Link: Justin Jackson on popular wisdoms
Justin higlights two important thoughts on advice.
The first is from James Clear:
Everything is an oversimplification. Reality is messy and complex. The question is whether it is a useful simplification. Know the limitations of an idea and you can apply it to great effect—despite the messiness of reality.
The second is from Elizabeth Earnshaw:
I also like this idea from Elizabeth Earnshaw that a lot of popular wisdom has a “missing half.”
A few of her examples:
- “You can’t change other people… and you might influence them to change.”
- “Self-care isn’t selfish… and sometimes we call things ‘self care’ that actually are kind of selfish.”
These two ideas beautifully articulate something I increasingly struggled with when writing the Work Notes freelance guide. Everyone’s situation is different, their paths there are varied, we have different privileges and these things introduce nuance that can’t be accounted for, even if the advice is broadly accurate.
As Stewart Lee says, “context is not a myth”.
I’m reminded of Hilary Weiss’s takedown of the Charge What You’re Worth Mantra: another oversimplification with a missing side.