Effort is evidence of broken feedback loops
Lucas Kohorst added
This is the feedback loop behind all human behavior: try, fail, learn, try differently.
James Clear • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Laborious solutions will often have more prestige in the short term. They cost a lot of effort and they're hard to understand, both of which impress people, at least temporarily.
Whereas some of the very best work will seem like it took comparatively little effort, because it was in a sense already there. It didn't have to be built, just seen. It's ... See more
Whereas some of the very best work will seem like it took comparatively little effort, because it was in a sense already there. It didn't have to be built, just seen. It's ... See more
How to Do Great Work
A tradeoff occurs every time you get feedback. You become slightly more mainstream, slightly more aligned with the zeitgeist. You become marginally more of an exploiter than an explorer , standing on the shoulders of the giants who conceived the paradigm you’re striving to build upon. This is very effective when you want to align your work with oth... See more
Leber • The Feedback Tradeoff
sari and added
When you’re exploring unknown territory or attempting difficult things, the feedback loop between effort and reward is laggy and unpredictable. It’s doubly hard when you’re simultaneously trying to wean yourself off a reliable source of pleasure, and overcome the constant temptation to return to its mediocre but familiar embrace.
Richard Meadows • Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World
Keeping a good thing going is hard, and if you have the skills to do it, it kinda makes sense to focus your use of those skills in domains that are more rewarding. This creates “missing markets” that are only served by thankless volunteers who are suckers for pain.
writing a facebook status in 2024
Leo Guinan added
This feels extremely profound. We end up creating broken systems sustained by masochists.
sari and added
Don’t get too excited about new systems you build for yourself (here’s a transcription of an audio note from Plexus):
... See moreYou have an early excitement for the fact that you've designed something, that you've taken initiative, that you are, you know, making a move to better yourself and close the gap between where you are and your vision. That's all ver
Michael Dean and added