{early pause}... (you should have known this:)

YOU (not just them over there)

CAN (tho maybe you shouldn't?)

JUST (its weirdly easy)

DO (not talking/writing/planning/delaying)

THINGS (weird/hard/easy things... really ANYthing)

{late pause} (I'll make eye contract until you START)

-@jenniferRM, riffing on norvid_studies.

You should know this by now, but you can just do things. That you didn't know this is an indictment of your social environment, which taught you how to act.

You Can Just Do Things

Yes, you. All the activities you see other people do? You can do them, too. Whether or not you'll find it hard, you can do them.

The barriers you see to doing so are not iron-hard constraints. They are obstacles you can climb over, costs you've reified into infinitely high cliffs because constraining the action space, and thereby the solution space, can simplify life. But always remember, these are fake cliffs. If you actually want to solve a problem, if you feel but the barest moment of whimsy, you can topple them with but a thought and expand the action space however much you like.

If you are ruling out actions, make sure it is because it is [...]

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Outline:

(00:48) You Can Just Do Things

(01:38) You Can Just Do Things

(02:20) You Can Just Do Things

(03:08) You Can Just Do Things

(04:02) You Can Just Do Things

(05:06) You Can Just Do Things

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First published:
November 23rd, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zwXdepvTr9FqQY6dw/you-can-just-do-things

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

You can just do things

LessWrong (30+ Karma)