coolmaycroft reblogged
BIG fan of taking it easy. HUGE enthusiast of chilling. MASSIVE supporter of not taking things in the worst way and assuming the worst from the get go.
No joke answer: Yes.
- If you have a problem, think about it this way: Can you do something about it? If yes, then it’s not such a big problem, the problem has a solution, it may not be easy, but you have agency over it. If not, then why fry your nerves over it? Don’t just linger about, obviously, but you now know what to do next, which is to find where in the issue at hand you have any agency, and if it doesn’t exist, then make it so you do. Overall, taking it easy is not about not doing anything about something, it’s simply understanding which route it is you need to take about any problem. Take it easy, but take it. The moment you understand how to have agency in your life, the good and the bad, it suddenly becomes a lot more manageable.
- Chilling is one of the most important parts of being a human. This isn’t philosophical or #goodvibes, this is a proven biological and psychological fact about humans. We love chilling! We have different definitions of chilling, however, and that’s where it gets hard: I think most of us know that chilling is good, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t actually know how to chill. For some, it’s sinking deep and nice into their hobbies, for others, it’s working and perfecting their craft. Basically, you need to find what IS it that makes you enter the state of chilling, because maybe you’ve just seen what works for other people, but haven’t necessarily found what works for you. It’s introspective work, chilling is no joke the reward for a lot of introspective work, but once you nail it, you reap the rewards forever.
- You don’t need to be right on the internet. It literally doesn’t matter. You don’t need to correct people on anything and everything they are wrong about or didn’t go into full detail about. There’s times, as with everything, where a correction about the topic at hand or further elaboration is necessary, and it’s not few times, but you’ll also find that there’s a ton of times where you don’t need to engage. You straight up don’t. You’re not going to look smarter for collecting every Argument Point out there in the wild, there’s no reward for the 100% Clear of Correcting People On The Internet. Save it for when it matters, when the topic and the end result of the correction matter. Please re-read that: Sometimes it can be a very important topic, but are you actually achieving anything beyond stroking your own need to look smart, good, compassionate, etc on the internet? You could be using all that time to take it easy or chill instead. This goes doubly if you dabbled into debates and stuff like that, and I say this as someone who used to be in the debate club for my university: Debating is probably one of the least efficient ways to have a conversation, because you’re always going in with the mentality of “I have to destroy the other person’s argument”. You become the least likable person in the room for very little efficiency and gain. Engage in good faith, make it explicit you are engaging in good faith, because it’s very easy to misunderstand or misinterpret intent on the internet due to cultural differences, lack of metalinguistic components to the conversation such as tone, voice, etc in text, and if the other person won’t engage in good faith, ask yourself: Is this particular interaction worth my time, in terms of topic and end result, or do I just not engage with this person? I’ll tell you off the hip, people that make a Big Serious Argument out of everything are the people I respect the least, and I don’t think I’m alone, because, well, why should you care about what someone so terminally online that their self-worth is directly tied to their Internet Fight Points has to say? You don’t know them, it’s literally a worthless interaction most of the time, just take it easy and chill instead. On the other hand, you have a good faith conversation or argument with someone if you two engage in good faith, and that is a pretty enriching experience to have. You may not change each others’ opinions, but your worldview will expand, and with that, your empathy and understanding. But keep in mind, good faith privileges can be lost: If the other person is, for instance, a Nazi, you’re very likely not changing their mind. You have to do some case-to-case basis work, as with everything. But yeah, if you engage with good faith first and foremost and don’t assume the other person means this Worst Thing you immediately thought of, then you already start having a much better quality of life. End of the day, you’re not the main character of the world and people don’t think about you all that much. This can sound bad, but it’s not necessarily bad: It fundamentally means that people aren’t thinking so badly or even the worst of you as much as you think they are, everyone has their own life to concern themselves with, not just you, so be kind and receive kindness in return, and if it is not offered to you, well, why bother with it? Just take it easy or chill instead.