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Cakewalker to Moonwalker

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@tarazkp
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6 min read

Now that I have rearranged my office a little, I have a few new capabilities. Firstly, I am able to the same dual 27" screens and switch between my employed work computer and my self-employed work computer using a remote to flick HDMI inputs. That is really handy and saves me a mountain of space as I can work at one desk.

The other desk, I am going to set up for my wife, who is (by choice - I didn't force her) working at the dining table. Because we are both on calls a lot, it is unlikely we will be in the same room together often (just like real life), but she can at least have more space here and a couple monitors.

The other and more important thing for me with this set up, is that I can now stand and work (as I am doing now), which gives me a far more natural feel when I am presenting, and I am going to be training remotely even more over the coming year in the new position. So, this is really handy and, it also makes me move a little more. I have some stretchy bands to exercise with, but when sitting, I don't remember to use them. Standing, I think I will use them more. But even without those, I tend to move more when standing and working, which at least makes me feel like it will keep my body looser. I haven't worked this way in months and even now, it feels weird, but good. I will see if there are any raisable desks for my wife also.

Ah, right, this isn't what I was going to be talking about, but it was on my mind, as were a couple other things. Not long back I was talking with a couple of "old timers" (@azircon and @abh12345) about various market things, mostly Splinterlands related and in regards to the dropping card prices.

@azircon mentioned that if we made it through 10 cent HIVE, this should be a "cakewalk" and, he is right. I think at least for those who have been around a while and seen what crypto can do (up and down), the fluctuations are no longer so much of a problem. Yeah, it still doesn't feel good to buy too early, be heavily in the red or see that long decline knowing there is an even longer climb up the other side to come, but it isn't soul-crushing like it might have been earlier.

I think that at least for the three of us, the reason that we aren't affected that much by the price, is that we don't need it to finance our daily lives and we have jobs, which means that we Can afford to wait a bit longer to move from bear cakewalks to bull moonwalks. While I know that we all have different living conditions and motivations in this life, I do think it is up to each of us to actively choose the path we have taken and, adjust accordingly.

Some people think that commitment means to keep going regardless, but that is not how I see it. In my opinion, commitment is to the process only as far as it enables and supports the desired outcome, and if we notice that this is not the case, we should adjust our processes. Not only this, it is also likely that the outcome we seek is going to change over time also, which again requires process adjustment, otherwise we risk banging our head against the wall getting results that we do not want, by doing what "worked" in the past.

Yeah, this is easier said than done and every time I mention this kind of change, there are people who will give reason why they can't, often citing other people who can't, like a, "I have a friend who..." statement that distances themselves, whilst talking about themselves. But, while conditions are unique, adversity is a human circumstance we all share, it is just what we consider as adverse conditions can change significantly in comparison. However, to individuals, two seemingly very different cases could leave each in a similar state of suffering. Or elation, for that matter.

But, if we want to be able to do the relative moonwalk, we are each going to have to come to terms with our conditions to see what we can do at a practical level to reach our "dreams", understanding that it is unlikely that we are ever actually going to meet them precisely. While there is always possibility, not everything is possible in all conditions or for all people. The comparative world of experience isn't fair and expecting the world to become so, is a fools errand.

We each have been dealt a hand, we have to play what we hold, or fold and draw again if we can. We likely can't throw out our whole hand however, since a lot of it is inherent and embedded in us. but perhaps we can swap a card or two sometimes, to see if we are able to improve our position. What is clear though, that "not playing" is not an option, so it is either bumble around or, learn the rules, become aware of the conditions and then, see what outcomes are possible.

Personally, I am not looking forward to a long bear market, but since there is nothing I can do about it directly, I have to accept I will experience it. But, there are different ways to experience this world, even the most trying conditions.

For instance, in one of my favorite movies (Life is Beautiful), a Jewish father and his young son are taken into a Nazi work camp. As horrible as the experience was, the father made a game of the camp and duties for his son, where doing certain things and behaving certain ways scored "points" in the game. The conditions in a concentration camp are obviously terrible, but that doesn't mean it is experienced in the same way by all.

Now, that is a movie, not real life, but I think that the idea of it is valuable and gives a lot of insight into how we work as humans, as well as how we are able to "fool ourselves" into coping. This is gamification of course and is commonplace, but if we understand the concepts of tokenized gamification and its power to influence, why aren't we more actively learning how to make it work for us to both accomplish our goals and, better cope under adverse conditions?

If we are actively gamifying our own experience in this manner so as to perform actions toward our goal, that is going to lead to the changed behaviors that are more likely to get there. After all, we all act on incentive and this can be used against us, but by identifying and being sensitive to conditions, ourselves and the dynamics, it can also work for us.

Easier said than done? Well, that depends on how you look at it, because if you are able to make this part of that daily process that works largely on default, it almost does itself.

How I see it is, just like setting up my home office workspace will enable higher productivity, it will also support a better version of myself, one that moves more and is less sore at the end of the day. But, I was managing well enough before the change, which meant there wasn't a lot of incentive to really evaluate the conditions and then do the work to improve them. I don't live in a concentration camp, but not every part of my life is comfortable nor easy, but I don't want to get comfortable with adversity to the point that I am unwilling to take the steps to change it. It might not all be cakewalk, but getting stuck in a rut, means we aren't going anywhere.

Like any journey, it all begins with single step. Start small and slowly increase the difficulty as the small stuff becomes default. Gamify your life, but evaluate often enough to know if what you are doing is getting you to where you want to be, and if wherever that is, is still where you want to be.

Life is beautiful - not easy.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]

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