I really enjoy stacker news. It's pretty much the only place where I interact with others online. This is my community. There were a few days recently when a spent a good chunk of my days on here. I put out a few posts that did pretty well. It felt really good to have so much engagement with you all.. I even noticed that I was even starting to move up the leaderboard.
I am someone who can we easily get looped into things. I tend to get hyper focused on one part of my reality and I struggle to get out. I've experienced this in the past with work, weed, sex, among other things. On stacker, I found myself checking for notifications non-stop. I was checking to see where I was on the leaderboard many times a day. I was feeling addicted to the feeling I got when I saw I had moved up the board. I was craving attention of any type. And, my ego was kicking in big time.
What really highlighted this is when I let another stacker trigger me and pull me down to a level where I don't like to go. I said things that were mean, my ego was raging. I felt angry. I started plotting ways to get back at them and prove my position. I let them get the best of me. This is not me and I never want to show up this way.
So I am taking a break. I still have work to do when it comes to balancing how I spend my time and energy. Sometimes a temporary clean break is the best. So my intent is to stay off my phone and stacker for at least a couple days. I am posting this, in part, because it will help me keep myself accountable.
Do you feel balanced in how you spend your time? Have you ever let someone pull you down to a place where you don't like to go? Can you recognize when your ego is running the show? How much stacker is too much stacker? Does it really matter where we are on the leaderboard?
I won't be responding for a couple days but when I get back, I look forward to hearing from and responding to you all. I love you all. Have a beautiful day. 💚
Good luck. Yes, sometimes I need a break too. Once I stayed away for almost an hour and a half. Seriously, I think we all have experienced becoming obsessed with certain parts of our life to the detriment of others. Balance is important. Enjoy the break.
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Hope the distance gives you a mental break. This is a little extreme but check out Vipassana. My wife and I did it recently and it was quite the experience. https://www.dhamma.org/en/index
Not SN-related but I have felt thoughts about bitcoin overtaking my mind every living second. The only way I've found to manage this overwhelming feeling is to stay present, take deep breaths, and enjoy what is unfolding in front of me rather than daydreaming about what I should write about next.
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Good luck on your break. SN will still be here.
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Obsession or addiction for anything is bad. I hope you get away with your thoughts pretty soon.
But, I also feel that staying away from something that's good for you isn't the solution. Instead you can mend your way of thinking about it. Just take it easy, it's another platform where we gather without daggers. We just talk to each other, nothing else. For you increasing obsession, I would suggest you to practice resistance for not looking at what you actually are obsessed. Just deny your mind when it lures you.
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That's really good self awareness. If everyone practiced that, you might not need to take a break.
One tip is that you can turn off a lot of those notifications and hide yourself on the leaderboard. Since you've identified those as toxic elements for you, it might help you stay balanced.
As for getting dragged into ugly exchanges, I struggle with that too. I try to be open to the possibility of being wrong or having misunderstood the other person, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses. There are people who are not engaging in good faith (whether they realize that or not) and you just won't have a productive disagreement with them.
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Yeah I haven’t used it since my last post, and then I browsed once today and clicked this post.
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The need to take a break reaches us all at some point in relation to something. In this case you will be taking a break from SN.
For my part, on several occasions I have tried to take a break from some routines but what I am passionate about, I am passionate about and I cannot leave it.
Recently I was posting how since I discovered Bitcoin I am calmer because I freed myself from shitty coins, which made me waste so much time and stress myself out for no reason.
Of course, SN is another thing. I commented on a post about loneliness, while I am on SN I do not feel alone, I am surrounded by people who make intelligent comments, news that make me think and motivate me to comment and interact.
Take a break, it will be restorative. When the time comes for me, I will consider whether I take a vacation.
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Internet like politics brings out the worst of us. Most people would be friends/friendly and respectful in person. Can't let yourself take things too seriously. Hope you stick around.
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Balance is key. But Harmony is a better word. Find what mix works for you on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
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It happens to the best of us.
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On the Southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus is located the Temple of Apollo. It is near the modern town Delphi. Inscribed at the entrance is written "Γνῶθι σεαυτόν" which means, "Know thyself". Socrates made this profound phrase rather well known. Your post reminded me of this, which I visited once while reading through the complete works of Plato. Cheers.
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SN is a much better experience and community than most social media/online forums but it is still good to take a breather once and awhile.
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Excellent reflection, the same thing has happened to me with my projects or the same SN that you reach a point of obsession and that state is not healthy, but the most important thing is to be able to react to those moments and disconnect to rebalance just as you do now. Good luck 🍀 and enjoy your temporary retreat.
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You do what you need to do to keep yourself in the right frame of mind. Hoping for the best for you, OP.
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That leaderboard should go...
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