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Board games especially fall easily into this trap. Once the novelty wears off they get boring really fast. The ones with the most replayability end up feeling more like work to most people. (Chess, Go, even Poker)

Is “play” actually finite while “work” is infinite? Play is fun because it has an end while work is not fun because you’re stuck in a time loop like in groundhog day. You have to reach the “thing”, and then you are free to move on.

Life is fun when you realize it will end and is work when you feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again.

I suspect the trick to breaking out of a time loop is to realize that the “thing” you’re trying to get isn’t something tangible like a promotion or a mansion. It’s a kind of recognition and acceptance and affirmation.

Instead of optimizing to whatever thing you’ve set your eyes on, optimize for acceptance. Be brave enough to show yourself a bit and build a community around yourself.

The only example we have is our family. We use our families to calibrate what “community feeling” is. The children of broken families often end up soldiers or soldier-service b/c the have no sense of community.

All they have is whatever system they’re born into. Either they serve consumerism, the dominant ideology, or serve in a literal army.

Time loops are maintained by “psuedo-divine” goals. The goals that recede as you get closer. There’s always better. It’s pseudo-divine because it’s always a better person.