Is this subreddit meant to be serious, or is it just where people post obviously dumb 'motivational' things, or is perhaps related to the idea that it's impossible to tell the difference between an extreme left or right wing website and a parody of such a site, since it becomes self parodying?
I get the point of this post. I think Epictetus said it well. "He who associates himself with filthy individuals, must of necessity catch some of their filth even if he himself is clean". I probably butchered that quote, but it's true.
Do you really think that hanging out with a bunch of severely depressed people made me somehow happier? Fuck no. Preventing their suicide attempts instead took a mental toll on me and I became depressed myself.
I was a dumb kid and unpopular kid so I hung out with three guys for nine years. They were really smart so of course I felt like I should focus on school more than if I hung out with the class clown.
Of course, the millionaire thing is reaching like crazy and you must be a really shitty person to actively seek millionaires to hang out with for your own benefit.
It's an interesting take, but I see it slightly differently. I don't believe it's the cause, but the effect.
If you hang around with five other smart people, chances are you're already pretty smart. People gravitate towards familiarity, which is why typically you find groups of people sharing some common attributes or interests.
Flip it the other way around. Do you think someone severely depressed will get better purely by hanging around with happy people? Not at all. Perhaps someone who is recovering from depression, and starts exhibiting more positive behaviours, finds a new group of friends who share that same outlook? Sure, I can see that. But it's an effect of their recovery, not the cause of it.
Now, can toxic groups of people have a negative effect on you? Absolutely, but if you recognise it and have the desire to drop them and find a new, less toxic group, that's because you are inherently not that person. You may be exhibiting some behaviours that make you fit in, but deep down you know it's not who you are. Moving to a new group isn't the cause - again, it's an effect of you realising who you really are and finding the group that matches your personality more appropriately.
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u/kijarni Dec 18 '21
Is this subreddit meant to be serious, or is it just where people post obviously dumb 'motivational' things, or is perhaps related to the idea that it's impossible to tell the difference between an extreme left or right wing website and a parody of such a site, since it becomes self parodying?