this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2025
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The world actively rewards bad behavior. This realization was a difficult pill for me to swallow.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I've known this for a long time but I continue to do my best to operate honorably. I may never be rich or powerful, but I sleep very well at night.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I still don't sleep well, knowing the state of the world

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yea. Trying to be correct and do things in a respectful and good way makes me more and more bitter, resentful and judgemental.

Soon that in itself will corrupt me.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Learning this from my (soon-to-be-ex-) wife right now...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

There’s very few things more galling than yourself playing by the rules, putting in the time and effort to have some kind of social contract, only to have someone flippantly disregard said rules and contract and to benefit from it. Doesn’t matter if it’s someone cutting in line or pillaging the highest office in the land for their own gain.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

We create a world of kindness or selfishness, judgement or forgiveness every day. These behaviors may get you money or power, but the world you have to live in gets worse. I don't think you realize how much you lose getting ahead, and how much you cost everyone else.

[–] [email protected] 162 points 3 days ago (14 children)

I've got 2 kids in primary school. We teach them to be kind and caring, that cheaters never win. That bullies are bullies because they are not happy.

However a study came out that compared bullies and non bullies. Bullies kids are more likely to be successful financially and socially based on studies. I was sad for humanity when o found out.

It makes sense, in the same way that it makes sense that CEO's are more likely to be sociopaths. Human brains are made for small societies. When it's a larger society, negative traits can be helpful to get ahead. It's likely part of the reason we experience wars and famine and billionaires.

[–] [email protected] 104 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I love you put billionaires next to other disasters

[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 days ago (1 children)

In many ways billionaires are worse than the other disasters listed.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Mostly because people aspire to be billionaires. Society would be much better off if people aspired to be hurricanes.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It makes you bad at art and inventing tho. The liar plays a shallow game.

It says grim things that by playing the shallow game you can succeed in our society. I blame the rule of law. It was basically designed to be gamed.

Say what you will about dictators, at least they're human.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (8 children)

You take the Edison route of stealing from people like Tesla. One goes down as a famous inventor and the other dies broke and alone other than his pigeons.

And yes, the system is made for people to be pieces of shit because it was created by pieces of shit.

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[–] el_eh_chase 23 points 3 days ago (2 children)

You'll still be a shit person, likely with no meaningful friendships. That's gotta factor into the equation somehow.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago (2 children)

People with low empathy don't see people as companions, but more as tools to benefit themselves. So they don't really care as long as they have enough money and pawns to take care of themselves.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm a domestic abuse outreach worker and I see it a lot in clients. Abusers are always selfish and generally manipulative and liars. They have little or no empathy for their partner and rarely care how the partner feels. They're often highly successful in their field, because they have such great manipulation skills.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I imagine your job is as draining as it is fulfilling

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thanks mate, you certainly have to accept the losses. I look at soft outcomes though, so making the children feel heard and like they matter. It gets me through.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You couldn't be thanked enough for your work

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I really, truly appreciate it Keanu thanks so much ❤️

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Shhh...I made this elaborate fake name because I didn't want everyone to know I'm 8 time MTV Movie & TV Awards nominee and 4 time winner Keanu Reeves

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's ok I won't tell anyone, it'll be our total secret. Still love Bill and Ted BTW thanks for bringing it into the world!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Be excellent to each other and party on dudes!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

and party on dudes

This is why punctuation matters.

It's the difference between helping your uncle Jack, off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (11 children)

Reducing other people to mere tools is a symptom of psychopathy rather than simply low empathy. Yes, psychopaths are within the set of people with low empathy, however, shouldn't be confused with the set itself. It's also specifically a lack of affective (warm) empathy that's more of the problem than a lack of empathy in general, as some psychopaths do have cognitive (cold) empathy, and so do understand others (albeit to a limited extent), however, just use it to be more exploitive rather than less. This is by contrast with autistic people who often struggle with cognitive (cold) empathy, however, not with affective (warm) empathy, i.e. they don't know how they've hurt people but they know they've hurt people and try to avoid doing so.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

A system designed by psychopaths benefits psychopaths? No way...

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 days ago

Yes and i would choose to have morals anyway

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yeah that tends to happen when most everyone enables such behavior.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is only true in a world that is mostly full of people with morals. A society built on lying and manipulation inevitably collapses - look at what is happening to the United States. They elected an amoral lying manipulator and in just six months their society is unraveling. They just passed a law that took money away from hungry children and sick people so that their psychopathic leader can better persecute his enemies: that is, anyone who opposes him. ICE just became the best-funded "law" enforcement agency ever created. It is obvious to everyone except a handful of naive idiots that ICE will be used against US citizens to consolidate MAGA's power in an attempt to create a permanent regime. These states always collapse sooner or later, though, because morality is the foundation of law. No one is going to invest in a country where their assets can be seized and they can be imprisoned on the caprice of a senile madman. You can't have trade without trust - all that is left in places like the US are predators and prey.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago (2 children)

This unraveling has been going on a lot longer than just six months. It's been accelerating hard since the Patriot Act after 9/11. And even before that, Republicans had been lying about their support of free markets for generations.

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (27 children)

Maybe, but it also means that you'll be alone for eternity and will never have true friends or camaraderie, and that by itself will consume you.

There is only so many people you can do that to before everyone else catches on and shuns you. All the evil people in the world don't have any friends and are subject to betrayals and threats in their lives constantly. To me, that's not a bearable existence. Sure, you got power, but you're miserable and afraid all the time. Was that really worth it?

[–] [email protected] 58 points 3 days ago (2 children)

That doesn't seem to bother the kind of people being described

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

I so wish that I could grift the fuck out of the goddamn Nazis and get rich off of their idiocy but I would feel icky with dirty money.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

It's because we live in a system with perverse incentives. It's practically designed by psychopaths, for psychopaths. Still, we only get one life, don't spend it going against your better nature.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It may seem this way at times, however, it really depends on the system you're participating in.

Have a play around with: The evolution of trust - https://ncase.me/trust/

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It depends where you want to go. Knowledge is always bigger than power, power gives money but knowledge gives depression and suicide thoughts. The fast escape path is obvious.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago

Sure but it's lonely at the top. If you rise to the top by backstabbing people, you'll end up exactly how some people right now are, and you keep trying to accumulate more and be great or whatever messing up everything else and being hated.

While a simple life with your loved ones will give you satisfaction. And satisfaction is the key to happiness. Rather satisfaction is the ultimate happiness.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

By some definition of "further", sure. Mainly the definition someone with no remorse would have.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Exactly. OPs logic only works if your definition of happiness is money and going from being the oppressed to the oppressor.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Yay capitalism! Perfect reasoning not to feel bad lying on a resume.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It's true. Still, I can't lie for some reason.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago

It's easier not to lie. Remembering all the lies is too much effort, and being caught can be particularly embarrassing especially if you already have social anxiety.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'll die poor with morals rather than rich and evil. I'm okay with that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

You'll also live better. It's a sad indictment of society that people incapable of forming meaningful relationships, but able to buy some shiny crap they don't need, are considered successful.

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