Bonus questions
I found out today that I will get a bit of a performance bonus for my work throughout 2019, and while it is not much, it is better than a kick in the proverbials. There were four key performance indicators that made up the bonus system with two of them being individual, the other two being department and a company based, meaning there wasn't that much I could do about those - which were both missed. The individual ones however, I did manage and one of them was based on customer feedback on my training deliveries, and it looks like I might have topped the class. That'd be a first!
While it is nice to get a little bit extra in the salary next month, aiming to achieve KPIs in order to get a little bonus is not my way as I think that often enough, people will aim for them regardless whether it is in the best interest of their long-term plans. For one of them my supervisor asked me to self evaluate the percentage I should receive, and I said I wouldn't do it, but if I was her, I would take the components, make an evaluation of each on a scale and then find the average score.
She said that most people try to make their case in order to increase their outcomes and I reminded her of the conversation about my salary before she hired me. This was essentially, I trust her to provide a fair salary as she knows what the work I would be doing involves. If she underpays me she will lose my trust and likely lose an employee as I have other options. So for me today, I asked her to be fair again as over the last year I have worked with her, she has not done anything to change my stance on trusting her to make the decision.
One thing that she had brought up is that I think longer term than anyone else in her team and I mentioned that this is another reason I am not keen on arguing about bonus levels. If I argue my case and win, the maximum I can gain is relatively insignificant right now, but it will likely cost me more down the road. If I lose the argument and fail to increase the amount by justifying my actions, then it will indicate that I am either a poor negotiator, poor at self-evaluation or, disingenuous. Win or lose, there is no good outcome that is worth the few extra hundred euros I may get.
As I see it, every action has a cost and when playing the short-game, many go for daily wins that can feel great, but don't necessarily lead to accomplishing the long-term goals. The problem is that the feeling of winning is addictive, even if the cost of winning is more than the value of the prize. Social media platforms play on this to gamify the experience by offering many "micro wins" that give little dopamine kicks without actually providing anything of value, likes, stars, red notifications and sounds, push messages and little feedback offers that say, this feels good - even though it is valueless. It is much like continually eating sweet food that tastes good, regardless of the nutritional value or the effects it has on health.
I believe that my long-term view allows me to be more emotionally stable as it smooths out the peaks and troughs. I actually mentioned this to my supervisor today and visualized it by describing the line of a share price over the space of a day, or a longer period of time. Zooming in will look like it is highly volatile, zooming out will make a much nicer curve.
One day of Steem
Almost four years of Steem
Scale matters and while there are some large spikes, most of the four years have been pretty stable when looking from a bird's eye view over time. I see this is much like the good and bad times of a company, where generally there is stability but sometimes there are times of "extreme" upturns and downturns. When too much time is spent concentrating on the day to day drama, it is easy to lose sight of the greater picture.
My mid-term position on Steem is looking out five years ahead, my long is looking toward the point where the inflation rate on the pool is 0.95% per annum, which is around 15 years away from today. A lot can and will happen in that time, and I am putting my backing on it surviving and thriving through many upturns and downturns. The daily drama has very little effect on me and as long as I see and feel the progress being made toward those mid and long outcomes, all is well.
If I react to every little piece of FUD, if I force myself to optimize and chase every little bit of extra Steem, if I get upset every time someone does something that I do not agree with, I will never have the energy left to survive and thrive myself. What I find is that those who spend their time on the daily drama here or anywhere, are energy sinks and while they suck the energy from others, they also deplete their own reserves, which is also required for things like emotional control and thoughtful decision making.
While we argue over the day to day chasing small wins, we can miss the real cost it will have our future wins. I think that this is what the internet encourages, outrage and one-upping to score points in a game that provides nothing of value to the players, other than that addictive dopamine kick. I wonder how many people keep winning in their own eyes, but don't like where they end up.
Do you want a spoon of honey today, or own the hive tomorrow?
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
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What reminds me that old saying attributed to Dalai Lama and sometimes also to Buddha:
As someone else said, people spend their time worrying about life after death, without considering if there is life before.
I'll wait - the hive is more important to me)
That makes two of us at least :)
Always interested in a healthy hive.
Bees are dying at an alarming rate I hear.
I keep hearing that, but thankfully they seem to come back as I can always get honey for my toast.
Yeah, I am not sure about it all scientifically, but we might be in trouble if true. some boffin will likely create a robotic one that does the job just as good anyway ;D
This message is for me. I appreciate it, Taraz.
You are always welcome :)
I hear this post and think your statement about short term wins and longterm failures is important. When I look at Bitcoin I see a coin which was once less then a dollar and not widely known. It has overcome both of those things overtime.
When I look at Steem I see something different from Bitcoin, different strengths and different weakness, but also different purposes.
I see cryptocurrency as multiple sum game not zero sum. Bitcoin doesn’t have to fail for Steem to win, and that’s the beauty of the long game: understanding that there is room in the future for many winners, as there are many people to serve and many niches to fill.
Steem is a longterm play and your concept of the Birdseye view can ease the wounds of those who bought Steem much much higher, by reassuring them that in the longterm they may regain their paper losses. But the Longview should have them adding to their positions as they are able with money they can afford to invest longterm.
Write on 😊
This is something that lots of people do not consider. they seem to think only one is necessary for the world. It is more like a pair of shoes, you need the right set for conditions.
The highest price that could have been paid was in a very small period of time and most large buyers wouldn't have bought at that point. add on top earnings from curation and post returns etc, and the cost average paid goes way down. If someone bought 1000 Steem at 6 dollars at the high (6000), they could now have about 1400 Steem via curation, so they need ~4,20 to break even. if they got disillusioned and went inactive... they still need around 6 dollars.
I'm sure you would have passed the marshmallo test when you were 3 years old.
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If it comes to sweet food, I would fail that now ;D
But, if it was something else, I would likely do okay :)
"The problem is that the feeling of winning is addictive, even if the cost of winning is more than the value of the prize." How very true this statement is. Society in general teaches us that winning at any cost is alright. Even with some people having reached the top of the mountain, winning at any cost is still their goal. To cheat, steal, lie, and crush those in their way while in pursuit of victory doesn't phase them at all.
People have changed so much during my life time. It is now a meme society. With personal characteristics like being humble or empathetic, taking a back seat to immoral behaviors, a dark cloud is gaining on all society.
Don't get me wrong, with everything I choose to do I want to be successful. But, when all is said and done, I would prefer to have not accomplished my goal rather than denigrate my personal standards.
Looking at the big picture and setting long term goals helps one to avoid the roller-coaster ride that always comes when perusing something worth accomplishing.
Damn straight. Due to the polarization and lack of nuance, I feel like we are living a caricature of life in a bad play with poor direction. All of life might be a stage, but it seems to be of high school production quality and performed by slow learners.