I doubt this is solely a capitalist mind set but rather a human mindset. Measurements existed long before capitalism was codified. (If it is truly that, I would love to see a reference that links all tracking, measuring and rewarding/punishing changes as purely related to an economic system. Clearly, some amount is tied to retention, ad viewing etc. But others are not.)
In fact, I think you make this point with sharing the Substack data. Your stated goal of this blog has been primarily around sharing your experiences and opening communication channels. While you have allowed for a subscription option, I do not see much behavior that is optimizing that angle. For example, I've seen on other sites where there is a lot of dangling of content from the paid side in front of non-paying viewers. You do not seem to be doing that. (Full disclosure: I am a paying subscriber so maybe I just don't see this since I already "bit.")
However, to achieve your stated goal of reaching people, processing retirement and sharing, the metrics are helpful in increasing that reach. Or at least they can be should you choose to use it that way.
The real question is how yours and others brains work. Goals are fun if you enjoy them. I have lots of running goals and tracking that I look at daily. There is no economic gain behind this - I just enjoy the numbers, finding new ways to upgrade my google spreadsheet tracjer, motivating me each day to get out there. And then since I do track these, I can enjoy my daily runs (and other workouts) for more time during the day beyond just the activity.
When I was in Japan the past two weeks, I always tracked our hikes and walks. I called it "getting credit," but it helped in other ways, having 2 little kids in tow. I knew how much longer/further we had, we could share our achievement and I got to add it to my Strava feed to share photos. During the trip, my son and daughter-in-law took an intense hike by themselves while Rebecca and I watched the little ones and then I took them to a Japanese Garden. None of those were tracked - the big kids don't do that. And the little kids experience would have been an interesting GPS track mess - here, there, everywhere and two times to the bathroom! So, it all depends on what is fun and when.
Like many things, this can become obsessions. People can get manic chasing Apple rings on their Watches. I used to sign up for the free monthly Strava mileage and elevation challenges. But I did not find them fun, there were too many cheaters so the leaderboards were useless, and my engagement in my running did not increase; I did them because I would anyway. So who cares? I still see the monthly invites in my feed, but I just ignore them.
The key - and I think this is at the heart of your posts - is to know oneself. Combine this with the courage to change habits that no longer work, or to invest in ones that work better for oneself one's family/community/etc. That in itself can turn into a goal but it doesn't have to lead to anything beyond personal satisfaction.
Totally agree that we likely had metrics and counting before we had capitalism. As I mentioned in my comment back to Doug, I was thinking about Buddhism as a contrast which seems much more values-based than metrics-based.
Also, thank you for seeing that I'm not working to monetize the Substack. (And thank you for the paid subscription!) The "Dr. Evil" actually came in Medium, which I was only using to try to become a better writer. The monetization was less for the money itself, but to see what types of things would improve the "VIews" and "Read" metrics among those who do not know me. Having the editors on the Medium publications also resulted in some very good feedback. All that said, I think I started spending too much energy thinking about the "scoring."
As for metrics with Strava, I totally get the point about tracking for enjoyment versus tracking due to obsession. I don't think I am abandoning the metrics altogether. I think I just want to "turn the knobs" a bit to reduce the obsessive nature in me!
I was intrigued by you labeling the metrics mindset as “capitalist.” So what would the mindset look like if it were socialist, anarchist, communist..?
BTW - I agree that we spend too much time measuring things instead of enjoying them. Case in point - what bothers me most about my foot injury isn’t that I may lose the 135 mile hike I had planned for this summer. Rather, I am in despair that my daily step count has plummeted!
You are right that the economic system wasn't quite the right way to describe this. I was comparing the workings of our society to a more values-based system like Buddhism. I don't think a Buddhist would set a KPI for compassion, for example, and try to improve compassion by 20%!
Quantitative metrics seem to be very prevalent in our society, and I think I conflated this quantitative nature with capitalism. I agree that metrics would also likely thrive in a socialist economy!
Sorry about the foot injury.
I totally get what you're saying about step count. My step count has gone down in 2025 over 2024 just because my Apple Watch battery doesn't last all day anymore. The bigger picture of whether I'm walking enough seems secondary, as I'm sort of getting everywhere I need to go without driving much...
My snarky comment to measure “dicking around” is that you didn’t measure. Walk until you’re tired or hungry. When the watch asks if you want to track it, say no or don’t even bring it. You have a phone for time, or you could gently ask a stranger.
Considering a life of corporate living and high achievement, I propose the thought experiment of experiencing for the sake of doing so. For them younglings, fighting the urge of “if there’s no photo, it didn’t happen”.
There are many people who got placed and also sculpted a space of external validation or measurement. It’s how many things function as you’ve listed. What about internally, emotionally?
There’s plenty of experiences no one puts on a bucket list that end up there anyway. Funniest things your kids did as babies, toddlers, teens, adults. The time Marsha offered a special kindness that led to tears or a laugh.
What would it be like to be content even if no one is looking except ourselves. This feels to me very “one hand clapping” zen. Though your perspective, oddly, isn’t that unique given many circumstances.
I sometimes bring up smart goals in client sessions because for some, I know they know it as soothing and nightmarish. One may talk about PIPs. It’s just as meaningful to review moments we cherish from loved ones and gentle strangers. What kind of life do I want? Very existential. And it can also change next year, because we’re people who do that. … end of deep thoughts Wednesday :)
I doubt this is solely a capitalist mind set but rather a human mindset. Measurements existed long before capitalism was codified. (If it is truly that, I would love to see a reference that links all tracking, measuring and rewarding/punishing changes as purely related to an economic system. Clearly, some amount is tied to retention, ad viewing etc. But others are not.)
