## Evaluating Your Desires

In our experiences, often we find ourselves desiring for something before we can articulate why we crave it. This is a significant reality to recognize: our desires, in their initial stages, are fundamentally mystifying to us. As such, it is of paramount importance to not place undue trust in our immediate justifications for our wants.

This enigmatic interim, the span between the birth of a desire and the formation of an explanation for it, is the fertile ground where rationalization plants its seeds. As humans, we are inherently prone to self-deception. Invariably, we gravitate towards attributing our desires to the most noble reasons we can conceive, rather than confronting the more authentic, and often less flattering, root causes.

Unfortunately, this tendency paints an inaccurately virtuous picture of our motivations, leading us astray. Ignoring our true desires for the sake of preserving self-image may result in decisions that ultimately do not satisfy us or align with our real values and goals. Thus, it is crucial to question and evaluate our desires honestly, rather than accepting them at face value. Recognize that our first explanation for a desire may not be the most truthful one. Cultivate introspection and seek self-awareness to better understand what truly drives your wants and needs lest you become a narcissistic prick.

Where is that?

Embrace the Suck

We crave constant excitement and entertainment. We yearn for life to be an endless series of enjoyment. While these are what we desire, they are not what we need. What we truly need are skills, and gaining these doesn't always involve fun. Fun is instant gratification and immediate happiness, but they have a cost later on.

Focusing on fun is how we develop addictions. We seek immediate satisfaction, oblivious to the long-term consequences that could potentially ruin other aspects of life. Fun is inherently high time preference.

A mental shift towards maturity and responsibility involves learning to appreciate the initial unpleasantness of acquiring new skills - or as I prefer to call it, "embracing the suck". Trying to do something you're not skilled at isn't "fun". It's frustrating and demands considerable discipline. More than anything, it requires courage due to our inherent fear of monotony.

But there's no harm in boredom. In fact, it's the default state of life. Excitement is, and should be, the exception rather than the norm. By learning to manage boredom, you'll cultivate a much-needed trait - patience.

We demand immediate satisfaction because we are entitled brats. If we don't find fun in a task instantly, we tend to surrender. But that joy in doing something, that joy in being good rather than having fun takes years to develop. This requires a patient and mature mindset, one that prioritizes long-term gains over immediate satisfaction.

When your information about money, health, war, race and government comes to you the same way that beer, cigarettes, Fruity Pebbles and McDonald's is marketed then you know you are a conduit for someone else's lower time preference.

😂👌

Forgot to pull some funds off the CoinEx exchange. They recently cut ties with US users, I was given 60 days to pull funds. Notified end of February.... 👀👇

Completely forgot.

Got into account late last night, couldn't buy/sell or withdraw.

Noticed you can transfer between user accounts at no cost.

Turned on VPN, created a new account, transferred funds, sold, bought and withdrew....

Thank goodness. It was only $500, but lesson learned, and able to salvage my funds.

Anyway, I post it all the time....

DON'T KEEP YOUR BITCOINS ON AN EXCHANGE!

#dailyreminder

Not your keys

Not your cheese

Learn self-custody.

🇬🇧➡️🇪🇸 I just translated the Wikipedia article about #Nostr from English to Spanish

#grownostr 🫡

Ossification and the Burden of Proof

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Bitcoin has already proven its immense value. Over the course of 14 years, it has shown its potential as a store of value at the very least. Beyond that, it offers various use cases that deliver significant benefits to its holders. And these are not insignificant implications; it's dramatically shifted the global conversation about money.

Bitcoin's decentralization sets it apart. With no central authority or control, even a majority can't force decisions upon the entire network. This differs vastly from most other systems we're familiar with, which are centralized and only require the consent of specific decision-makers to implement change.

Hence, anyone proposing to change Bitcoin must bear the burden of proof. There are two primary methods to meet this requirement.

The first is through economic, permissionless proof which involves the market. Anyone can create a market good based on Bitcoin, and as every entrepreneur knows, the onus lies on you to convince your customers that you're offering something valuable.

The second method involves making protocol changes, which should be extremely rare and executed with utmost caution. Bitcoin's usefulness means that anyone opposing your changes can simply refuse to accept them - regardless of the majority. This sets a very high bar, and it only rises as usage increases. The logic is simple: the more people use it, the more challenging it becomes to reach a consensus.

In the traditional financial system, altering base rules is much easier than persuading the market to accept a new product or service. This mindset originates from the centralized control of money by central banks. Consequently, many opt for the second route - altering the rules, rather than innovating a product or service. I believe this approach is misguided, a futile endeavor in a realm where politics holds little sway.

If the proposed changes are truly advantageous, why aren't proponents capitalizing on them in a market-driven manner? Although it might be inconvenient, and the user experience may not be optimal, you can still achieve your goals without changing the rules. Validate your idea by proving there's a market willing to pay for a less refined version of the same feature, then we can discuss potential protocol changes for improvement.

Until now, I've yet to see anyone do this. No one has gone out and proved a use case with the market and then proposed the protocol change. The few projects which have created a degraded version haven’t succeeded as far as I can tell.

The resistance to change in Bitcoin stems from the vast number of people already using it to store value. They have a say in any protocol changes, just as much as the developers, since it's their money at stake. Until they're all won over, they're unlikely to budge.

So, any clamor for sweeping changes is ill-advised. People save in Bitcoin precisely because it’s unlikely to change. The feature they want is knowing their savings won't be debased. Regardless of how beneficial your proposed feature may appear, it's not a guaranteed win-win for everyone. Each update carries the risk of unforeseen bugs and network degradation, and there are holders who would prefer not to take on that risk.

So to those that want to change the protocol, I would challenge you to prove your product in the marketplace before asking for protocol changes. Because until then, you’re not going to get most of the people who have savings in Bitcoin to budge.