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Why Envy Is Useless – Nerdful Mind #90

October 3, 2021 by Simon Mannes

Envy is useless.

There are people who are much better Node devs than I am. There are much better dancers. Many people are fitter, and many earn more than I do.

Someone will always be "better" in some aspect.

But that doesn't matter because it's just an aspect of their life.

I only envy one part of someone's life. But I can't be part-them-part-me. I must take the entire cake or nothing. And there are parts of my life I love and that I don't want to switch with anybody else.

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” ― Rumi

Every person out there you envy has aspects of their life you wouldn't want to have. Let it be.

Reading Recommendations

Stuck inside your home this Groundhog Day? Be like Phil the weatherman, and try some mindfulness

“Mindfulness does not mean turning away from difficulty. It is a practice of meeting difficulty with compassion. Though Phil finally accepts that there might not be a tomorrow, nevertheless he acts to ensure that if tomorrow comes for himself and those around him, it will be better than today.”

Visual Illusions and Optical Illusions Are Not the Same

At first glance, this might be seemingly pedantic in the extreme – par for the course for a society that is increasingly engaged in playing language games. However, this is not just semantics – these terms refer to quite different processes that reflect profound metaphysical differences. Admittedly, conflating different phenomena is surprisingly common in psychology.”

Goodbye, Object Oriented Programming

“I’ve been programming in Object Oriented languages for decades. The first OO language I used was C++ and then Smalltalk and finally .NET and Java. I was gung-ho to leverage the benefits of Inheritance, Encapsulation, and Polymorphism. The Three Pillars of the Paradigm.”

Weekly Mindfulness Practice

The next time you’re outdoors, try a walking meditation. It only adds a few minutes to your route, and walking is a great opportunity to practice mindfulness.

Before you start walking, stand still and focus on your next two to three breaths.

Now shift your attention to your feet. Do you feel your weight on the floor?

Start walking slowly before going to your usual walking speed. Focus on the sensations in your feet on each step.

Use the sensations in your feet as your anchor, and return to them when your mind wanders off.

End Note

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Have a great week

Simon

PS: What do you think about this? Please hit reply and let me know. I'm curious!