"This identity is what drives me to succeed..." Of all of the reasons cited for not being able to accept success, this one strikes me as the most likely, and perhaps the most common. I think a lot of people rely on failure identity to motivate themselves to improve, fearing that if they saw themselves as successful, they'd lose their motivation, and then actually fail.
ALSO, would like some more detail (perhaps another illustration?) on this "food only for rich people."
ALSO, love the Nissam Taleb quote. He is SUCH a jerk and he says all the best things.
Woo hoo! I'm so happy for you, Alex! Success is a weird, ephemeral beast. And those new-subscriber dopamine hits are real. But all of that is background noise to the awesome work you're doing. Just keep being you! You're awesome. (And apparently Substack agrees with me!)
-- retracting like a turtle in The Fast & The Furious
-- a literal photo of me taken minutes ago!
-- Papa Patriarchy
-- emotions aren't horses. Or rather, they are, but you better let them run wild and free.
-- so it's revolutionary for me to be excited about my dumb essays on poop? Yes. Yes it is.
-- I’m really glad you’re here
-- We're all just ghosts riding the wild horses of our emotions up and down this side of the beating heart
and now, for my answers to your questions:
If you’re new here, hi! tell us 3 things about you - 2 truths and 1 lie.
1) i'm not new here.
2) i'm old here.
3) i answered anyway even though i'm not new here.
4) i did three truths and one extra truth.
Do you like yourself? If so, how?
1) i do.
2) i am fortunate to have had a family that told me they loved me a lot. i also believe that everyone is lovable and also potentially likable. i also start a lot of days with gratitude journaling and whenever i see someone achieving something that i want, i'll strive to think about what i have, who i am, things in my life that other people would really be grateful to have. sometimes i'll think about myself as a little baby who deserves love (and LIKE), because i was a little baby like wilder is a little baby and YOU were a little baby. and still are! you're a little baby and i love you and i like you.
What party are you tryna get to before you can take off your ghost costume?
the communist party
(i'm not big on parties)
What else is going on how’s your week hows your 2023? Got any questions for me?
i have a little bit of a head cold (but i'm grateful i have a head that can BE cold!)
and i have asked you questions. they are in an email. i love you, you little baby ghost you
Yay Alex!!! Congrats, have loved following your lil Substack journey on here. I also love your "what would I do if my son came to me with this problem" -- gonna use that with my imaginary child
First, congrats on being a featured Substack, Alex! That's a great win, even though it leads to big first day of school energy. Loved that line, btw!
I'm gonna answer the "do you like yourself" question. The answer is, yes, I basically like myself, but my self has been a work in progress, so the degree to which I like myself has grown over the years. Some of that is just growing up, but it's not like people just magically learn to like themselves because they get older. In fact, people who don't put in the work to like themselves actually hate themselves more as they age. Studies prove this, but I can't show you the studies because I've only read the headlines.
But for real, I think you're doing the work you need to do to like yourself more and be happy, but you're in this middle period of your life where you're too old for all the youthful angst and you're too young to look back on everything. Basically, you're in the thick of it, and in the thick of it, it's really hard to be happy because you're mostly thinking about the next thing, or the thing that just happened that didn't go so well. But here's *the* thing: all that thinking is a choice. You can put your mind to future, or set it to the past, or you can set your mind to the present. And your present has a lot to offer, Alex! People who are strangers to you are reading your amazing work on the internet, and some of those people are paying you real money, which is actually fiat currency, but it's also a symbol of their passion for your work, because that's how capitalism works. So what I'm saying is, live in the now, dude, because right here, right now, you're crushing it. But also, none of this really matters because even if BAT went away, you'd still be an awesome dude with family and friends who love him, and sure everyone would be bummed that there's no BAT, but they'd be happy that you're here in this world with them, so what I'm getting at is that there's a lot of winning all around you.
My favorite is always your hyper-realistic photography (I guess that's redundant? All photography is hyper-realistic?)
Also, I noticed that, at the end of the day, we are still talking about the evergreen project of accessing The Party, in both a temporal and spatial sense.
“Stoicism is about the domestication of emotions, not their elimination.” - Nassim Taleb. THANK GOD. YES! Love the messiness of all of it, and the truth of all the feelings. So relateable and love that you're writing about and through all of it like this. Man, fuck stoicism!
1) NOT NEW SO NOT TELLING 3 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF YOU FUCKERS
2) yes
3) define "party"
4) 2023 is going....well? normally? quietly? knock on wood
I am really glad to BE here
not to be TOO much of a taylor swift fan but have you seen the ghosts in the anti-hero video?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1kbLwvqugk&ab_channel=TaylorSwiftVEVO
re: #3 – I think your identity is YOU, a guy who does not suck unless it's funny and you want to commit to the bit
omg Jesus on the top of that list took me out
everyone share your poop your pants story go
mine was unfortunately due to grad school, thai food, and power walking
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
brb gotta go write 600 individual hellos
"This identity is what drives me to succeed..." Of all of the reasons cited for not being able to accept success, this one strikes me as the most likely, and perhaps the most common. I think a lot of people rely on failure identity to motivate themselves to improve, fearing that if they saw themselves as successful, they'd lose their motivation, and then actually fail.
