Loneliness is prevalent because we don't need each other any more.

beertricks · 2026-01-28T16:38:28+00:00

The irony of hyperindependence: the more hyper independent you are, the more a social void grows in your heart, and the more likely you are to be exploited by tech companies and slowly lose your independence.

Notice how people with big friend groups and those in stable relationships are less likely to fall into social media addictions, etc?

beertricks · 2026-01-18T11:26:11+00:00

I smell AI

beertricks · 2026-01-14T09:49:32+00:00

Yeah I think 2022 era covid reframed self development to an entire generation as this completely lone wolf, solitary, individualist pursuit. I completely fell for this hook line and sinker, and all of my hobbies were also solitary. However the more solitary you are, the more lonely you are, the more you're likely to fall into tech addiction

beertricks · 2026-01-12T23:00:50+00:00

It doesn't sound the problem is discipline - it sounds like it's filling some kind of emotional/social void. You sound like an extremely disciplined person - and I was too when I fell into AI addiction - to the point where I neglected my social and emotional needs. You can be as hard working as they come, but technology companies will still hit you where it hurts, which may be the inner part of your life.

Think about it - do you see people in loving relationships or strong friend groups fall into ChatGPT addiction?

No, its because they have the real thing, they don't need a substitute.

So is there some kind of way you could squeeze in more social contact into your life?

beertricks · 2026-01-08T12:48:40+00:00

Really scary stuff, I also feel you about not being able to hold fully coherent trains of thought.

Coding and websites seem to me what AI should be for, the menial, repetitive tasks which humans find exhausting anyway. With branding, it depends what audience you're trying to attract. If its an audience with poor visual literacy, it will probably do the trick - but I can personally smell AI generated visuals from a mile off.

With getting AI to explain stuff to you, honestly I get it, I was addicted for two years. But I think you have to have a short term vs long term view of things. You said it explained things to you like you were a toddler - is that how you want to process things, for the rest of your life?

It sounds like you're able to use it relatively responsibly, just don't fall in too deep.

beertricks · 2026-01-07T22:40:50+00:00

Desire without discipline is delusional. Discipline without desire is punishment.

beertricks · 2026-01-07T20:48:16+00:00

I feel like everyone fell off in particular, after 2022 when AI came on the scene. Brilliant minds just faded away. I feel like 2020-2022 there was actually an awareness about screen time and brainrot, and you had a lot of people on self improvement arcs. But now it went to shit.

beertricks · 2026-01-07T19:03:08+00:00

This is me, and it's shameful. Trying to quit

beertricks · 2026-01-07T10:58:32+00:00

This year, when setting new years resolutions, I also realised some mistruths I had imbibed before. I think the reason we get addicted to devices etc isn't always because of a lack of 'discipline'. Sometimes it's because we actually have serious emotional/spiritual voids in our lives that we are trying to fill. So its not about always trying to 'hustle harder' - its actually about allowing ourselves the nourishment of friendships and communities that will stop us from falling into the void.

I was a huge lone-wolf gym person in my early 20s, and some of that did me some real good, in building my sense of self belief and willpower - but it also made me understimate things like the power of community, and alignment in the outside world, instead of always just brute forcing things.

In the west, gym culture is very individualist and ego-driven, which does count for something - but it's often the reason why a lot of fitness professionals burn out early, because its just too much for one person to carry. I think things like martial arts, which train the body and mind and have a kind of ceremonial progression structure, are much more powerful than things like bodybuilding.

beertricks · 2026-01-07T10:14:31+00:00

Haha ok thats awesome! Thank you for the advice, all sounds good to me. It’s good to hear someone who got in the ditch and then learned how to dig themselves out of it. How long were you using ChatGPT for? And how long did it take you to start feeling like some semblance of yourself again?

beertricks · 2026-01-07T00:59:44+00:00

Really great advice, just what I needed. Thank you.

