I just read this great article that's definitely worth 2 minutes reading:
http://paulgraham.com/vb.html
Some relevant paragraphs are quoted below:
"When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is "bullsh!t." I realize that answer is somewhat tautological. It's almost the definition of bullsh!t that it's the stuff that life is too short for. And yet bullsh!t does have a distinctive character. There's something fake about it. It's the junk food of experience.
[...]
An example that will be familiar to a lot of people is arguing online. When someone contradicts you, they're in a sense attacking you. Sometimes pretty overtly. Your instinct when attacked is to defend yourself. But like a lot of instincts, this one wasn't designed for the world we now live in. Counterintuitive as it feels, it's better most of the time not to defend yourself. Otherwise these people are literally taking your life."
http://paulgraham.com/vb.html
Some relevant paragraphs are quoted below:
"When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is "bullsh!t." I realize that answer is somewhat tautological. It's almost the definition of bullsh!t that it's the stuff that life is too short for. And yet bullsh!t does have a distinctive character. There's something fake about it. It's the junk food of experience.
[...]
An example that will be familiar to a lot of people is arguing online. When someone contradicts you, they're in a sense attacking you. Sometimes pretty overtly. Your instinct when attacked is to defend yourself. But like a lot of instincts, this one wasn't designed for the world we now live in. Counterintuitive as it feels, it's better most of the time not to defend yourself. Otherwise these people are literally taking your life."