This is a Draft Amnesty Week draft. It may not be polished, up to my usual standards, fully thought through, or fully fact-checked.
Commenting and feedback guidelines:
This draft lacks the polish of a full post (I wrote this in ~30 minutes), but the content is almost there. The kind of constructive feedback you would normally put on a Forum post is very welcome. And this is a Forum post that I wouldn’t have posted without the nudge of Draft Amnesty Week. Fire away! (But be nice, as usual)
Lately I’ve been thinking about what I call the “EA–Asian–woman trifecta.” It’s the combination that makes me want to use every hour effectively, and that also leaves me feeling guilty when I can’t.
Upon a quick search on the Forum, I don’t seem to find others who have written about experiences similar to mine[1], so I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences.
What this feels like
I want to do more (I have multiple side project ideas), but have low energy after my day job (which is already in the impactful space).
There’s this constant tug of war between self-care and sustainability, and wanting to do more. (Also I can’t fully let go of comparing myself to my peers, and people in this space are so capable and seem to do so much.)
The trifecta
I’m making broad generalizations here, but here’s how I think each of my identities plays a role:
EA
Wanting to maximize impact; potentially feeling uneasy when time and effort aren’t optimized
Asian
Strong conditioning to go on the default/stable path; strong sense of filial piety; hard to be unconventional and adventurous
General belief in hard work and diligence; diligence held as a virtue
In EA, where optimizing for impact is already emphasized, this Asian aspect can amplify guilt when “not doing enough”
Woman
Socialized to care for others and may be prone to deprioritize the self; feeling guilty about rest or personal growth
Where I’m at
I don’t really have a good solution for navigating this myself, but my hope for this post:
Please know that you’re not alone if you feel something similar. If you’d love to chat, feel free to reach out here via DM or on the Hive Slack.
If you have any suggestions on how to find a balance between doing more good and being well, I’d love to hear them.
Navigating the EA–Asian–woman trifecta
Commenting and feedback guidelines:
This draft lacks the polish of a full post (I wrote this in ~30 minutes), but the content is almost there. The kind of constructive feedback you would normally put on a Forum post is very welcome. And this is a Forum post that I wouldn’t have posted without the nudge of Draft Amnesty Week. Fire away! (But be nice, as usual)
Lately I’ve been thinking about what I call the “EA–Asian–woman trifecta.” It’s the combination that makes me want to use every hour effectively, and that also leaves me feeling guilty when I can’t.
Upon a quick search on the Forum, I don’t seem to find others who have written about experiences similar to mine[1], so I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences.
What this feels like
I want to do more (I have multiple side project ideas), but have low energy after my day job (which is already in the impactful space).
There’s this constant tug of war between self-care and sustainability, and wanting to do more. (Also I can’t fully let go of comparing myself to my peers, and people in this space are so capable and seem to do so much.)
The trifecta
I’m making broad generalizations here, but here’s how I think each of my identities plays a role:
EA
Wanting to maximize impact; potentially feeling uneasy when time and effort aren’t optimized
Asian
Strong conditioning to go on the default/stable path; strong sense of filial piety; hard to be unconventional and adventurous
General belief in hard work and diligence; diligence held as a virtue
In EA, where optimizing for impact is already emphasized, this Asian aspect can amplify guilt when “not doing enough”
Woman
Socialized to care for others and may be prone to deprioritize the self; feeling guilty about rest or personal growth
Where I’m at
I don’t really have a good solution for navigating this myself, but my hope for this post:
Please know that you’re not alone if you feel something similar. If you’d love to chat, feel free to reach out here via DM or on the Hive Slack.
If you have any suggestions on how to find a balance between doing more good and being well, I’d love to hear them.
I was later pointed to @Julia_Wise🔸’s post “You have more than one goal, and that’s fine”, which explores similar ideas.