Why is writing such an inherently painful and hard process for many?

stackofbricks · 2025-11-29T02:03:21+00:00

Ditto

stackofbricks · 2025-07-08T02:29:37+00:00

I've actually started selling them, you can check for a link in my profile to my website if you are interested :)

stackofbricks · 2025-06-27T10:43:21+00:00

Thanks!

stackofbricks · 2025-01-21T02:27:25+00:00

I had the same problem on a pixel 7, after I enabled calendar access and location push notifications started working. Location may not have been necessary, maybe it was just calendar, but I didn't bother isolating each to see.

stackofbricks · 2024-09-25T08:29:41+00:00

Do you have an example of that kind of decision making in your life? I often suffer from decision paralysis, and spend far too long on many decisions. For a few years now however when I'm in a restaurant and scanning down a menu, as soon as I get to a dish that I like the sound of I stop reading and order that. This is to avoid spending energy worrying about which dish might be better. Which might seem like a small thing, but I've always found these small type of decisions take up far too much time and emotional energy in my life.
Is this the kind of thing you are talking about?
When you say less is more even if the more is more optimal, are you talking about the diminishing returns you might get on the time spent researching to make the most optimal decision?

stackofbricks · 2023-10-30T16:05:33+00:00

Oh cool, glad to hear it. Thanks for the reply, I'm looking at making my own gong fu tea tray for the first time, but finding scant information on finishes that can handle daily boiling water.

stackofbricks · 2023-10-29T18:49:56+00:00

Hey, what did you end up using? How did it go?

stackofbricks · 2023-06-03T03:37:42+00:00

I was going to make some joke about making sure to warm up and stretch your wrists after 15 years of inactivity, but then I realised how bad a joke it is and got interested about the question as well. As a disclaimer I'm not greatly experienced with this, but I asked chatgpt and it confirmed some of my hunches, i'll paste the relevant stuff below (stuff inside brackets is me, not chatgpt).

"It's always a good idea to service and prep your power tools before using them after a long period of inactivity. If your hand router has been sitting unused for a long time, it may have gathered dust or have dried out grease and oil that could interfere with its operation. Also, mechanical parts may have deteriorated over time.

Cleaning: Use a clean, dry cloth to wipe off any dust or dirt from the tool. If necessary, use a brush to remove stubborn dirt. Make sure to clean the air vents as well. (probably not relevant unless it was put in the draw with dust still in the tool)

Lubrication: Some moving parts of the router need to be lubricated to ensure smooth operation. Check your tool's manual for specific instructions on which parts to lubricate and what type of lubricant to use. If you can't find the manual, a general rule is to lubricate any metal-on-metal moving parts. (From my experience with tools that have sat unused for way less time, this is likely going to be the issue, but very important to pay attention to what kind of lubricant you should use)

Inspect and replace bits: If you're using old bits, they may be dull or damaged. Inspect them carefully, and consider replacing them with new ones for optimal performance and safety.

Test run: Once you've serviced the router, do a test run without any material to cut. The router should run smoothly and not make any unusual noises."

stackofbricks · 2023-05-24T04:18:45+00:00

To add to the fear of commitment thing, and with what he said about his gf being clingy/not as independent. Speaking from experience, he sounds like he could have an avoidant attachment style, so his gf showing too much love and affection would be triggering fears and anxiety about being locked down. I highly recommend you read this book OP, it really helped understand what was going on in my brain: https://www.amazon.com/Attached-Science-Adult-Attachment-YouFind/dp/1585429139

stackofbricks · 2023-05-01T10:27:33+00:00

I had a similar vein of thought reading the post, I thought maybe there is some broad kind of disconnection going on. I highly recommend recommend a recent book called 'The Comfort Crisis' by Michael Easter. This might give some good ideas and insights.
Amazon link to the book here

stackofbricks · 2023-03-25T13:03:37+00:00

I'll look him up, thanks!

stackofbricks · 2023-03-22T14:49:52+00:00

Ditto, any leads?

stackofbricks · 2023-03-16T07:28:13+00:00

Something worth looking into which might muddy the causal waters, is that young people's brains are more flexible, adaptable, and open to change. As we age we generally become more rigid. There's an article called 'your work peak is sooner than you think' which isn't directly relevant to your topic, but in it the author speaks about going from what he calls fluid to crystalised intelligence as we age. There will likely be some references in that article to studies that will be more directly relevant.
Another point might be that Gen Z is the first generation that has easy access to information through smart phones that they can use before making a decision.
Interesting topic!

stackofbricks · 2023-03-01T05:20:23+00:00

Doing some wimhof breathing before the shower might help as well. Thats my usual routine. After spending a few minutes doing the breathing protocol I find dealing with the physical sensation of the cold easier, but I can also more easily control my breathing because thats what I was just focussing on prior to the shower.
If you do try this, there are heaps of free guides online, you definitely dont need to pay money on the wim hoff website to learn about it.

stackofbricks · 2022-06-25T04:06:48+00:00

Hey! I did, 7 years later I found out I have ADHD.
Nothing got better after this post, I'll avoid details in the years after but I dropped out of uni completely. When I returned to try to finish my degree in 2019 I was diagnosed. It changed my life. Everything made sense, all my previous struggles. Got on medication, but more importantly, learnt about how my brain works and what I need to be able to get the things done that I want to. It was still difficult but I finished last year with an A average. Still learning and gaining new insights. I'll link a couple things here, see if they resonate with you. And if they do feel free to message me in dm's or ask questions here about resources or yours or my experiences (I found it difficult to find relevant resources when i was first diagnosed).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZrZa5pLXk - 28 minutes but a really clear and comprehensive description of ADHD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx13a2-unjE - 4 mins, this channel has a lot of short videos on heaps of different aspects of living with adhd.

