Why I stop virtue signaling
Our brains are built to avoid unpleasant experiences. That’s why when we engage in pleasurable acts, our brains release dopamine, “the pleasure chemical”. Part of what this does is to reinforce this quest for pleasurable experiences.
A lot of our lives, more than we realize, are built around this. For instance, almost every app is gamified to encourage this dopamine release. It adds a “stickiness” to the application. Todoist, a common to-do list application I use has Karma levels. It makes it very easy to miss out on using the tool and focus on ramping up Karma points to jump different levels. Another tool I use often is Wakatime. It tracks how many hours you’ve spent coding. And while the idea is good on the surface, it’s also very easy to fall into simply getting more hours racked up on the platform to look productive while working on things that don’t excite or add value. I think the case for dopamine as a motivator for doing useless stuff is apparent and self-explanatory.
Then there’s the other end of the spectrum of using the same tools for moral grandstanding or virtue signaling. The problem, I have found, with virtue signaling is that it drowns out one’s voice in preference for a group consensus. I think Naval said it better, “Groups search for consensus, individuals search for truth”
Groups search for consensus, individuals search for truth
I’ve examined my perspective, and the different viewpoints I held, and whether or not they were inherently mine or if it was merely virtue signaling. Here are a few I found (I think it’s safe to point out that a lot of people also hold these)
- I wanted to be on Forbes' top 30 under 30 without any real reason behind it
- The whole concept of “reading” many books
- Agreeing to certain viewpoints especially on social media to seem morally better than others
- Getting to Englightened on Todoist, again for no apparent reason other than it was the highest level there is
- I wanted to become a Google Dev Expert and an Associate Android Developer
- Racking up hours on Wakatime, anything less than 40 hours a week was subpar
- 1000+ contributions on Github
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing these things t, I’ve had to sit down and re-examine the drive behind each one of them. In doing so, unearth why it is I wanted them, and most importantly if I truly wanted them.
Let’s start with the list above:
- I no longer want to be on the Forbes list. I don’t even think I’d apply if I was qualified. Speaking truthfully on it, it was merely a way for me to seek external validation. To feel good about me. Although I still want financial independence, the drive has changed. Right now, I don’t want money to be a huge influence in my decision making e.g. staying a job because I have to pay the bills kind of influence
- I still read books, but I’ve now found myself re-reading certain books multiple times. I also have a specific type of book I read and I read slow. I don’t care how many books I read by the end of the year or how many an average CEO reads a year (It’s 60 by the way 😂😂😂). The most important thing for me is being curious about the subject, gaining knowledge, and/or being able to practically apply it.
- I don’t care about a lot of viewpoints, especially those on social media. I am also working towards not engaging in meaningless squabbles to prove a point. You hold a certain viewpoint…good for you. If you are open-minded we can exchange ideas, have a conversation, and learn a thing or two from each other. Otherwise, I simply ignore you.
- I stopped caring about how many hours or Karma points I garnered. I now use Todoist as a tool for tracking the things I want to do (and more specifically, the items I’ll likely forget or those that are high priority). Sometimes I also write it down in a notebook because they serve the same purpose. I look at what I am trying to achieve, how best to recall it, and which tool I feel like using. I also don’t care how many hours on Wakatime I have. I stopped using the tool altogether. Right now my focus is on working on the things I want to work on…and if I happen not to, analyzing why I didn’t and making adjustments for the same. The same goes for platforms and tools like GitHub.
- I don’t care about certifications of being an “expert” in something. Like I genuinely don’t care, unless it aligns well with the goals I have. I don’t have an attachment to any particular technology stack and focus more on first principles and fundamentals. Most importantly, can I build things that have utility? I occasionally mentor, but I don’t have the time nor do I want to track the “impact” or “reach” my mentorship has to satisfy some of those requirements. I am not saying there’s anything wrong with someone aiming to be a Google Dev Expert or even an AAD. I’m saying it’s not for me, and that’s fine.
- I don’t care how many Twitter followers I have or the ratio of my followers to followee. I follow people I find interesting and is trying to be very intentional and conscious of this group. I try my best not to live in an echo chamber and have diverse opinions on my timeline, but there is some subject matter that I honestly do not care about at all.
I am by no means where I want to be, but I am trying to become more intentional about the viewpoints I hold and how they affect me. I am also learning to be more intentional about having viewpoints that are truly my own and not doing things to appease groups or look a certain way.
