our daily experiences. This can help us achieve a sense of balance and tranquility in our lives.

The "law of reversed effort" is the idea that trying too hard to achieve something can actually be counterproductive. It involves finding the right balance between effort and relaxation in order to achieve proficiency, and can also be understood from a spiritual perspective as surrendering to a greater power or letting oneself be guided by intuition or fate. By embracing this concept, we can let go of our ego and allow things to happen naturally, leading to greater success and fulfillment.

The concept of the "law of reversed effort" challenges the notion that more effort equals more success. Instead, it suggests that finding the right balance between effort and relaxation is key to achieving proficiency and fulfilling our goals. This idea may be particularly appealing to those who feel overwhelmed or burnt out by constantly striving and may provide a new perspective on how to approach challenges and achieve success.

Simon Sinek offers a helpful analogy for understanding the importance of becoming comfortable with the process of learning and improving a skill. He compares it to making pancakes, emphasizing that we should not expect to be perfect on the first try and that it is normal to make mistakes as we learn. He encourages consistency and persistence in the learning process, reminding us that with practice and time, we will eventually improve and achieve our goals. This analogy is a useful way to visualize the journey of learning and growth, and can help to reduce the stress and anxiety that often accompany the fear of failure.

By understanding that it's normal to be bad at something when we are first learning or improving a skill, and that we can reduce the negative emotional response to failure by reframing our perspective and focusing on consistent practice, we can more effectively pursue our goals and grow as individuals.

In this Twitter thread, Steve Magness discusses the importance of becoming comfortable with failure in order to reduce the stress and anxiety that often accompanies it.

This Twitter thread addresses a common source of stress and anxiety – the fear of failure. By suggesting ways to reframe our understanding of failure and become more comfortable with it, Steve Magness offers practical strategies for reducing the negative emotional response that often accompanies it. This can be especially helpful for those who struggle with perfectionism or who are excessively hard on themselves when they make mistakes or experience setbacks.

"Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions" is a book that applies principles from computer science and algorithms to everyday life. The authors do a great job of explaining complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way.

This book is highly insightful and thought-provoking, and it has something to offer to anyone interested in the intersection of computer science and human decision-making, whether you're a computer scientist or just looking to make better decisions in your everyday life. The chapters on sorting and searching, as well as probability and decision-making, were particularly standouts for me.

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