In fact, I think you make this point with sharing the Substack data. Your stated goal of this blog has been primarily around sharing your experiences and opening communication channels. While you have allowed for a subscription option, I do not see much behavior that is optimizing that angle. For example, I've seen on other sites where there is a lot of dangling of content from the paid side in front of non-paying viewers. You do not seem to be doing that. (Full disclosure: I am a paying subscriber so maybe I just don't see this since I already "bit.")
However, to achieve your stated goal of reaching people, processing retirement and sharing, the metrics are helpful in increasing that reach. Or at least they can be should you choose to use it that way.
The real question is how yours and others brains work. Goals are fun if you enjoy them. I have lots of running goals and tracking that I look at daily. There is no economic gain behind this - I just enjoy the numbers, finding new ways to upgrade my google spreadsheet tracjer, motivating me each day to get out there. And then since I do track these, I can enjoy my daily runs (and other workouts) for more time during the day beyond just the activity.
When I was in Japan the past two weeks, I always tracked our hikes and walks. I called it "getting credit," but it helped in other ways, having 2 little kids in tow. I knew how much longer/further we had, we could share our achievement and I got to add it to my Strava feed to share photos. During the trip, my son and daughter-in-law took an intense hike by themselves while Rebecca and I watched the little ones and then I took them to a Japanese Garden. None of those were tracked - the big kids don't do that. And the little kids experience would have been an interesting GPS track mess - here, there, everywhere and two times to the bathroom! So, it all depends on what is fun and when.
Like many things, this can become obsessions. People can get manic chasing Apple rings on their Watches. I used to sign up for the free monthly Strava mileage and elevation challenges. But I did not find them fun, there were too many cheaters so the leaderboards were useless, and my engagement in my running did not increase; I did them because I would anyway. So who cares? I still see the monthly invites in my feed, but I just ignore them.
The key - and I think this is at the heart of your posts - is to know oneself. Combine this with the courage to change habits that no longer work, or to invest in ones that work better for oneself one's family/community/etc. That in itself can turn into a goal but it doesn't have to lead to anything beyond personal satisfaction.
Totally agree that we likely had metrics and counting before we had capitalism. As I mentioned in my comment back to Doug, I was thinking about Buddhism as a contrast which seems much more values-based than metrics-based.
Also, thank you for seeing that I'm not working to monetize the Substack. (And thank you for the paid subscription!) The "Dr. Evil" actually came in Medium, which I was only using to try to become a better writer. The monetization was less for the money itself, but to see what types of things would improve the "VIews" and "Read" metrics among those who do not know me. Having the editors on the Medium publications also resulted in some very good feedback. All that said, I think I started spending too much energy thinking about the "scoring."
As for metrics with Strava, I totally get the point about tracking for enjoyment versus tracking due to obsession. I don't think I am abandoning the metrics altogether. I think I just want to "turn the knobs" a bit to reduce the obsessive nature in me!
Thanks for the thoughtful comments!
I was intrigued by you labeling the metrics mindset as “capitalist.” So what would the mindset look like if it were socialist, anarchist, communist..?
BTW - I agree that we spend too much time measuring things instead of enjoying them. Case in point - what bothers me most about my foot injury isn’t that I may lose the 135 mile hike I had planned for this summer. Rather, I am in despair that my daily step count has plummeted!
Thanks for the thinking here!
You are right that the economic system wasn't quite the right way to describe this. I was comparing the workings of our society to a more values-based system like Buddhism. I don't think a Buddhist would set a KPI for compassion, for example, and try to improve compassion by 20%!
Quantitative metrics seem to be very prevalent in our society, and I think I conflated this quantitative nature with capitalism. I agree that metrics would also likely thrive in a socialist economy!
Sorry about the foot injury.
I totally get what you're saying about step count. My step count has gone down in 2025 over 2024 just because my Apple Watch battery doesn't last all day anymore. The bigger picture of whether I'm walking enough seems secondary, as I'm sort of getting everywhere I need to go without driving much...
My snarky comment to measure “dicking around” is that you didn’t measure. Walk until you’re tired or hungry. When the watch asks if you want to track it, say no or don’t even bring it. You have a phone for time, or you could gently ask a stranger.
Considering a life of corporate living and high achievement, I propose the thought experiment of experiencing for the sake of doing so. For them younglings, fighting the urge of “if there’s no photo, it didn’t happen”.
There are many people who got placed and also sculpted a space of external validation or measurement. It’s how many things function as you’ve listed. What about internally, emotionally?
There’s plenty of experiences no one puts on a bucket list that end up there anyway. Funniest things your kids did as babies, toddlers, teens, adults. The time Marsha offered a special kindness that led to tears or a laugh.
What would it be like to be content even if no one is looking except ourselves. This feels to me very “one hand clapping” zen. Though your perspective, oddly, isn’t that unique given many circumstances.
I sometimes bring up smart goals in client sessions because for some, I know they know it as soothing and nightmarish. One may talk about PIPs. It’s just as meaningful to review moments we cherish from loved ones and gentle strangers. What kind of life do I want? Very existential. And it can also change next year, because we’re people who do that. … end of deep thoughts Wednesday :)
Great thoughts, Tracy!