...I keep forgetting that for normal people, sleeping in is actually lazy, and not a survival tactic to recover from the sleep deprivation of doing 12 hour rotating day-night shifts in time to do more shifts.
I’ve had this attitude of “do hard things” for a while, although the hard things I’ve done (mainly jumping into critical care nursing as a new grad) aren’t super typical for LW. I guess technically I work a wage job, but it’s also incredibly meaningful work that pushes me to my limits every single day and is gradually transforming me into the kind of person I want to be; y’know, calm under pressure, smiling in the face of adversity, organized, good at teamwork, good at empathy and reading people’s emotions, etc.
I’ve considered joining the army for a similar reason of pushing myself to become stronger. Unsure if I will still do this, as moving to the Bay Area is probably higher value.
I’ve considered joining the army for a similar reason of pushing myself to become stronger.
For me, the military did not push me nearly as hard as I expected. Pushed myself harder while preparing for it than I was pushed in Basic Training. Advise not doing this, or at least joining Marine Corps instead for proper pushing. There are also things (i.e. Tough Mudder) that can similarly physically push you without requiring you to sign a contract.
Interesting, would you be willing to say more about your experience? That definitely sounds to me like something that would be an interesting and difficult challenge.
There is little to tell. Basic Training has more to do with getting used to being miserable than actually pushing yourself. The actual job training is somewhat more challenging, but only because there is very little room for error. You aren’t allowed to bring stuff home to study either, so there’s little extra you could do even if you wanted to.
I did force myself up and down 800-some steps (as in a staircase sort of thing) while wearing about 90 lbs (I weigh 140) of gear, but that was completely voluntary. It was excruciating, but I recognized that quitting would have to be a conscious choice not to take another step, so I just didn’t do that. I did stop before I had properly finished, but that was only because my legs were about to stop supporting me. It shouldn’t be that hard to find an exercise program that gives a similar effect, without being anywhere nearly as bad for your body.
The biggest thing I learned is that you have a choice about your attitude. When doing sucky things, I’ve noticed that there are two main ways that people do it. They either complain, or they laugh at the people who are complaining. Either way, you’re miserable, but at least the second group has something to laugh about.
Sorry that kind of rambled. I hope I answered the question to your satisfaction.
...I keep forgetting that for normal people, sleeping in is actually lazy, and not a survival tactic to recover from the sleep deprivation of doing 12 hour rotating day-night shifts in time to do more shifts.
I’ve had this attitude of “do hard things” for a while, although the hard things I’ve done (mainly jumping into critical care nursing as a new grad) aren’t super typical for LW. I guess technically I work a wage job, but it’s also incredibly meaningful work that pushes me to my limits every single day and is gradually transforming me into the kind of person I want to be; y’know, calm under pressure, smiling in the face of adversity, organized, good at teamwork, good at empathy and reading people’s emotions, etc.
I’ve considered joining the army for a similar reason of pushing myself to become stronger. Unsure if I will still do this, as moving to the Bay Area is probably higher value.
For me, the military did not push me nearly as hard as I expected. Pushed myself harder while preparing for it than I was pushed in Basic Training. Advise not doing this, or at least joining Marine Corps instead for proper pushing. There are also things (i.e. Tough Mudder) that can similarly physically push you without requiring you to sign a contract.
This is a good point; there are almost certainly ways to get the important parts of the military experience without paying the costs.
Especially since LWers presumably disagree enough with their governments that helping out the military in any way itself counts as a cost.
Why would you presume that?
But probably not a significant one in the scheme of things.
What’s your MOS (or equivalent)?
Explosive ordnance disposal
Interesting, would you be willing to say more about your experience? That definitely sounds to me like something that would be an interesting and difficult challenge.
There is little to tell. Basic Training has more to do with getting used to being miserable than actually pushing yourself. The actual job training is somewhat more challenging, but only because there is very little room for error. You aren’t allowed to bring stuff home to study either, so there’s little extra you could do even if you wanted to.
I did force myself up and down 800-some steps (as in a staircase sort of thing) while wearing about 90 lbs (I weigh 140) of gear, but that was completely voluntary. It was excruciating, but I recognized that quitting would have to be a conscious choice not to take another step, so I just didn’t do that. I did stop before I had properly finished, but that was only because my legs were about to stop supporting me. It shouldn’t be that hard to find an exercise program that gives a similar effect, without being anywhere nearly as bad for your body.
The biggest thing I learned is that you have a choice about your attitude. When doing sucky things, I’ve noticed that there are two main ways that people do it. They either complain, or they laugh at the people who are complaining. Either way, you’re miserable, but at least the second group has something to laugh about.
Sorry that kind of rambled. I hope I answered the question to your satisfaction.
Me, I prefer complaining. Even when it doesn’t accomplish anything, I usually feel better afterward anyway.