Shit sentiment tbh. The climate crisis has never been as bad, we’re also experiencing the fastest mass extinction event in history. Far right parties dismantle democracies around the world, there’s nowhere to go if you wanted to flee (besides, mass surveillance, border militarization and growing xenophobia made escaping much harder than it used to be). Life has rarely been as expensive as it is currently. So no, the world has never been as on fire as it is right now.
What control do you have over any of that? Adjust how much you focus on something by how much you can control it, and you’ll be much happier.
Yeah, the climate crisis is bad, and has been for 50+ years, it’s just getting a lot more media attention lately. Yes, politics is a mess (always has been), but it’s getting a lot more media attention lately. Surveillance is bad, but rights have always been stripped as much as the powers that be can get away with, it’s just a lot more accessible these days w/ technological progress.
Life has rarely been as expensive as it is currently.
Life is around the cheapest it has ever been, if you exclude the last few years or so of inflation, at least in terms of what a typical person can afford. The main problem I see today is that access to credit (i.e. spending more than you have) is so prevalent, so many people get themselves into trouble by spending beyond their means.
If you focus on what you can control and do your best with that, you’ll be a lot happier. This means:
read less news - you’re more likely to get stressed than find something actionable
spend less time on social media - social media loves to hyper-focus on a handful of things it dislikes (e.g. climate change)
spend more time doing things you enjoy - get out in nature, work on hobbies, learn something new, etc
look for ways to improve your financial situation instead of wasting what little you have medicating the first two bullet points here
Doing more of things that make you happy and less of things that stress you out. Generally speaking, you’ll be better off that way, and your capacity to fix the things that stress you out will increase.
However, disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo. Too many libs care more about brunch than about climate change which is partly why we’re so deep in shit.
You might be right about affordability of fringe high tech products and fashion, but at least four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing. Now, buying a house is impossible and renting is expensive as fuck. My financial situation is fine (luckily) but seeing people around me struggle does not make me feel great tbh.
The advice that helped me way more than any of the calendar mottos you had to offer was ‘get organized’ and ‘improve your behavior’. I joined a party and local mutual aid orgs, stopped eating meat, sold my car, and stopped flying. Now I’m at peace because I know, even if everything goes to shit, it’s not my fault and I did everything I could. Put me mentally in a very good place.
disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo
I’m not suggesting that, I’m suggesting reality is broader than whatever comes in a news feed. You have limited time and energy, so it’s best to spend that on things you can impact instead of stressing about things you can’t.
Details about circle of control vs circle of interest
I like the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and in it the author breaks things into three groups (image version):
circle of concern
circle of influence
circle of control
You should be spending time from bottom up, and the more you do that, the more those circles will expand.
For example, let’s say you’re concerned about climate change, but you’re currently not equipped to do much about it. Instead of spending time worrying about it, focus on other parts of your life to become able to do something about it. Get your financial situation in order by getting a good job and getting some savings. With that, you’ll have flexibility to get even better jobs (skill up, take risks, etc), and you can eventually scale back your work and focus on policy (e.g. lobby for legislative change, or even run for office).
If you hyperfocus on what’s wrong w/ the world but don’t grow your ability to deal with it, you’ll just become depressed and angry, and that doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, grow your capacity to impact the world first, and you’ll eventually be able to solve those problems.
four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing
That’s just not true.
TL;DR - housing ownership is increasing, but getting later in life
What has changed is the average age of first time home buyers. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, but one key factor is that the percentage of homeowners who are married is reducing. That means a higher overall demand for housing since people are expecting to live separately or have more fluid living arrangements.
There’s a far more recent affordability problem though, which stems from supply chain disruptions during COVID, which caused new construction to fall off a cliff. That trickles down to all types of housing, including apartments. That’s not a generations-long problem though.
In the past, multiple generations lived together, whereas today, everyone seems to want to live separately. It’s a complex issue, but I don’t see the trend you claim exists.
it’s not my fault
That’s part of what I’m talking about, but just saying, “did my part, screw you” isn’t the right solution either. The proper solution is to improve your ability to make an impact. Start with your own personal sustainability, then increase to local issues (help keep your parks and rivers clean), regional areas (push for local regulations/taxes to reduce pollution), and eventually more broad (lobby/run for office).
