Ben Patton
@benapatton.com
730 followers 310 following 820 posts
Instructor @egghead.io Content Engineer @inngest.com
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benapatton.com
@karenswallowprior.bsky.social if you happen to want to read this I would greatly appreciate your insight/thoughts.

I know it is most likely not the best written and could probably have used some review software, but alas, I am trying to build a habit of writing more
benapatton.com
Alright Case Study 1 is up. A lot of conversations I have with people are in a southern evangelical context and so spirituality, the bible, God, sin and so on will come up in many of these case studies.

This one is on anxiety and helping a friend in it

benapatton.com/articles/cas...
Case Study 1: Hightened Anxiety
When the anxiety suddenly goes high tide
benapatton.com
benapatton.com
- ability to take over screen
- almost have an e-ink type display
- and probably a host of other things
benapatton.com
What are the best writing tools that my friends who love to write have found? I find nothing satisfies and yet I don't know what I am looking for.

Feels like it would have options for:
- parallel documents
- document storage and references
- search
- canvas for sketching / notes
- timer for focus
benapatton.com
Reminds me of Kathy Sierras example of the dog outside of a cage being made to sit expending all its cognitive resources

obviously kids are not dogs and a cage is obviously a no go

also, if all you have to offer is “it’s just a hard season and I’ve been there”

i will gladly take that!!
benapatton.com
Anyone with kids know how to tap into their intrinsic motivation at 330am so going back to sleep isn’t met with gnashing of teeth

extrinsic motivation doesnt work
benapatton.com
Just using the @11ty.dev base blog starter

Wrote my first (overview) type article of what I am focusing on with relation to side work moving forward

benapatton.com/articles/som...
benapatton.com
Just a public thank you to Netlify and Cloudflare for drag and drop deployments. Makes me want to dance. But I'll keep it to myself
benapatton.com
This x10000 with kids as well. If I can apologize and ask for forgiveness when I raise my voice or don't try to understand them it makes our relationship so much better
benapatton.com
Will be writing case studies and some deeper personal reflections as well.

But it all ties together for me so I will also continue with my tech blog and the software I get advocate for on a daily basis.
benapatton.com
Also, its the start of a new focus/direction for my writing and will be utilizing @amyhoy.bsky.social and @alexhillman.com's 30x500 a bunch more for things I am writing about.

I've been dipping my toes back into the counseling world and am leaning in the direction of coaching.
benapatton.com
Its that time of year again

Rebuilding a blog but this time starting with a base 11ty blog and then will be gradually adding to it while going through @bell.bz complete CSS course.
benapatton.com
If you predict AI will write all software in 6 months every 6 months eventually you will probably be right and then ego will drive you to say "I told you so."

But what a silly thing to hold to rather than helping people advance in everyway
benapatton.com
Like every single demo I have ever thought about making would potentially exist if I could make things look as beautiful as they do in my head.
benapatton.com
So much of my web dev life could have been sped up if I serious design, like @bell.bz and friends teach, would have been taught from the outset.

Now it feels like living and spinning in an never ending cycle crap design without personal skills (due to crazy brain) to make good designs
benapatton.com
I feel my webby friends would like this. Might be a fun excuse to dabble in random things and show some fun possibilities with your skills!

Thinking of the recent convo with @amyhoy.bsky.social on Javascript.
benapatton.com
Near to my life in the sense of what can I do today? What good (generous act) can I do today.

Sometimes that is simply, show up, do your work, work hard, serve others, love your family, friends, etc

Sometimes it is something else. But it has to be where you are not someone else.
benapatton.com
And we see this in religion/spirituality as well.

I have more thoughts but I feel I should stop and just sign off. But for me the aim is to help others and for us to always be moving forward in the "meaningful." I know that definition can become subjective.

But it also has to be near to my life
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And then it is a sore that festers if no progress is made in a meaningful way.

But we don't ever define meaningful. We don't have a collective definition of "meaingful".

So we fracture and think hope and renewed purpose looks a very singular way and only then will my inner life be refreshed
benapatton.com
The Progress Principle acknowledges/states that negative momentum, loss of progress (downs in US football, congressional seats, goals in life) is much more powerful than the positive

I don't have the exact answer why but as humans negative events radically destabailize internal equilibrium
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Lets move on to a bit more macro and yet micro.

Social media and Nations

Obviously everyone knows what is going on in the US cause its at most a foot from your face

This is a general comment

Our (US) system posits "sides" to mean the other gains/looses progress
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Loss of yards, down, penalties are proverbial 'punch in the gut' to progress. Thus people get drunk

Conversely its why there are bandwagon fans.
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Games are awesome to an extent because there is an objective and many progress indicators along the way.

In American Football, it is broken down by "and inches". Literal progress will be measured in inches to give the indication of momentum.

Its why negative yards or turnovers suck.
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Lets start high level and move to personal

Sports. Progress is built into sports and games at a fundamental level. But how do we know?

When your sports team or sport of choice's equivalent to a first down doesn't get a first down, what do you feel?

Pissed off, discouragement, hopelessness?
benapatton.com
Thread on progress after reading half of The Progress Principle

Progress is, in my mind, becoming one of the clearest metrics of health in individuals.

Progress as referenced in the book is in line with work people do.

But it is much much bigger than that. And I think we see it by is inverse