Kaj Sotala said:
[I]f you punish yourself for trying and failing, you stop wanting to try in the first place, as it becomes associated with the negative emotions. Also, accepting and being okay with the occasional failure makes you treat it as a genuine choice where you have agency, not something that you're forced to do against your will.
So maybe we should celebrate failed attempts more often ... I for one can't think of anything I've failed at recently, which is probably a sign that I'm not trying enough new things.
So, what specific things have you failed at recently?
It's not "various things" that trigger me. At this point in my life, it's exclusively his blog/twitter account.
I'll be the first to admit that my reaction to his blog is ridiculously out of proportion. Yes, his opinions are asinine, but a lot of people say asinine things and they don't worked up like he does.
I guess I could try and break the connection between reading his blog and hitting myself, but I think it would be easier to just stop reading the blog altogether. It doesn't enlighten me and it just makes me angry. Almost any other site would be a better use of my time.
This may have occurred to you, but it seems too obvious not to suggest - do stress release devices help at all? A punching bag seems to me to be a good idea.