/Why/ am I trying to achieve that goal. I struggled with this idea of a “root goal” the primary function of my life that would give order to all other subgoals and I eventually settled on “to be a good human being”, as unsatisfactory as that is, because I found no meaningful or fulfilling progress in existential questions of this nature.
Your root goal is not something to learn, it is something to decide. If nothing seems satisfactory, consider the possibility that you’re in a dependency mindset. I.e. You’re evaluating your goals according to the impression that it would make or the praise it would solicit, instead of according to what you want. The fact that you come here looking for guidance is evidence for that (not saying it’s bad).
If everyone was dumber than you, if your knowledge was more advanced than anyone elses, what change would you strive to manifest? What kind of slightly better parrallel universe do you yearn for? Make it so.
I alternate between setting up a cozy life that I’m certain I could thrive in, (example: returning to my home town to teach) or committing my life to bettering a portion of the world larger than what’s just in front of me at the cost of my own comfortability, or at least my sense of security.
Always be at your edge. There is no such thing as a cozy life. Finding a balance between overwhelm and boredom is where you’ll find yourself most fulfilled. Here’s a few interesting data points that I’ve come across lately:
Dopamine encodes a mismatch signal between data and prediction
Extraversion follows a u-shaped curve with increasing dopamine levels
Extraversion is strongly correlated to happiness
I take this as neurological evidence of Jordan Peterson’s (and other spiritual people’s) idea that the optimal place to be is on the edge of order on chaos. Bonus evidence: flow experiences occur when you’re challenged exactly enough, but not too much.
I obviously think that I would do less harm if I found myself in a great position, but I suspect equally that incompetence could cause harm and I am not yet certain my competence is sufficient.
Not competence, integrity. There are different reasons to aspire to power. Mao strikes me as a person who was motivated by the wrong needs. He wanted power to placate his ego. There are other reasons, like love and beauty. But those are screened off by lesser needs like safety, so first make sure you have your needs met, then aspire to influence. Only then will you use it for good.
I fear that if I commit to a life of trying to obtain a great position I may cause myself unnecessary grief and ultimately do less good than if I merely did what I could with what’s in front of me.
Power should come as an entirely unanticipated consequence of trying to attain something more pure. It’s all about the incentive. So dig deep in your psyche and try to figure it out: why power? If you think you’re probably well-intentioned, think again. Since I don’t know you, and you strike me as dependent on approval, I give it a 1% chance that you’re truly astruistic.
Please don’t take that as an insult. I have the same prior for everyone else.
Also, Hello everyone. My name’s Leo and I’m new here.
I think you’ve pointed to something I’m aware of but having yet mustered a plan to unravel, which is the need to feel validated. I’ve long since been aware that simply telling myself “this is good enough” is a short recipe for complacency which is uncomfortable in the short and stifling in the long. I trust even less the judgement of other people. I think I was trying to get at something Hazard mentioned, this idea of universal values so that I could self-validate in accordance with objective criteria, thereby giving myself the power to direct myself and understand if my direction is correct.
I’m of the thinking that even the most abstract psychological needs come from how physical needs are perceived. I would say the answer to why power is basically as follows. Power for two reasons, one attention, the other, power itself. I think power (in the sense of political power) attracts attention, in this way I hope to have many more people than just myself working to make me the best possible thing. I think this is dual rooted in my own belief that I am not competent enough to reach my own fullest potential (a paradox, i’m sure) and that I just /like/ other people paying attention to me. I want to be the center of attention more often than not. I would say the other is power for it’s own sake. Power is the ability to make change, which is a form of control, if you have control you have security, and as a human I just want security.
I would be lying if I said I’m sure I’m altruistic. I only know that I /want/ to be. But this desire seems to be rooted in a fear of being rejected by other people. I know that I can’t be accepted by everyone, but it seems that if I am altruistic, then is in other’s best interest to accept me, which will make me more likely to be accepted. The idea that the need for acceptance is rooted this deep in my values is actually disgusting to me, I think because saying that it’s not genuine altruism is to admit that there is grounds to reject me.
Hi Leo,
Your root goal is not something to learn, it is something to decide. If nothing seems satisfactory, consider the possibility that you’re in a dependency mindset. I.e. You’re evaluating your goals according to the impression that it would make or the praise it would solicit, instead of according to what you want. The fact that you come here looking for guidance is evidence for that (not saying it’s bad).
If everyone was dumber than you, if your knowledge was more advanced than anyone elses, what change would you strive to manifest? What kind of slightly better parrallel universe do you yearn for? Make it so.
Always be at your edge. There is no such thing as a cozy life. Finding a balance between overwhelm and boredom is where you’ll find yourself most fulfilled. Here’s a few interesting data points that I’ve come across lately:
Dopamine encodes a mismatch signal between data and prediction
Extraversion follows a u-shaped curve with increasing dopamine levels
Extraversion is strongly correlated to happiness
I take this as neurological evidence of Jordan Peterson’s (and other spiritual people’s) idea that the optimal place to be is on the edge of order on chaos. Bonus evidence: flow experiences occur when you’re challenged exactly enough, but not too much.
Not competence, integrity. There are different reasons to aspire to power. Mao strikes me as a person who was motivated by the wrong needs. He wanted power to placate his ego. There are other reasons, like love and beauty. But those are screened off by lesser needs like safety, so first make sure you have your needs met, then aspire to influence. Only then will you use it for good.
Power should come as an entirely unanticipated consequence of trying to attain something more pure. It’s all about the incentive. So dig deep in your psyche and try to figure it out: why power? If you think you’re probably well-intentioned, think again. Since I don’t know you, and you strike me as dependent on approval, I give it a 1% chance that you’re truly astruistic.
Please don’t take that as an insult. I have the same prior for everyone else.
You’re most welcome!
I think you’ve pointed to something I’m aware of but having yet mustered a plan to unravel, which is the need to feel validated. I’ve long since been aware that simply telling myself “this is good enough” is a short recipe for complacency which is uncomfortable in the short and stifling in the long. I trust even less the judgement of other people. I think I was trying to get at something Hazard mentioned, this idea of universal values so that I could self-validate in accordance with objective criteria, thereby giving myself the power to direct myself and understand if my direction is correct.
I’m of the thinking that even the most abstract psychological needs come from how physical needs are perceived. I would say the answer to why power is basically as follows. Power for two reasons, one attention, the other, power itself. I think power (in the sense of political power) attracts attention, in this way I hope to have many more people than just myself working to make me the best possible thing. I think this is dual rooted in my own belief that I am not competent enough to reach my own fullest potential (a paradox, i’m sure) and that I just /like/ other people paying attention to me. I want to be the center of attention more often than not. I would say the other is power for it’s own sake. Power is the ability to make change, which is a form of control, if you have control you have security, and as a human I just want security.
I would be lying if I said I’m sure I’m altruistic. I only know that I /want/ to be. But this desire seems to be rooted in a fear of being rejected by other people. I know that I can’t be accepted by everyone, but it seems that if I am altruistic, then is in other’s best interest to accept me, which will make me more likely to be accepted. The idea that the need for acceptance is rooted this deep in my values is actually disgusting to me, I think because saying that it’s not genuine altruism is to admit that there is grounds to reject me.