However, disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo. Too many libs care more about brunch than about climate change which is partly why we’re so deep in shit.
You might be right about affordability of fringe high tech products and fashion, but at least four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing. Now, buying a house is impossible and renting is expensive as fuck. My financial situation is fine (luckily) but seeing people around me struggle does not make me feel great tbh.
The advice that helped me way more than any of the calendar mottos you had to offer was ‘get organized’ and ‘improve your behavior’. I joined a party and local mutual aid orgs, stopped eating meat, sold my car, and stopped flying. Now I’m at peace because I know, even if everything goes to shit, it’s not my fault and I did everything I could. Put me mentally in a very good place.
disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo
I’m not suggesting that, I’m suggesting reality is broader than whatever comes in a news feed. You have limited time and energy, so it’s best to spend that on things you can impact instead of stressing about things you can’t.
Details about circle of control vs circle of interest
I like the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and in it the author breaks things into three groups (image version):
circle of concern
circle of influence
circle of control
You should be spending time from bottom up, and the more you do that, the more those circles will expand.
For example, let’s say you’re concerned about climate change, but you’re currently not equipped to do much about it. Instead of spending time worrying about it, focus on other parts of your life to become able to do something about it. Get your financial situation in order by getting a good job and getting some savings. With that, you’ll have flexibility to get even better jobs (skill up, take risks, etc), and you can eventually scale back your work and focus on policy (e.g. lobby for legislative change, or even run for office).
If you hyperfocus on what’s wrong w/ the world but don’t grow your ability to deal with it, you’ll just become depressed and angry, and that doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, grow your capacity to impact the world first, and you’ll eventually be able to solve those problems.
four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing
That’s just not true.
TL;DR - housing ownership is increasing, but getting later in life
What has changed is the average age of first time home buyers. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, but one key factor is that the percentage of homeowners who are married is reducing. That means a higher overall demand for housing since people are expecting to live separately or have more fluid living arrangements.
There’s a far more recent affordability problem though, which stems from supply chain disruptions during COVID, which caused new construction to fall off a cliff. That trickles down to all types of housing, including apartments. That’s not a generations-long problem though.
In the past, multiple generations lived together, whereas today, everyone seems to want to live separately. It’s a complex issue, but I don’t see the trend you claim exists.
it’s not my fault
That’s part of what I’m talking about, but just saying, “did my part, screw you” isn’t the right solution either. The proper solution is to improve your ability to make an impact. Start with your own personal sustainability, then increase to local issues (help keep your parks and rivers clean), regional areas (push for local regulations/taxes to reduce pollution), and eventually more broad (lobby/run for office).
A lot of people get stuck even before the first step, they get overwhelmed at the things they can’t control and waste what few resources they had, instead of conserving them and growing what they’re able to control.
Thanks for your effort post.
However, disconnecting from reality is not a good strategy imo. Too many libs care more about brunch than about climate change which is partly why we’re so deep in shit.
You might be right about affordability of fringe high tech products and fashion, but at least four generations before us had almost guaranteed housing. Now, buying a house is impossible and renting is expensive as fuck. My financial situation is fine (luckily) but seeing people around me struggle does not make me feel great tbh.
The advice that helped me way more than any of the calendar mottos you had to offer was ‘get organized’ and ‘improve your behavior’. I joined a party and local mutual aid orgs, stopped eating meat, sold my car, and stopped flying. Now I’m at peace because I know, even if everything goes to shit, it’s not my fault and I did everything I could. Put me mentally in a very good place.
I’m not suggesting that, I’m suggesting reality is broader than whatever comes in a news feed. You have limited time and energy, so it’s best to spend that on things you can impact instead of stressing about things you can’t.
Details about circle of control vs circle of interest
I like the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and in it the author breaks things into three groups (image version):
You should be spending time from bottom up, and the more you do that, the more those circles will expand.
For example, let’s say you’re concerned about climate change, but you’re currently not equipped to do much about it. Instead of spending time worrying about it, focus on other parts of your life to become able to do something about it. Get your financial situation in order by getting a good job and getting some savings. With that, you’ll have flexibility to get even better jobs (skill up, take risks, etc), and you can eventually scale back your work and focus on policy (e.g. lobby for legislative change, or even run for office).
If you hyperfocus on what’s wrong w/ the world but don’t grow your ability to deal with it, you’ll just become depressed and angry, and that doesn’t get you anywhere. Instead, grow your capacity to impact the world first, and you’ll eventually be able to solve those problems.
That’s just not true.
TL;DR - housing ownership is increasing, but getting later in life
Here’s some stats for the last 130 or so years for homeownership rates in the US. It has kind of plateaued, probably because there will always be a fairly large part of the population that prefers to rent, as well as a large portion who hasn’t yet gotten the means to own (e.g. young people).
What has changed is the average age of first time home buyers. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, but one key factor is that the percentage of homeowners who are married is reducing. That means a higher overall demand for housing since people are expecting to live separately or have more fluid living arrangements.
There’s a far more recent affordability problem though, which stems from supply chain disruptions during COVID, which caused new construction to fall off a cliff. That trickles down to all types of housing, including apartments. That’s not a generations-long problem though.
In the past, multiple generations lived together, whereas today, everyone seems to want to live separately. It’s a complex issue, but I don’t see the trend you claim exists.
That’s part of what I’m talking about, but just saying, “did my part, screw you” isn’t the right solution either. The proper solution is to improve your ability to make an impact. Start with your own personal sustainability, then increase to local issues (help keep your parks and rivers clean), regional areas (push for local regulations/taxes to reduce pollution), and eventually more broad (lobby/run for office).
A lot of people get stuck even before the first step, they get overwhelmed at the things they can’t control and waste what few resources they had, instead of conserving them and growing what they’re able to control.