Thread by @visakanv

super broadly: I trust my friends to be capable of excellence, and I nudge and challenge them towards it, moderately, with some sensitivity and some experimentation. not everyone wants this from their relationships, which is totally understandable

I spent a good decade or so being a lackadaisical underachiever, so I do get it. No judgement, no hate. Only love. We can still be friends in a casual sense. But I have a special energy that I save only for people who are also "keepers of the flame"

Sometimes I get my assessment wrong – sometimes the people who I assumed wanted X (usually because they talk about wanting X, lol) turn out to not really want X, or not want it that bad, etc. I used to get frustrated about this but now I see this too as all part of the process

incidentally I thought the teacher in Whiplash was needlessly antagonistic, cruel, harsh. To me it's a cautionary tale about a lack of perspective. You shouldn't have to abuse people. I much prefer Victor Wooten's approach – be nourishing and supportive

https://twitter.com/EashanKotha/status/1333156006608572419

this guy is widely considered to be one of the best bass players of all time, and look at his energy – encouraging, wholesome. he wants to make YOU sound good! which makes you want to become better so you can make HIM sound good. no abuse necessary

https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1222438497274888193

I build safe spaces for nourishing, not coddling. there's the common space outside the inner chambers– that's free to public, anyone can hang & and have a good time. but if you want to go inside, it's a psychological-emotional dojo in there. we train to get strong to help others