this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2024
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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[–] [email protected] 106 points 2 months ago (3 children)

The ability to be spontaneous doesn't change.

It's what you can do spontaneously that changes.

I can't spontaneously just take off to Japan; but I can spontaneously take a walk around town or go to a park.

[–] stupidcasey 43 points 2 months ago (17 children)

Can you? If you spontaneously Take a walk from 9-5 your fired.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago

Getting fired doesn't make it any less spontaneous.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

My bank account is still empty either way.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Most financially secure people still work full time. I suppose that in theory, they're able to quit their jobs without suffering immediate, catastrophic consequences but if they actually did that sort of thing, they wouldn't be financially secure for long.

(In my experience, many financially secure people actually work much more than full time. I think they would be better off if they didn't because at some point time becomes more valuable than money, but they have the sort of personality that compels them to. This is often related to starting out without financial security.)

The very rich can do crazy stuff without consequences but they're such a small part of the population that I don't think comparing oneself to them is useful.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean...it depends on the job? I go on walks during working hours all the time to clear my head and think about a problem I'm working on. I don't try to hide this from my manager.

[–] stupidcasey 8 points 2 months ago

I bet you get paid more than minimum wage to…

[–] jaggedrobotpubes 4 points 2 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yea, feels like an excuse for lack of spontinaity. Not judging OP, could be depression or any such thing, but these are two independent variables.

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[–] Anticorp 85 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

I was a lot more spontaneous when I was a broke young man than I am now as a fairly comfortable adult. Usually the number of responsibilities you have goes up as your income does, and those are the killers of spontaneity.

[–] Landless2029 10 points 2 months ago

Maybe it's also the fact that you're older and more mature?

What if you had a stream of income in your youth from family supporting you?

Generational wealth.

I definitely would've been more spontaneous instead of work two jobs while going to college in my early 20s.

[–] macrocarpa 9 points 2 months ago

Reminds me of that 20th century philosopher, C.G.L. Wallace, who quipped "mo money, mo problems"

[–] joshthewaster 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yeah, this makes sense. Think the thought still holds though. Just needs to be explained with the normal distribution meme.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Usually, yes.

I can attest that not/postponing having kids drastically reduces the number of responsibilities. Many of my friends had kids younger and are in drastically different scenarios than I am.

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[–] gedaliyah 51 points 2 months ago

If your bank account gets low enough, spontaneity goes back up.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

To get your final spontaneity ability score, you have to multiply base spontaneity by a factor of

     1  
––––––––––––  
1 + 1000 * k  

where k is the number of kids you have.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think you have to also account for the kids' ages. An infant is different than a toddler, teen, or adult child.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

I have left this aspect as an exercise to the reader.

[–] satans_methpipe 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm having a really hard time refuting this equation. It appears to work out even for negative and non-integer values of k

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

What if i have -0.001 kids?

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[–] Wizard_Pope 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Okay but how would one have negative amount of kids??

[–] CookieOfFortune 2 points 2 months ago

Murder. It’s how many kids you’ve murdered. Therefore you will be in prison and have negative spontaneity.

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[–] SirQuackTheDuck 4 points 2 months ago

Ah yeah, as a DINK, this is a great formula

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

It would seem to be a nonlinear relationship with many other variables to me.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'd say it plateaus eventually. You do need .Oney to do a lot of stuff, but once you have enough money, depression will keep you from being spontaneous anyways.

[–] Cryophilia 3 points 2 months ago

I disagree with your conclusion that either money makes you depressed or everyone is always depressed.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I'd say it's more linked to how many dependents you have, rather than money in the bank.

Someone with no kids, no ~~wife~~ spouse (edit), and no pets can be spontaneous without a second thought.

Someone who's tied down, but wealthy, not so much.

[–] HexesofVexes 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm richer than I've ever been, and I am far less spontaneous than I've ever been.

It's not linear, it's some weird polynomial equation!

[–] Spaceballstheusername 4 points 2 months ago

It's not how spontaneous you are is directly proportional is the ability to be spontaneous.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Man can be free only when and if he's able to rise above his insecurities

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I don’t know what that means and it’s giving me anxiety.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

My bank account seems to be pretty big. No matter how much money I throw in there, I never seem to run out of space. As far as I’m concerned, it’s infinite.

I guess, eventually there will be some sort of limitation and the bank gives you a call to tell you that this is a personal account not meant for managing the cash flow of an entire country. Until then, we’re all good, and I’m going to think my account is infinite.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Plot twist, the country of Brazil is using Wells Fargo

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The ability to be spontaneous is directly related to your

Work/Life balance

It's almost as though you could stand up and fight for that, I dunno

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

you could stand up and fight for that

For best results, do not do spontaneously (that is, go grab some friends and coworkers before attempting to take on a big business)

[–] WhatYouNeed 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

That's why they sometimes in case things in cement

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (3 children)

not at all.

The ability to be spontaneous is directly proportional to your willingness to accept risk.

knowledge mitigates much of that risk.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

as does security in housing and food without the need to work

[–] Anticorp 6 points 2 months ago

I was way more spontaneous when I was couch surfing. My whole life was one giant spontaneous stream of actions. That's partially why I was couch surfing.

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[–] RBWells 3 points 2 months ago

Time also plays a part.

When I was staying at home with my kids and poor as fuck, 4 people living on $15k, if there was gas in the car I could just take us spontaneously to the park, and my city has free music performances on some Thursday nights, if I have free time I can just make a last minute decision and go.

So now I have a good husband who earns $ and a good job, not rich but certainly more affluent than at any time in my life, but I am much less rich in time. Job takes a lot of it, more responsibility overall and less flexibility.

I don't think spontaneity scales with money, it scales with free time once you have enough money. And that "enough" is not a lot.

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