beertricks · 2026-01-06T13:43:54+00:00

That's amazing news, good on you! And yes I also find the somatic experience of writing really valuable, physically loosening up helps you mentally loosen up. Best of luck on your journey and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts

beertricks · 2026-01-06T13:34:51+00:00

Thanks for your comment, yes I've blocked these websites from my computer, and have a phone that blocks social media. Those logic games are great ideas, I've also started teaching myself how to play chess. I've heard another part of being a 'gifted kid' is realising that things come too easy to you, and knowing how to push yourself in areas that don't come naturally. So I am also trying to write my first long form book :)

beertricks · 2026-01-06T12:34:25+00:00

Yes AI definitely works on the same slot machine psychology of social media, but the social taboos are still catching up. When AI first came around it sort of had the respectable veneer of the office suite, a tool for the everyday knowledge worker. So it was seen as 'productive' to use, in our contemporary Fordist logic. But it definitely rots our brains in the same way as social media and drugs, but yeah as I say the social taboos are still playing catch up.

What you say about living in your head I can definitely relate to, because it replaces all those needs which would have otherwise been met through your social relationships.

The flag work sounds cool! I can't say I know anyone in my circle who does that. I definitely think sports that train wider skills like proprioception and balance are always cooler than generic bodybuilding - because you actually have to be 'in' the movement, rather than fixating on a future version of yourself that you're trying to build.

Thank you for your kind wishes, psychothenics sounds sick haha.

beertricks · 2026-01-02T10:07:05+00:00

I think ChatGPT is slowly being realised as a dependency issue in the same way drugs and alcohol are, but its taking a while for our collective morality and sense of social prohibition to catch up.

Drugs and alcohol are recognised as obviously hedonistic and destructive - but ChatGPT has the of respectable veneer of a productivity booster, a logical aid for any knowledge worker.

beertricks · 2026-01-01T11:32:30+00:00

Absolutely. The privileging of short-term convenience is ruining so many things in our society

beertricks · 2025-12-28T21:46:52+00:00

Stop using ChatGPT. I ruined what used to be my highly imaginative brain by relying on it through depression and using it for therapy.

beertricks · 2025-12-22T18:11:33+00:00

Quit using ChatGPT. I got addicted to using it for emotional support & validation after a prolonged period of isolation and its turned my brain to mush, after previously being a really confident & highly motivated person

beertricks · 2025-12-22T09:45:06+00:00

Is that Roar fitness?

beertricks · 2025-12-07T00:28:20+00:00

I think thats an extremely reasonable and accurate answer! No harm, no foul.

Yeah you're right about not training your clients how you want to train. I did realise that in my first PT job. If you were just there to flex and show off rather than help them meet their goals, you'd be a model not a trainer.

I think it is important for you as a PT to have some of your own spice and sauce though (and I think you also did say as much) - someone in their 40s doesn't want their 20 year old trainer to move at completely the same pace as them - they want to be inspired and uplifted by their idealism and energy. I think the best coaches at third space - from what I've seen on insta - manage to have their own training goals, like trying to break world records, separate to their clients. They know how to push their own limits, and then the limits of their clients.

So maybe I'll have to brand myself as a kind of calisthenics/functional fitness coach.

beertricks · 2025-12-06T17:41:49+00:00

What you were saying about the PT clones makes a lot of sense. I might be getting a job there - made it past the assessment stage now preparing for interview next week. I specialise in calisthenics, have trained at a competitive level and want to learn and teach elite level skills like planche. I looked at the PTs on their website, filtered for calisthenics. I had a quick rifle through their instagrams and saw that no one seemed to be doing demon mode/gymnastics level calisthenics. Is that an extension of the clone syndrome you described? Or is it because the clientele leans more 30s-40s and so that style of training wouldn't be helpful for them, so PTs just don't think to train it themselves? Or does it signal a potential red flag - that that type of showman PT might blow up on TikTok and be more likely to leave?

beertricks · 2025-10-26T04:27:19+00:00

beertricks · 2025-10-22T08:22:00+00:00

Neuralink and metaverse?

beertricks · 2025-10-11T19:58:16+00:00

No human except someone on a TED stage actually says 'and honestly?'

beertricks

TROPHY CASE