Simple, Succint, Shared Positivity

General
,
1

“Pokémon is sad now! Sad sad, bad bad!” But we know it isn’t lost. I am guilty of saying this too. I know I am wrong.

Bad actors have been around since day dot. I remember the progenitors, I met some of them. Sad. Bad.

Exposure and frequency increases thanks to internet and this is true! I can’t deny. I get caught too. I become sad.

But no more. I realise things. Cup of tea, a thought, what was it all about?

Pokémon is not sad. It’s about challenges and meeting them head on. It’s about friends, cute creatures, cool beaches and forests… and being kind and standing up for what is right.

Bad things try to corrupt. Card prices, misbehaving, wawee! It feels painful, inescapable. People being mean, out for themselves only, predatory… yes. This is sad.

But Pokémon is not sad & we must not lose sight.

So we share, please, in this thread, succint wisdoms for coping with the sad bits!

I yesterday lamented my dear Masaki Gengar who is now very expensive - I love the art, I love the acquistion method, the story… Now so unachievable.

But I reflected. Not having the card doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate those things, and how they relate to my memories. I reached this conclusion.

If I didn’t buy it when it was cheaper, it’s always been too expensive for me! The price going up doesn’t matter at all because simply put, it wasn’t worth more to me than having that money when it was cheaper.

This felt like it helped me, despite being a simpler revelation. Startled me that I had been so blind to it. We can only ever live in the present.

We lift each other up all the time. We’re all members here for a reason. Turn your hat backwards, and prepare to try!

So please, lets share our revelations, our coping affirmations, our joy. Simple one liners, a few sentences.

Pokémon is not sad, and neither is E4!

(This is not meant to be preachy in any way, and I assure you I’m not even on any meds that I’ve forgotten to take. I’d just like to see some threads for joy amidst the ones for sorrow.)

14 Likes
2

It’s a really interesting take, I think there’s definitely some truth in this: recognizing where you started and the fact that every decision you took was done at the best of your knowledge, is extremely important.

I could have bought Gold stars in 2016? Yes, but I didn’t have any interest in them, with my most expensive purchase failing to even reach 50$. The whole landscape was so different. Acknowledging that the majority of things in this world aren’t under your control is actually pretty liberating.
Can also be frustrating, I won’t lie, but having some fellow members to share our collecting misadventures is definitely helpful.

Can’t wait to read other succinct wisdoms, great thread!

9 Likes
3

I think its time for me to shine:

6 Likes
4

If even one person feels a little bit better, I’ll be happy. I’ve always felt like I have no regrets because I’ve always acted, at the time, to the best of my knowledge.

Shine indeed, I like your thread a lot and it’s great to see gratitude and appreciation on the daily!

5 Likes
5

Great thread, I look forward to reading other’s wisdom! Here’s a haiku that can apply to Pokemon cards and life I suppose :slightly_smiling_face::

To usher in peace

One must embrace contentment

For greed is despair

6 Likes
6

Played Black 2 a few months ago and sometimes we just need to hear these kinds of things :')

IMG_1892
IMG_18921920×1429 442 KB

7 Likes
7

There a great book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, which talks about two different thinking modes in our brain. System 1 is used for quick thoughts and system 2 only engages when we have more time to think about something.

This is why people say never make a decision when you’re emotional, because you’re likely in System 1. This isn’t always bad, but it’s impulsive and not fully thought out.

Companies will use tactics like “Buy within the next 3 hours for same day delivery!” or “only 3 left in stock!” because it engages System 1 thinking, and you’re more impulsive/likely to spend.

One way to combat this type of marketing is to have your own reference point for an acceptable price, which is similar to what you’re mentioning. If it is only worth $100 to you, it doesn’t matter if the seller says they’ll give you 10% off $200, because you already framed it as only being worth $100 initially.

FOMO is tamable.

6 Likes
8

Lovely haiku - definitely applies to a collecting hobby. Being grateful for what we have as well as the excitement of the chase is the best balance.

The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide!

3 Likes
9

I love this. Yes, the games are full of wonderful little nuggets of encouragement. Playing through them as a child, I really did feel a sense of accomplishment because they are full of praise! That’s another amazing thing about the games too - I remember as a child learning so many new words from them, and personally know people that the games helped to develop English as a second language.

