I’m in Japan.
Like, not the real Japan. The Japan at the back of Epcot.
This is a really good spot. One of my favorite spots to sit and write, think, or just watch the world go by.
Not too long ago, I sincerely wondered if I would ever go back to this spot. There’s a ton of reasons why not to; I’ve been here a billion times, it costs a lot of money, it takes a lot of time, there’s a million other things I could do with that time and money… overall, it’s simply a stupid thing to do.
But the real biggest reason why I wondered if I would ever come back here was simply the pain of walking. I can never find good shoes. Florida is hot. I’m gloriously out of shape. Why do something stupid, unproductive, physically painful, and likely to make me regret it tomorrow? Rationality says I shouldn’t bother. Save the time, money, and pain, and do literally anything else.
Well, at least one take is that not going to Epcot is rational. Another, perhaps more valid take, is that not going to Epcot is lazy.
Scott Adams, sometimes known as the bald prophet thanks to his 185 IQ, has a theory on laziness. He says it’s only an issue of mental framing - lazy people think about the downsides and work required to get to a good outcome more than they think about the good outcome itself. Overly ambitious people are on the other side of that balance, but societally, we tend to praise ambition (and failure) more than we praise forethought and realism manifesting as laziness (and success).
Many people have thought of me as lazy at many points throughout my life. I’m very good at being, or at least looking, lazy. But I’m also reasonably successful at the things I do choose to do… so… what is it? I think it’s exactly what Scott says. I’m looking at the whole project from the beginning and selecting stuff with a good overall ROI, whatever that means for the thing in question.
That’s limiting, but it’s also safe and efficient. Safe is usually important to me, and efficiency is life. But the thing lost in the typical ROI calculation is the experience gained during the journey to whatever outcome… the stories written there.
And that’s why they say it’s about the journey, not the destination. The destination is basically never worth it on its own. What is “worth it” is the work put in along the way.
(funny enough, there’s a Journey cover band playing at the America pavilion as I type this)
I really like being here in Japan. But no, sitting on this stool and writing a bit is not objectively worth anywhere near what it’s cost me to get here.
The fact that I got here means one of two things:
- Either I decided to be irrational and inefficient… and I hate it when I do that, because it makes me feel guilty and horrible overall. I constantly feel like I could and should “be better” than “this.”
- Or it shows that I considered the whole thing, including the journey itself, therefore thinking more of the “outcome” than I normally would. I’m appreciating the experience gained during the journey, and the less obvious fringe benefits. Walking in the Florida heat is good for me, after all.
The only difference between the two is a mental reframe. One of the frames makes me not do things or feel bad about it when I do; the other allows me to do stuff while also finding new ways to appreciate it all. One is clinical depression, the other is a decently good life - and the only difference is what you choose to focus on.
Scott has a subscription thing at “locals.com” where he posts comics, does some extra live streams, and has a deep library of “micro-lessons.” I’ve brazenly stolen his lesson on laziness, you can watch it here: https://files.not-really.me/sharedstuff/2ryyjysknax4/laziness.mp4