More work you put into the project the less you get out

[Darth Vespa]

Originally Posted by carnelian

The old cliche is that the more you put into something, the more you get out of it.
Teachers, counselors, coaches, everyone says that. It is not always true, I found. Over the years
I have put a great amount of effort into projects, and actually achieved much less. So it is frustrating
and a sort of dead-end,aggravating. maybe a waste of time?
Examples: searching for fulfilling jobs, finding someone to marry, publishing work, moving, etc. If your goal relies on other people, then who knows? Sometimes the things you worry about are NOT the things that end up mattering to you.
P.S. This idea came from Karl Marx, who wrote that about the toiling workers of his time.

Agree?

I get your point, BUT there’s also the “law” of diminishing returns to consider. The longer we work at something, the smaller the incremental units of progress.

[elnrgby]

Originally Posted by carnelian

My question is: given that I or someone else has failed to attain 2-3 life goals despite
decades of attempts (such as finding a LTR or fulltime career job worthy of my talent,)
does that mean that person (e.g.me) is a loser, a failure?

Unfortunately, my education occupation is extremely competitive everywhere.

This question is actually totally different from the statement (with which I thoroughly disagree) that "more work you put into the project the less you get out".


In this other post, you mentioned your occupation was extremely competitive. The problem is that the world is tremendously overpopulated, making essentially everything (including bare survival for some people) extremely competitive. The world population is over 7 billion and growing, with world resources sufficient to comfortably support maybe 15% of that.


Although I personally did alright in extremely competitive profession, I do not consider that my major or greatest accomplishment. When I was young, my life was tremendously complicated, and I realized that I did not have resources to raise kids (I am a woman), so I decided against having them, thereby preserving a minimal standard of living (and potential for development, which I did fulfill) for myself, sparing my potential kids from hardship, and opening up a bit of breathing space for someone else in ever increasing competition for everything. The fact that I (by choosing to not procreate) did not contribute to overpopulation and competition for resources is what I consider my greatest accomplishment in life.


Have you ever intentionally seriously hurt someone? Have you been to prison? Have you been a burden to another person or to the society? If the answer to these questions is NO, then you are not a loser or a failure. Survival without bothering other people is one true accomplishment, in my opinion. Nobody who accomplishes that is a loser or a failure.

[SunGrins]

I subscribe to the teaching of Lin Yutang when he said:
“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials”

I think that the idea, coming from the Puritan Work Ethic, that we have to be constantly engaged in some sort of productive work or chasing after some elusive goal or bettering ourselves and others is way over emphasized. Certainly so in retirement. That worn out idea forces us to judge ourselves and others and make constant comparisons when not even relevant.

[jrkliny]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

I subscribe to the teaching of Lin Yutang when he said:
“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials”
.......

Isn't death the elimination of non-essentials?

[M3 Mitch]

Well, for me, in many areas of life, "good enough" is, for me, good enough. There are some skills like driving a car or riding a bike, where I would like to reach my full potential. I would like to, but have not prioritized getting to a track school, but I did do a "Ride like a Cop" class and that was very beneficial. But, for example, typing or "keyboarding" as they call it now. I am not certain how many words per minute I can do, but, I do "good enough" and don't have any burning desire to get better.


40 or more years ago working on my degree, I really wanted to wring all I could out of the math and science classes. Most humanities courses I just wanted to get a decent grade, without putting in so much time I didn't have all the time I wanted for the STEM stuff.



So there are skills and projects where you really invest your self into it, and there are others where one is OK with a middle of the road result.


The military call this last an "economy of force" theater - you need to show up, you need to fight the enemy in terms of engaging them such that they don't have free run of the territory - but these guys are not the ones you are really worried about defeating in detail, that's going on somewhere else where "mass, offensive, speed, and surprise" will be the watchwords.