I was re-watching Pokémon 2000 lately and the opening in part is what inspired me to make this thread:

“Another perfect day in paradise. The weather, warm. The breezes, balmy. The water, calm and crystal clear. Even Pokémon trainers deserve a break on a day like today. And as our heroes sail through the Orange Islands, Ash Ketchum dreams of his next big adventure. Little does he know, it will be his greatest.”

It just encapsulates for me how it felt as a kid. So exciting. What will happen, what Pokémon will be there? There’s just so much positivity to be had and optimism. I can’t wait to share that forward one day for my own children.

4 Likes
10

Excellent recommendation, thank you. I will pick it up. There’s so much to be cautious of with that kind of thing, especially where “algorithms” and advertising are engineered now to be ever more predatory and catch us in that System 1 mind.

But you’re right, it is tameable and it is also something that has happened before.

I’ve been having a hard time with work at the moment and on a whim I picked up Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations to read, thinking I’d find solidarity throughout the ages that yes, there have always been challenging people to deal with… and lo, I did!

2 Likes
11

Seems very important today.

It’s okay to take a breather. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a break. Nobody can take from you what you already have. :pikajoy:

3 Likes
12

A local gamestop let me “preorder” a mega evolution etb for this Friday. They’re holding it for me until after the crowd is gone

Really nice of them considering there’s rarely pokemon in stock to use the $5/month coupon on!

4 Likes
13

I feel there are many things to say but I do not want to get very preachy about it. I have given this topic a lot of thought so would share my perspectives and learnings and would also like to read from others.

FOMO : This is really a struggle to deal with in this hobby. However, now, I always try to look at any missed opportunity as an opportunity to do something better. I feel when dealing with certain emotions our minds always exaggerates things the impact a ‘missed opportunity’ might have had on us. Then I think about the decisions I have not missed and still sometimes go, “Shit, that was not as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Maybe next time I can do better” I always remember the opportunities I did take and I wished that I had missed it. Why am I so sure that the card I did not purchase would make me any more happier if I did buy it before?

100% this. There is only one of me and if at the given moment, I was not equipped, physically, mentally and in the case of our hobby monetarily, then the opportunity never existed. Always thinking, “I could have made use of the opportunity to buy the card but did not” is the claim that I could somehow, suddenly been a different person in a different position at the time, that even though I wasn’t ready I somehow “could” have been anyway.

State of the hobby : I personally think this change starts from me. I need to be and emulate what I want this hobby to be for me and possibly for anyone entering this in the future. Everytime I want to argue with someone on what I believe was wrong, I pause and ask myself, ‘Given the same position, would I choose to do any different?’ I think by the time I rationalize the answer, which is not always black and white, I feel I have calmed myself down to a point where the argument seems pointless to me.

Things you mentioned depend strongly on your understanding of your position in society. I truly believe that we should reach out and treat other people as we would treat ourselves. I believe this is the best way to live. I truly believe that if a random person is in need of help in this hobby and I am in a position to do so, I should do it because the net positive is just great.

Helping others will rarely help you, but that is not the point of doing good. The point of doing good is that it needs to be done, since someone needs it. It will rarely be honoured or rewarded but it is always necessary and for the better.

Sorry for the long rant! Again, these things are always easier said than done. But we can all try.

Cheers!

6 Likes
14

In the middle of all the hype i’ve found joy from every little niche non-tcg item i’ve gotten, i believe for all of us the happiness is there in the middle of everything if we just can look closer and find the not always that obvious sources

5 Likes
15

I experience just as much joy listening to the music Pokémon music as I do collecting the cards. Its good to have a simple way to enjoy Pokémon.

LOL what’s worse from 2010 getting caught with Pokémon cards or getting caught listening to Pokémon music on your iPod???

4 Likes
16

This is very important. And something I’m thinking about during No Buy October. Non-TCG items are very fun!

4 Likes
17

If I didn’t sell the cards I did years ago, I wouldn’t own the cards I have now.

Do I have regrets? Sure, who doesn’t.
Do they change anything? Not at all. In fact I just learn from it (i buy multiples of everything now)

2 Likes