Congratulations Harj on breaking a harmful habit. Keep Going!
You did it by intent, while I only did it by circumstance. As such,
we've probably learned different lessons from the experience.
For me it was my health. Those little things like walking and typing are
often taken for granted until you can no longer do them. Not feeling
well enough to accept invitations to go have fun with friends can wear
on you. The same is true for not feeling well enough to answer emails or
phone calls.
Could you leave your voicemail full for six months so no one else can
leave messages?
With your YC involvement, probably not, but I had to do it, and it
taught me a lot about interaction and contribution. Interacting with
others is a choice. Similarly, making a contribution of your time and
effort is also a choice. When you know you'll be in more pain after
typing an email, or driving to see friends, your perspective changes
since you finally realize there will be consequences, or better said,
there's always a cost to the choice of interacting and contributing.
Making a conscious decision on your own needs and opinions of whether or
not interacting is worthwhile is far better than merely reacting out of
impulsive habits and social pressures to be polite. When you know it
will cost you something and you still feel it's worthwhile, then you are
consciously investing your time rather than mindlessly spending it.
I know I've posted this before, but...
Treebeard: "You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to
say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth
taking a long time to say." -- J.R.R. Tolkien
You did it by intent, while I only did it by circumstance. As such, we've probably learned different lessons from the experience.
For me it was my health. Those little things like walking and typing are often taken for granted until you can no longer do them. Not feeling well enough to accept invitations to go have fun with friends can wear on you. The same is true for not feeling well enough to answer emails or phone calls.
Could you leave your voicemail full for six months so no one else can leave messages?
With your YC involvement, probably not, but I had to do it, and it taught me a lot about interaction and contribution. Interacting with others is a choice. Similarly, making a contribution of your time and effort is also a choice. When you know you'll be in more pain after typing an email, or driving to see friends, your perspective changes since you finally realize there will be consequences, or better said, there's always a cost to the choice of interacting and contributing.
Making a conscious decision on your own needs and opinions of whether or not interacting is worthwhile is far better than merely reacting out of impulsive habits and social pressures to be polite. When you know it will cost you something and you still feel it's worthwhile, then you are consciously investing your time rather than mindlessly spending it.
I know I've posted this before, but...
Treebeard: "You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say." -- J.R.R. Tolkien