this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

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I feel bad for people who say "I can't" when they mean "I won't". (lazysoci.al)
submitted 2 days ago by presoak@lazysoci.al to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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They’re disempowering themselves. Describe themselves as a victim of circumstance, powerless and without responsibility. It’s a disempowering narrative. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. In this story that we live, you are casting yourself as an npc.

On the flip side, saying “I can’t” adds authority to your argument. You’re citing an unstoppable force as the root cause of your actions. So it’s a tradeoff that way.

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[–] uniquethrowagay@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yet it is an obvious concept. That's why people here are confused by the post

[–] cheesorist@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I believe most of the comments are joking.

the point is very clear, its not that "cant" and "wont" fill the same purpose, that is clarified in the post.

the point is that people say they cant when they mean they wont, because if they can't, that implies its beyond them and thus they cannot be forced into doing it, such as not knowing how to build a rocket.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In which case "I can't" is not giving up agency but instead taking agency in a way that's harder to dispute.

When one says "I can't" instead of "I won't", it's not a "I don't know how to" but a "I will not do that and I won't let you talk me into doing it".

[–] cheesorist@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's exactly what the post says. A person may know but will say they can't, pretending they dont know how or some other bigger reason that can't be resolved just by bullying them into doing it.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

But the post also says

They’re disempowering themselves. Describe themselves as a victim of circumstance, powerless and without responsibility. It’s a disempowering narrative. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. In this story that we live, you are casting yourself as an npc.

And that part was what I was responding to. Because nothing in there is correct.