LessWrong (Curated & Popular) “Don’t Mock Yourself” by Algon
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Oct 15, 2025 Discover the transformative power of stopping self-insults for two weeks. The host shares surprising insights about how often they caught themselves about to insult their own worth. They explore how self-deprecating humor often casts them as the butt of the joke and the challenge of shifting to different comedic styles. The experiment leads to a newfound distaste for negative media and a boost in confidence. They argue that self-mockery limits ambition and reinforces unhelpful identities, encouraging listeners to embrace positivity.
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Two-Week Self-Insult Fast
- Algon tried not insulting himself for two weeks and noticed how often he was about to self-insult multiple times an hour.
- The negative gap revealed he had been insulting himself far more than he realised.
Reworking The Joke Repertoire
- Removing self-mockery forced Algon to replace many of his jokes and repartees.
- He adapted his humour and believes he's as funny, perhaps funnier, without self-deprecation.
Clearing Negativity Reveals Media Taste
- Stopping self-mockery made Algon more sensitive to negative media and he often dropped content that felt too negative.
- He noticed negativity in material he previously tolerated and chose to avoid it.