Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?

I reread this every so often to remind myself as a software engineer that yes, we're all crazy, we're all driving ourselves a bit more crazy all the time, so give myself (and my coworkers) some grace.

https://www.stilldrinking.org/programming-sucks

This blog post on being an employee in the corporate world:

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

It introduced me to the idea that most employees are "economic losers" who are "people who have struck bad bargains economically – giving up capitalist striving for steady paychecks." (At least in the early - middle life cycle of a company).

It encapsulates this as "The Gervais Principle":

Sociopaths, in their own best interests, knowingly promote over-performing losers into middle-management, groom under-performing losers into sociopaths, and leave the average bare-minimum-effort losers to fend for themselves.

(The terminology is quite specific to the article - i.e. not sociopaths in the movie-cliche view).

I won't attempt to summarise the article here. Suffice to say it altered my thinking about future roles. Search HN for many prior discussions here of that post.

Being lonely is so good. Thank you for reminding me yet again. People laugh when I tell them that I enjoy myself more than being with anyone. But that does not change the truth—I enjoy myself, and I enjoy doing some of the things suggested in the video. I am writing this from a coffee shop where I am alone.

I've read it years ago - easily the best blog post ever created. Thanks for spreading the light.