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Are you a winner?

avatar of @tarazkp
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@tarazkp
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What do you consider "winning" on Hive?

Someone said to me that I "lost" and they "won" because I have put in so much time and effort and my account is only worth 25,000 dollars, while they shitposted and sold for 25% of that.

Sounds like a winner to me.

This statement makes a lot of assumptions as to what I have earned on and from the platform, as well as what I may or may not have off the platform also. I started trading back in 2017 and while I am not much of a trader, I have done okay. Since I have a job and at times have even had some extra, I have also been able to buy with a bit of fiat here and there. It also doesn't take into consideration things like my LEO account, which is currently about 20% of my on Hive value.

But, this is all about money, which is pretty much all this person seems to be interested in talking about when it comes to success. There are quite a few like this of course in the world, the types who look to maximize their money, but there aren't as many of them who will try to rub it in other people's face.

I have met a couple of these people on Hive over the years and they are always the negative and bitter ones. They talk about how they "won" but here they are each day, complaining about the rewards they receive, some of them begging for support even. Winners. But, I think that what these kinds of people don't realize is that while they think money equates to winning, that is not everyone's focus.

I was speaking with a psychologist friend of mine today about my writing and how valuable it has been for me the last four years and, money didn't come up at all. Yes, I get paid to write on Hive and the hourly rate sucks for someone living in Finland, but there is a massive amount of value for me personally through my writing and perhaps more importantly for me, I feel that I am adding some kind of value to the lives of others. There is the financial value in my vote, but I would predict that for a lot of people who often spend a few minutes reading my work, they will probably get a decent amount of value from it in the way they are thinking or feeling that day. Whether they apply any of it to their lives is another matter, but for me, doing something that I consider has meaning, has value.

As I said the other day, I wouldn't have my business if I felt what I was doing wasn't adding value to my clients and, I wouldn't work the second job I have if I felt I wasn't adding value there either. I have enough experience, skill and work ethic in my life to be able to pick and choose to some degree what I do.

This also applies to Hive. I find it incredible that people are so gleeful about shitposting for reward as if they are winning. I think it speaks about their personal ethics, especially when many of them complain about the system and not getting enough reward themselves. It is all about the money. Which is also why a lot of these same people who often talk about fairness and ethics, are also posting their content on Steem. It is all about the money.

It is okay, people need money to live and everyone faces various life challenges, but is it winning? Is it winning when a person isn't able to pay their bills? Is it winning when a person has to post content for reward and complain about downvotes? Is it winning when a person has to resort to calling people names? Is it winning when there is so much anger and bitterness at life itself?

Where is the victory?

Each day I get to sit down and write about the things that are on my mind, that are important to me, that provide me meaning. Each day I get to discuss topics with people from various backgrounds, various skills, intelligences and perspectives. Each day I get to meditate through my keyboard, processing my mind and managing my emotions. It is a luxury.

And I get paid for it.

I don't get paid because of the content itself, I get paid because of the people who value the content, who value the discussion, who value the sense of being part of a community of people looking to improve the future in some way. Hive isn't one community, it is many communities and each individual has a different definition of what is success, which means that not everyone is interested in building that better future, some are just interested in satisfying their own needs, no matter the cost to others.

Many come here for money, some come here for community, some come here for a place to be heard - because no one listens to them anywhere else. Pretty much everyone wants rewards for their activity, which is good, because that is what the system encourages, ownership. However, not many live that opportunity and instead sell out and when a future comes where the world is either better or worse, there they will be complaining about conditions. They will complain about not having enough if things are better better, despite them selling.

Or, they will complain about not having enough because the world has degraded, despite them not taking the opportunity to try and improve it. either way, they will complain, because that is what they do, that is what they are and, they do not own anything, especially the sense of responsibility to others in this world, even though they have benefited from the work of those others. Winners?

I don't believe so. It is the position of those that everyone who isn't them complains about. The mega rich who keep stacking no matter what the cost to the rest of society, the environment or even the people closest to them. It is just that unlike the people complaining, these people are great at what they do and can very much "win" at their trade. Sure, they might lose as at having humanity and vision.

So I wonder, what is winning at Hive and do the people reading this consider themselves winners? What are the streams of value you get from being here? How do you feel about being here? Do you get a sense of accomplishment for what you do here? Do you learn something valuable with the time spent?

Are you in some way a better person in the world for being on Hive?

I believe I am. Yes, I have the chance for a little financial security, but I am calmer, more skilled, a better husband and father, a better employee and entrepreneur, an improved friend and someone who has started adding more value to the world with more focused direction on future improvement. It is a slow process and there are no guarantees in the outcome, but it is valuable and meaningful to me. This is winning.

It might not be everyone's or even anyone's definition of what winning is for them, but that doesn't really matter, since my experience is my own, just like what I own is mine. In my opinion, a lot of people sell their success for money, instead of making money by being successful. As a result, the incentives are misaligned and the behavior can easily become harmful. If money is the indicator of success, it doesn't matter how it is made, which is a big reason we are currently in the global situation we are in. People successfully making money, no matter what they have to do, or who or what they harm along the way.

We all make decisions, it is all game theory. Some people will trade anything for money.

Even their own happiness.

Winning on Hive isn't calculated in HIVE, it factors in all of life.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]

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