GeniesLoki

I don't really understand why everyone doesn't grind problem solving skills constantly. It feels like almost everyone gets to a certain (often quite low) skill level in what is basically a cheat code for life with unbounded upwards growth and then goes "welp, that's good enough"

i tried doing this and i think it might’ve been net negative

Sounds like a problem to solve to me!

i mean yes lol but part of what i had to do was (temporarily) step out of the frame in which there were “problems” that needed “solving”

I'm unconvinced.

Let's say you have a cruel inner critic that constantly says "you're not good enough". Yes, problem solving skills will help you "become better" more effectively. But you'll never be good enough for your cruel inner critic.

Now, you might say "you're solving the wrong problem". But from within, it doesn't feel like "I have a cruel inner critic". It feels like "I'm still not good enough; I just need to become EVEN BETTER".

A cruel inner critic doesn't feel like "a problem to solve". It feels like you. It IS you. It's the same you that's deciding what problems "you" "should" solve in the first place.