10K+ in One Week! I'm Done! Not Talking About Cross-Border Independent Sites Anymore! Not Wanting to Work 'Corporate Hell' Yet Doing Nothing? W24-25

Global Commerce

Everyone, there's not much to report. These two weeks, cross-border independent site business investment was only 3%. Deserved to lose money. Couldn't be bothered replying to customer emails, couldn't be bothered posting social media content, couldn't be bothered maintaining or optimizing the site. Complete autopilot mode.

Personal Brand & IP

1. Recently discovered my previous article was plagiarized by major media/platforms. Felt pretty weird. hahahaha.

2. Group 8 established.

Let's Talk About Positive Energy Life: When Life Gives You Choices

During my year-plus of home SOHO lifestyle, I've done some self-observation: I periodically switch between疯狂躺 (going all-out resting) and疯狂炫 (going all-out working). Working intensely for a spell, then intensely decompressing and "playing" for a spell. Passively fighting work fatigue this way.

Currently satisfied with this "relatively fresh" lifestyle. After all, I've never experienced such self-driven give-and-take before. Far from "getting rich quick," but the harvest is worthy of my付出. I get what I put in; when I don't put in effort, I can freely choose what I want to do and enjoy. In influencer language

(lying flat freedom) achieved.

But more importantly, future lifestyle has infinite imagination space, and I've gained the initiative to choose (think about it — after living most of my life, it's the first time I feel life is truly something I can choose). If you want to, you can do anything: suddenly want to go hiking/traveling/eating good food, just pack and go; want to cultivate a new skill or hobby, just go for it; even wanting to be a digital nomad traveling domestically or internationally isn't completely impossible. In influencer language: the meaning of life has been具象化 (made concrete).

Let's Talk About This Negative Energy 'Corporate Hell': Do You Show Your Negative Emotions at Work?

Recently heard countless offline friends complaining about corporate hell and those colleagues who can't speak nicely, then these past two days, the "polite coffee" incident.

For me, my previous work experiences were really pleasant — nice bosses and colleagues, challenging and interesting work content, satisfactory compensation. So I considered myself a positive energy baby in most workplace situations. Of course, I only have myself to blame for being too weak — not qualified to enter today's highly competitive and戾气 (toxic) phase, already eliminated by the workplace. This means I don't have much to complain about.

But I've always been curious: how bad does one's work and life have to be for them to如此"挂相" (show off their negative emotions so openly)?如此"戾气负面"?

Showing Negative Emotions is the Weak's Protective Color

What is "挂相"? The first time I truly felt negative social emotions showing was when I first entered the workforce, on the Beijing subway.

I strongly suggest all positive energy babies try taking Beijing's morning and evening rush hour subway. In the crowd pressing chest to back, every young person has a grim expression, everyone wearing an expression of hating life and hating their surroundings. The entire subway atmosphere is oppressive, a tightly wound string about to snap. In the crowd pushing to get on and off, you can hear like a symphony of birds — everyone fiercely blaming each other for not giving way, then almost every week you hear arguments like:

"Are you f——ing stupid! Don't push!" "If you hate crowding, don't take the subway! Idiot!"

And if at this moment you're bright and sunny, full of positive energy, wearing an expression of "it's okay, it's okay" or "oh I'm so sorry," you'd actually seem like an outsider, like someone easy to bully, naive and sweet, without temper or principles. So you also have to follow this Beijing subway Vibe, learning to furrow your brow in public showing an angry state — making you seem like you're in the middle of a billion-dollar business negotiation that's not going well, when actually your salary is only 5k.

Of course, to some extent, this is a "good" phenomenon. Because you can sense that most people are self-digesting — they're just self-lamenting on the subway, not hurting anyone in this situation. They just hope to expel negative emotions during their one or two hours of commute, so they can maintain a smile at work, serving their boss and clients.

But the disrespected delivery guys, express delivery riders, and Didi drivers being screamed at for not turning left — they're not so lucky. They exactly encountered people who can't self-digest, people who output negative emotions from work and life onto those relatively "weaker."

But actually looking back, the pressure releasers are also the weak in their environment — they just have nowhere else to vent or release pressure.

The "Polite Coffee" Incident is Exactly the Same

Both sides possibly rigidly confronting each other — workers who can't self-digest due to corporate hell or crappy life. On one side the barista getting treated like a horse, on the other side a customer who might have just been nodding and bowing at work and rushing to catch a flight to continue serving their boss or clients.

So most people might simply be weak (this "weak" isn't really a very negative word — it's just a deficiency in ability). They have no ability to handle self-emotions, no ability to handle business. They can only use挂相 to isolate themselves and transmit pressure outward, masking their weak-person image.

This weakness and tendency to show off might come from their family of origin and growth environment, or from being constantly压榨 (exploited) and刺激 (provoked) later in life.

What's scary is, more and more workplace people now don't bother pretending, or genuinely can't hold on anymore. Starting to directly confront each other. Previously civilized politeness was the default, now people who don't挂相反而 become the outliers.

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