Staring into the abyss as a core life skill

benkuhn.net · 3,450 words · saved by 88 readers

thinking about scary things • examples from Wave • examples from elsewhere • finding a buddy • getting the timing right • a list of abyss questions

Recently I've been thinking about how all my favorite people are great at a skill I've labeled in my head as “staring into the abyss.” 1 Staring into the abyss means thinking reasonably about things that are uncomfortable to contemplate, like arguments against your religious beliefs, or in favor of breaking up with your partner. It's common to procrastinate on thinking hard about these things because it might require you to acknowledge that you were very wrong about something in the past, and perhaps wasted a bunch of time based on that (e.g. dating the wrong person or praying to the wrong god

Staring into the abyss as a core life skill

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