Previously, I have written about watch collectors’ addiction to both buying new watches, and social media… and how we could benefit from reducing our dopamine dependance. In this post, although related, I wanted to share some brief thoughts around motivated reasoning and how it impacts our thoughts and behaviour as collectors on Instagram.
Category: mental
Let’s talk about Envy
I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with a few friends I made through Instagram, and among the many topics we discussed, we explored the concept of envy in relation to watches and Instagram. It is a pretty gnarly topic which, understandably, doesn’t get discussed too often. I thought it would be interesting to explore. I’d like to thank @running_sands, @horology_ancienne and @watchguy315 for their opinions and thoughts on the matter.
How to think
It has been a while since my last post… and in this case, the connection to watches doesn’t extend beyond anything I have said before. The topic of thinking itself, is something I haven’t previously addressed explicitly, though I have probably talked around it in several ways. So here’s a first attempt!
Happiness versus Relief
What is the difference between happiness and relief, and how does this apply to watch collecting? This is a discussion about our inner-critic, and our inner-cheerleader – along with some thoughts about pursuing lasting joy; not only when it comes to watch collecting, but life in general.
Social status and watch collecting
Social status is formally defined as “a person’s standing or importance in relation to other people within a society” and yet, people often think of status exclusively in terms of wealth. The truth is, the concept of social status is at play everywhere; In every situation where we get the feeling that we are of value to other people, or where where we feel even an iota of elevation in our relative social position. The universal human desire for status greatly influences our culture, as well as our own behaviour and the ups and downs of our mood… turns out, this probably has a lot to do with our hobby as watch collectors too!
Dopamine and watch collecting
In her book Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke – psychiatrist, author and Chief of Stanford’s Addiction Medicine Clinic – explores why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain… and offers suggestions on what to do about it. She condenses complex neuroscience into simple metaphors often using the experiences of her patients. I thought there was some benefit in talking about the concepts at a high level, and drawing some parallels to this weird world of collecting watches.
ScrewDownCrown 