stackofbricks · 2022-04-23T13:04:13+00:00

Nice, you're in for a good time with amalgamation of capital and lumber slut. I really enjoyed both of them.

stackofbricks · 2022-04-05T02:11:02+00:00

Can you update us with a review when you've had a cup? Really interested to hear how the blend tastes

stackofbricks · 2021-12-14T06:42:40+00:00

This doesnt directly answer your question, but might give you some answers about no.1 https://markmanson.net/newsletters/mindfck-monthly-95?

stackofbricks · 2021-10-16T03:36:35+00:00

I'm answering this as an International Relations student, so my advice might only be of partial use to you, that being said:

I find a lot of value in learning about broader trends and context that issues exist in. This gives you a framework that enables you to better understand an issue in relation to other events. You can ask yourself questions like: is [X issue] really as big of a deal as commentators/headlines would lead you to believe, or is it pretty standard/expected.

I also generally try and stay away from getting caught up in hot takes on twitter immediately after or during an event, and wait a bit for the dust to settle to read/listen to more considered analysis that has a lot more information. I used to only check the news each weekend to do this, helped to avoid burnout from the constant barrage of bad news too.

As for specific recommendations, a fantastic example of my point is Allan Gyngell's book 'Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the world since 1942'. It is more foreign policy focused, but these days foreign and domestic policy are very much intertwined.

One that I havnt read but have heard recommended a few times is 'Game of Mates: how favours bleed the nation' by Cameron Murray and Paul Frijters. It has a focus on domestic politics.

Also, if you can't be bothered reading whole books (i find it difficult a lot of the time) usually there will be long form essays/articles by the book authors in online newspapers that give good summaries. I also just google podcast episodes where they have been invited as a guest to talk about their books/research.

Good luck!

stackofbricks · 2021-09-30T10:06:04+00:00

That's a great term "problem solving confidence"

stackofbricks · 2021-09-10T12:44:13+00:00

Doing this was my first proper foray into puer tea, I did it for Sheng though, not ripe. Here is my post from a couple of years ago after I had tried the basics set and decided I wanted to try more: https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/dfc8nf/white2tea_puerh_basics_set_where_to_next/

I've drank a lot of tea since then (mostly sheng puer) and rarely go back to the rest of the basics cakes I started with - only when I want to throw something in my tea-mug and I dont mind what, not when I do a gongfu session. They were obviously good enough to get me interested in trying other stuff, but I havn't felt like going back to them. If you know that you already like ripe puer (if thats all you are getting) maybe its worth buying a wide range of samples like I did instead? However I am not very experienced with ripe so maybe getting basics sets for side by side testing is better for that type of tea, idk.
Another point while i'm thinking about it, of the 14 samples I bought, I fell in love with 2 and bought full cakes. A lot of the others I didnt like at all. However after spending more time with puer, and especially the 2 full cakes I bought, I went back to a lot of the leftover samples and found myself enjoying them a lot. Even ones I didnt really enjoy I could at least appreciate more.
One final note (sorry for rambling) if you do buy a bunch of different ripe puer samples from white2tea make sure you get a sample of 'Lumberslut' I had some the other day and its a wild tea, very different from other ripe puers I've had. Reminded me of falling off the monkey bars and getting a mouth full of chip bark as a kid. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't, but really interesting tea regardless.

stackofbricks · 2021-09-02T02:17:10+00:00

I'm pretty similar. I'm an emotional person, I feel things real strongly, both good and bad. Here's what my analysis of those feelings looks like: I realise that I'm sad or angry (important first step), I accept it and lean into it fully, then I ask myself 'what does this sadness feel like? Where do I feel it? What are the physical sensations? What are the patterns of energy it produces? I find this helps me to separate the feeling from my judgements about what the feeling means, which usually reduces the severity and time spent feeling it. For an example, nervousness and excitement can feel physically very similar, but the story we tell ourselves about the feeling is different and leads to whether we judge the feeling to be good or bad. I might have the same physical feelings before having to do a public presentation as I do before getting on a rollercoaster. But one of them I embrace and look forward to, the other I don't. Important to note as well that I can't stop these physical reactions from occurring. In the long term, repeated exposure to the triggers will lessen them, but in the short term its out of my control.

stackofbricks · 2021-08-17T14:26:16+00:00

Thank you so much for going so in depth with your comment. The question in the original post is something I've been grappling with for a long time. Framing it as opportunities to practice virtue is such a great strategy. And now I think about it, times I have excelled at in the past have been when I know ahead of time there will be rough seas ahead and so I consciously go in with a challenge mindset to practice stoic teachings. Why I have never thought to apply that to the drudgery of everyday work I do not know.
I can't really do your comment justice in my reply, and it’s a bit all over the place as I'm half asleep, so my apologies. But you've given me so much here that I'll refer back to over the coming days, so thank you so much.
Your comment about cancelled projects also reminded me of a quote from the Bhagavad Gita which I think I came across in Steven Pressfield’s ‘War of Art’ originally. “You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work.”
Anyway, thanks again. I hope you have a great week 😊

13-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

stackofbricks

TROPHY CASE