What is this spoon theory I keep running into?
Off and on as I roam the internet, I have come across mention of how many spoons someone has as a metaphor for how much energy and ability they have to tackle the day's challenges. I've always wondered what that meant, exactly, and the internet is great for looking such things up. Just in case you've ever wondered the same thing, I'd suggest you check out this site, which explains it:
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory-written-by-christine-miserandino/
And for creepy lurkers like myself who are trying to figure out how to act right by, like, listening to how other people want to be addressed, there's this interesting discussion of who is allowed to use the spoon analogy in discussing their capacity for dealing with the world, and who is just being offensively entitled when doing so. The comments thread underneath is fascinating.
This particular topic has been of interest to me since I saw someone getting called out as ableist for using the word "lame" as a pejorative. I am not the most socially ept person and I try to address that in a lot of ways, to get better, be nicer, understand other people and figure out where I'm going wrong. All my life, people have told me I'm smart. All my life, I've thought that being smart isn't worth a damn unless I can use it to improve my life. Part of that is trying to improve my relations with other people, because no matter how introverted I would love to be, I *do* have social needs and I am living a life that requires frequent interaction.
One of the things I do is read. I used to be all about spouting my own nonsense (like here!) and that has really pissed off some people at me, a few of them right here on LJ. Lurk moar, spout less. Speaking of which, I've said what I wanted to say and will sign off.
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory-written-by-christine-miserandino/
And for creepy lurkers like myself who are trying to figure out how to act right by, like, listening to how other people want to be addressed, there's this interesting discussion of who is allowed to use the spoon analogy in discussing their capacity for dealing with the world, and who is just being offensively entitled when doing so. The comments thread underneath is fascinating.
This particular topic has been of interest to me since I saw someone getting called out as ableist for using the word "lame" as a pejorative. I am not the most socially ept person and I try to address that in a lot of ways, to get better, be nicer, understand other people and figure out where I'm going wrong. All my life, people have told me I'm smart. All my life, I've thought that being smart isn't worth a damn unless I can use it to improve my life. Part of that is trying to improve my relations with other people, because no matter how introverted I would love to be, I *do* have social needs and I am living a life that requires frequent interaction.
One of the things I do is read. I used to be all about spouting my own nonsense (like here!) and that has really pissed off some people at me, a few of them right here on LJ. Lurk moar, spout less. Speaking of which, I've said what I wanted to say and will sign off.