Welcome to another Nugget of Wisdom! A free post I send out once a week. These are designed to be short and sweet, a quick read to (hopefully) impart some sort of wisdom, or at the very least to get you thinking about something interesting.
This post is sponsored by Integra
Integra is launching as an L1 chain focused entirely on Real Estate, which has the potential to be an absolutely enormous market if (read: when) more real estate transactions move onchain. We're starting to see more L1s launch now with a singular purpose, rather than general purpose, and Integra is doing exactly that.
Set yourself up for future rewards by participating in their City Builder gamified experience. I’ve created my own city (Zen City) and you can join and earn XP by completing tasks.
It’s limited to 200 members, and free to participate, so I really do think it’s worth joining and spending a bit of time to get some XP.
Comparison is the thief of joy.. but it doesn’t have to be
I think at this point most people have heard the quote “comparison is the thief of joy”. Usually it’s said in reference to feeling some sort of negative emotions after comparing yourself to others.
Social media has really amplified this because people have a tendency to puff out their chests and show off the best version of themselves, while simultaneously hiding their flaws.
You see people’s biggest wins, but rarely their losses.
You see people’s photos from vacation, you never see photos from their cubicle at work.
You see photos of happy couples, not of couples fighting or bickering
You see photoshopped and picture perfect versions of just about everyone
So then you start to wonder what you’re doing wrong with your life. You’re not going on vacation right now, you’re not as attractive as this fake person, you’re not making winning trades, etc.
It’s a real problem and it really does lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.
I’m not sure why our brains do this, but it’s basically our automatic and default state to compare ourselves to others — and because we’re almost always seeing these great versions of people, we almost always seem pretty shitty by comparison.
So how do you combat it? By rewiring your brain and how you think, and forcing yourself to compare yourself to other people’s worsts.
A few examples of how I have done this in my own life:
In my early days of trading I would feel so bad when I did anything wrong like selling a token before it pumped, or holding something way too long. It really took a mental toll, especially cause it seemed like everyone around me was winning. But every now and then I would see someone make a post about how they lost everything (either trading, or getting drained). That is awful for them of course, but it also put things in perspective for my own situation. I then tried to remember those people whenever I started to feel bad about myself, and it genuinely helped me feel grateful for what I did have.
About two weeks ago we got some tragic news, that a friend unexpectedly passed away. He left behind a wife and young child. Just awful. No matter how bad a day I might be having, or how terrible I might be feeling in any situation, if I think about what that family must be going through… it immediately makes me feel grateful for what I have and fortunate about my own life. An extreme example, but a powerful one.
It even works comparing yourself to yourself! I’ll sometimes think back to the last time I was really ill, downbad with a high fever, body aches, sore throat, the whole shebang. In those moments, life felt so awful, and nothing I could do would really make it better. Simply not-being-sick is an amazing feeling, and focusing on it by thinking about the last time you were sick is a great way to trick your brain into feeling better.
These are my examples, you have to find some of your own. These mental gymnastics might not work for everyone but I found that it really works for me, so hopefully it helps some of you reading this as well.
Life is hard enough with the algorithms trying to maximize our engagement by shoving clickbait, ragebait, engagement-farming and extremely urnealistic content down our throats.
We need all the help we can get to defend our brains and mental health in this brave new digital world.
Thanks for reading! In case you missed it, check out Monday’s post below 👇