ALSO, would like some more detail (perhaps another illustration?) on this "food only for rich people."
ALSO, love the Nissam Taleb quote. He is SUCH a jerk and he says all the best things.
Woo hoo! I'm so happy for you, Alex! Success is a weird, ephemeral beast. And those new-subscriber dopamine hits are real. But all of that is background noise to the awesome work you're doing. Just keep being you! You're awesome. (And apparently Substack agrees with me!)
dear alex,
i love you and i love this and here are some specific things i love:
-- the elephant in the china shop
-- I’ve vetted each of you
-- I was shame
-- Still.I.Am
-- Cool people like Jesus, Bruce Lee, and Eminem
-- not sucking becomes existential threat
-- Even ghosts get the non-blues
-- retracting like a turtle in The Fast & The Furious
-- a literal photo of me taken minutes ago!
-- Papa Patriarchy
-- emotions aren't horses. Or rather, they are, but you better let them run wild and free.
-- so it's revolutionary for me to be excited about my dumb essays on poop? Yes. Yes it is.
-- I’m really glad you’re here
-- We're all just ghosts riding the wild horses of our emotions up and down this side of the beating heart
and now, for my answers to your questions:
If you’re new here, hi! tell us 3 things about you - 2 truths and 1 lie.
1) i'm not new here.
2) i'm old here.
3) i answered anyway even though i'm not new here.
4) i did three truths and one extra truth.
Do you like yourself? If so, how?
1) i do.
2) i am fortunate to have had a family that told me they loved me a lot. i also believe that everyone is lovable and also potentially likable. i also start a lot of days with gratitude journaling and whenever i see someone achieving something that i want, i'll strive to think about what i have, who i am, things in my life that other people would really be grateful to have. sometimes i'll think about myself as a little baby who deserves love (and LIKE), because i was a little baby like wilder is a little baby and YOU were a little baby. and still are! you're a little baby and i love you and i like you.
What party are you tryna get to before you can take off your ghost costume?
the communist party
(i'm not big on parties)
What else is going on how’s your week hows your 2023? Got any questions for me?
i have a little bit of a head cold (but i'm grateful i have a head that can BE cold!)
and i have asked you questions. they are in an email. i love you, you little baby ghost you
PS i think jesus MAY have been happy
Yay Alex!!! Congrats, have loved following your lil Substack journey on here. I also love your "what would I do if my son came to me with this problem" -- gonna use that with my imaginary child
First, congrats on being a featured Substack, Alex! That's a great win, even though it leads to big first day of school energy. Loved that line, btw!
I'm gonna answer the "do you like yourself" question. The answer is, yes, I basically like myself, but my self has been a work in progress, so the degree to which I like myself has grown over the years. Some of that is just growing up, but it's not like people just magically learn to like themselves because they get older. In fact, people who don't put in the work to like themselves actually hate themselves more as they age. Studies prove this, but I can't show you the studies because I've only read the headlines.
But for real, I think you're doing the work you need to do to like yourself more and be happy, but you're in this middle period of your life where you're too old for all the youthful angst and you're too young to look back on everything. Basically, you're in the thick of it, and in the thick of it, it's really hard to be happy because you're mostly thinking about the next thing, or the thing that just happened that didn't go so well. But here's *the* thing: all that thinking is a choice. You can put your mind to future, or set it to the past, or you can set your mind to the present. And your present has a lot to offer, Alex! People who are strangers to you are reading your amazing work on the internet, and some of those people are paying you real money, which is actually fiat currency, but it's also a symbol of their passion for your work, because that's how capitalism works. So what I'm saying is, live in the now, dude, because right here, right now, you're crushing it. But also, none of this really matters because even if BAT went away, you'd still be an awesome dude with family and friends who love him, and sure everyone would be bummed that there's no BAT, but they'd be happy that you're here in this world with them, so what I'm getting at is that there's a lot of winning all around you.
As an almost-crier myself, I get how huge 60% is! Substack got it right with BAT! Well deserved!
My favorite is always your hyper-realistic photography (I guess that's redundant? All photography is hyper-realistic?)
Also, I noticed that, at the end of the day, we are still talking about the evergreen project of accessing The Party, in both a temporal and spatial sense.
“Stoicism is about the domestication of emotions, not their elimination.” - Nassim Taleb. THANK GOD. YES! Love the messiness of all of it, and the truth of all the feelings. So relateable and love that you're writing about and through all of it like this. Man, fuck stoicism!