High Standards and Temporary Pessimism

m16 elitest

Have you ever found yourself in a position when your high standards of yourself make you feel like a complete idiot? I personally find that me failing to do things that many people would fail at, makes me pessimistic for a short period of time. Does this ever happen to you?

Victor Frost

Nah, Not really. I mean, yeah, I've got high standards, but I know my limits. My strategy is to set higher goals than normal people, but not so high that I can't accomplish it. That way I can feel smug and self righteous without over exerting myself . ;-)

Mamath

I get that feeling all the time. It's not uncommon and I see it happen to friends of mine as well. It's important to be able to recognise when it's happening and not let it affect you too much or you'll just dig yourself deeper.

Rym

I use that feeling to my advantage. Take running, for example. I always feel as though I should be going faster than I am. No matter how far or how fast I run, I feel as though I'm not achieving what I want, that I could be going much further and much faster. The lack of perspective in regards to other humans pushes me to train much harder than I might otherwise. Then, later, when running alongside someone, the progress I've made is brought into stark relief.

Victor Frost

I use that feeling to my advantage. Take running, for example. I always feel as though I should be going faster than I am. No matter how far or how fast I run, I feel as though I'm not achieving what I want, that I could be going much further and much faster. The lack of perspective in regards to other humans pushes me to train much harder than I might otherwise. Then, later, when running alongside someone, the progress I've made is brought into stark relief.

I'm like that with biking. I always want to go faster.

La Petit Mort

I use that feeling to my advantage. Take running, for example. I always feel as though I should be going faster than I am. No matter how far or how fast I run, I feel as though I'm not achieving what I want, that I could be going much further and much faster. The lack of perspective in regards to other humans pushes me to train much harder than I might otherwise. Then, later, when running alongside someone, the progress I've made is brought into stark relief.

Rym, have you tried parkouring/freerunning? It seems you would enjoy freerunning as much as I do.

tektonick

I think we tend to compare ourselves to some ideal, or an exceptional person we hear about. E.g., I like to think that I'm pretty smart, therefore I have the expectation that, say, Advance Wars should be easy for me, that I should be able to excel effortlessly. Certainly those smart guys we see in the movies would pull it off: winning on first try and such! As it turns out, I couldn't do it effortlessly, and it bugs me! But that's irrational and only due to wrong, unrealistic standards. Those standards are a completely unnecessary and self-made source of unhappiness, and with time we hopefully learn to let go of them. Not there yet...

TheWhaleShark

This is how I do things:

My expectations - those results which I think are likely to occur - are set at a reasonable, logical level. My goals are set higher than that. I generally take an attitude of "I know I won't be able to do that, so what the hell, I'm going to try to do it anyhow." If I can't do it, I already knew I couldn't and I was just right from the get-go. On the off chance I was wrong and I can do more than I anticipated, I still win. This applies to 99% of things but is noticeably absent when dealing with the fairer sex.

Still, self-satisfaction is a wonderful thing. I recommend it to everyone.

Apreche

My expectations - those results which I think are likely to occur - are set at a reasonable, logical level. Mygoalsare set higher than that. I generally take an attitude of "I know I won't be able to do that, so what the hell, I'm going to try to do it anyhow." If I can't do it, I already knew I couldn't and I was just right from the get-go. On the off chance I was wrong and Icando more than I anticipated, I still win. This applies to 99% of things but is noticeably absent when dealing with the fairer sex.

That's a Burning Wheel philosophy. Attempt the Obs-3 even when you only have 2 dice.

TheWhaleShark

My expectations - those results which I think are likely to occur - are set at a reasonable, logical level. Mygoalsare set higher than that. I generally take an attitude of "I know I won't be able to do that, so what the hell, I'm going to try to do it anyhow." If I can't do it, I already knew I couldn't and I was just right from the get-go. On the off chance I was wrong and Icando more than I anticipated, I still win. This applies to 99% of things but is noticeably absent when dealing with the fairer sex.

That's a Burning Wheel philosophy. Attempt the Obs-3 even when you only have 2 dice.

Ayup. Though you also have to remember to actually do some Ob 1 stuff, or you'll never get better. This is a harsh reality, especially when dealing with physical fitness: if you go balls-out and try a professional athlete's routine while you're still a novice, you'll probably hurt yourself. You have to push yourself, but not as often as you have to do what you're capable of doing.

Paulathon

If this feeling is consistent and debilitating it could be symptomatic of some kind of anxiety disorder. If you have other symptoms then look into it.