A lot of people get stuck even before the first step, they get overwhelmed at the things they can’t control and waste what few resources they had, instead of conserving them and growing what they’re able to control.
zoomers don’t leave the house because the world is currently on fire
World has always been on fire
Shit sentiment tbh. The climate crisis has never been as bad, we’re also experiencing the fastest mass extinction event in history. Far right parties dismantle democracies around the world, there’s nowhere to go if you wanted to flee (besides, mass surveillance, border militarization and growing xenophobia made escaping much harder than it used to be). Life has rarely been as expensive as it is currently. So no, the world has never been as on fire as it is right now.
What control do you have over any of that? Adjust how much you focus on something by how much you can control it, and you’ll be much happier.
Yeah, the climate crisis is bad, and has been for 50+ years, it’s just getting a lot more media attention lately. Yes, politics is a mess (always has been), but it’s getting a lot more media attention lately. Surveillance is bad, but rights have always been stripped as much as the powers that be can get away with, it’s just a lot more accessible these days w/ technological progress.
Life is around the cheapest it has ever been, if you exclude the last few years or so of inflation, at least in terms of what a typical person can afford. The main problem I see today is that access to credit (i.e. spending more than you have) is so prevalent, so many people get themselves into trouble by spending beyond their means.
If you focus on what you can control and do your best with that, you’ll be a lot happier. This means:
Doing more of things that make you happy and less of things that stress you out. Generally speaking, you’ll be better off that way, and your capacity to fix the things that stress you out will increase.
Thanks for your effort post.
However, disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo. Too many libs care more about brunch than about climate change which is partly why we’re so deep in shit.
You might be right about affordability of fringe high tech products and fashion, but at least four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing. Now, buying a house is impossible and renting is expensive as fuck. My financial situation is fine (luckily) but seeing people around me struggle does not make me feel great tbh.
The advice that helped me way more than any of the calendar mottos you had to offer was ‘get organized’ and ‘improve your behavior’. I joined a party and local mutual aid orgs, stopped eating meat, sold my car, and stopped flying. Now I’m at peace because I know, even if everything goes to shit, it’s not my fault and I did everything I could. Put me mentally in a very good place.
I’m not suggesting that, I’m suggesting reality is broader than whatever comes in a news feed. You have limited time and energy, so it’s best to spend that on things you can impact instead of stressing about things you can’t.
Details about circle of control vs circle of interest
I like the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and in it the author breaks things into three groups (image version):
You should be spending time from bottom up, and the more you do that, the more those circles will expand.
For example, let’s say you’re concerned about climate change, but you’re currently not equipped to do much about it. Instead of spending time worrying about it, focus on other parts of your life to become able to do something about it. Get your financial situation in order by getting a good job and getting some savings. With that, you’ll have flexibility to get even better jobs (skill up, take risks, etc), and you can eventually scale back your work and focus on policy (e.g. lobby for legislative change, or even run for office).
If you hyperfocus on what’s wrong w/ the world but don’t grow your ability to deal with it, you’ll just become depressed and angry, and that doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, grow your capacity to impact the world first, and you’ll eventually be able to solve those problems.
That’s just not true.
TL;DR - housing ownership is increasing, but getting later in life
Here’s some stats for the last 130 or so years for homeownership rates in the US. It has kind of plateaued, probably because there will always be a fairly large part of the population that prefers to rent, as well as a large portion who hasn’t yet gotten the means to own (e.g. young people).
What has changed is the average age of first time home buyers. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, but one key factor is that the percentage of homeowners who are married is reducing. That means a higher overall demand for housing since people are expecting to live separately or have more fluid living arrangements.
There’s a far more recent affordability problem though, which stems from supply chain disruptions during COVID, which caused new construction to fall off a cliff. That trickles down to all types of housing, including apartments. That’s not a generations-long problem though.
In the past, multiple generations lived together, whereas today, everyone seems to want to live separately. It’s a complex issue, but I don’t see the trend you claim exists.
That’s part of what I’m talking about, but just saying, “did my part, screw you” isn’t the right solution either. The proper solution is to improve your ability to make an impact. Start with your own personal sustainability, then increase to local issues (help keep your parks and rivers clean), regional areas (push for local regulations/taxes to reduce pollution), and eventually more broad (lobby/run for office).
A lot of people get stuck even before the first step, they get overwhelmed at the things they can’t control and waste what few resources they had, instead of conserving them and growing what they’re able to control.
Delusional
thats not an excuse to be even more miserable. not that i dont do this too but still.
You have the opportunity to help shape the new world.
… and if you’re a stick (or a plant in general), the best thing you can do in that case is to not leave the house.
Sometimes the best thing a flower can do is die
…wait I think that’s the wrong reference
if you’re a plant, throw some seeds, bury them, hope they’ll make it once the climate’s better.