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

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

#211

Post by itsoktocry »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #94

This early retirement post got me to save a LOT more money for my future, while friends were out vacationing or even worse, buying very expensive gizmos. I have one friend who lives in a crappy apartment absolutely filled with "top of the line" gizmos, that amount of money could've had him retiring one year earlier. https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-si...

>while friends were out vacationing or even worse, buying very expensive gizmos

What's wrong with either of these things if they give you pleasure?

>I have one friend who lives in a crappy apartment

Sounds like they have their priorities, and you have yours.

>that amount of money could've had him retiring one year earlier.

Big deal. Do what you enjoy. The entire FIRE movement of people who just can't wait to retire (and most likely continue pinching pennies) confuses me. Enjoy your life, you never know when it ends.

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

#212

Post by kuhzaam »

ramraj07 wrote: post #66
ripitrust wrote: post #46

https://blog.tjcx.me/p/consume-less-create-more This article inspired me on two things : 1) Lots of the things I do in everyday life is just to consume: buying, watching, following, etc. These things either consume my money, or my time. These things make me feel good, but it does not generate real value. In order to get rich, I need to create things. I also start to realize that great people are great because they st…

If you keep reading murakami and Dan brown, sure you’re just juggling words for no real benefit. But if you’re gonna read the making of the atomic bomb, or team of teams, then maybe it’s not a wasteful exercise. Definitely better than writing if you ask me.

Disagree on this. I used to only read non-fiction, but these days, I feel like reading fiction (especially literary fiction) and having different experiences and empathizing with characters is more beneficial and relevant to my life in _general_ (obviously not always the case). Plus there are no limits to the realities that can be created in fiction, so there are some creative (and escapist) benefits there as well.

I'm not saying fiction is objectively more "beneficial" than non-fiction, I'm just saying the opposite isn't necessarily true either.

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

#213

Post by krelian »

zxlk21e wrote: post #176
ema wrote: post #128

7 years ago I had just aborted an internship, my foray into being an employed adult, because I found myself unable to deal with disagreements. Contrary to my naive hope that the confidence boost from being a Professional Software Developer(tm) would solve all my emotional problems I now knew that my limitations would follow me around anywhere I would go. But I had no idea how to change and was too stuck in my own anx…

> It dawned on me that my attempt at completely controlling my life had, in fact, caused me to lose control over it. Could you possibly unpack this for me a little bit? It strikes me as absolutely true for me, too, or at least sounds like it could be true, but I'm pulling at a thread I can't quite grasp.

I recommend listening to some Alan Watts lectures on youtube (try to find a long video, the short ones are usually just bits with music added).

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

#214

Post by Recursing »

koboll wrote: post #186

I wish I could find it. It was a blog post about how one man's perspective on fatherhood changed after he became a father, and he realized he regretted waiting so long, because all it really ended up doing was robbing him of being able to spend more time with his children. Before reading it, I was ambivalent about whether I wanted children. After reading it, I wasn't.

Maybe this one? It seems to match except the "he regretted waiting so long"

http://www.paulgraham.com/kids.html

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

#215

Post by stnmtn »

LivelyTortoise wrote: post #181
mrob wrote: post #18

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2014/07/instant-pot-el... If you see cooking primarily as a means of getting nutrients rather than a hobby, I very strongly recommend getting an electric pressure cooker. It greatly simplifies cooking because it's automated. Just add the ingredients, close the lid, press a button, and wait. You will get a perfectly cooked one-pot meal with minimum effort. You can even mix fresh a…

> If you see cooking primarily as a means of getting nutrients rather than a hobby, I very strongly recommend getting an electric pressure cooker. Oh hi there! Do you have any recipes that you recommend? I actually bought an Instant Pot a couple months ago, and so far have found one great one pot meal that I cook in bulk on the weekend - basically tomatoes + sweet potatoes + peppers + beans + quinoa. Toss it all in a…

I've been using my instant pot and your meal sounds great but I am unfortunately hopeless at cooking. Can you let me know what you do with those ingredients? Do you dice the potatoes/peppers? Do you have to cook the beans/quinoa first? How long?

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

#216

Post by certeoun »

ema wrote: post #128

7 years ago I had just aborted an internship, my foray into being an employed adult, because I found myself unable to deal with disagreements. Contrary to my naive hope that the confidence boost from being a Professional Software Developer(tm) would solve all my emotional problems I now knew that my limitations would follow me around anywhere I would go. But I had no idea how to change and was too stuck in my own anx…

Reminds me of stoicism. If it's outside your control, don't bother too much. Face your challenges and do the best you can, being a better you.

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

#217

Post by Mikeb85 »

dkdbejwi383 wrote: post #39
mrob wrote: post #18

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2014/07/instant-pot-el... If you see cooking primarily as a means of getting nutrients rather than a hobby, I very strongly recommend getting an electric pressure cooker. It greatly simplifies cooking because it's automated. Just add the ingredients, close the lid, press a button, and wait. You will get a perfectly cooked one-pot meal with minimum effort. You can even mix fresh a…

Take care with dried legumes, many contain poisonous lectins and they should be soaked overnight first, with the soaking water disposed of and thoroughly rinsed before cooking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectin#Dietary_lectin

It's destroyed by high temperatures, like you find in a pressure cooker. Slow cookers are a danger but pressure cookers aren't.

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

#218

Post by ema »

zxlk21e wrote: post #176
ema wrote: post #128

7 years ago I had just aborted an internship, my foray into being an employed adult, because I found myself unable to deal with disagreements. Contrary to my naive hope that the confidence boost from being a Professional Software Developer(tm) would solve all my emotional problems I now knew that my limitations would follow me around anywhere I would go. But I had no idea how to change and was too stuck in my own anx…

> It dawned on me that my attempt at completely controlling my life had, in fact, caused me to lose control over it. Could you possibly unpack this for me a little bit? It strikes me as absolutely true for me, too, or at least sounds like it could be true, but I'm pulling at a thread I can't quite grasp.

I tried so hard to make everything go as I wanted that I increasingly avoided situations where I couldn't predict how they would go. That included stuff like talking about my feelings or asking for a favor or eventually going grocery shopping(anything could happen!! ;). Of course those are all pretty useful things and my difficulty with them convinced me even more that I had to absolutely make sure I had covered every eventuality.

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

#220

Post by rmsaksida »

mrob wrote: post #18

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2014/07/instant-pot-el... If you see cooking primarily as a means of getting nutrients rather than a hobby, I very strongly recommend getting an electric pressure cooker. It greatly simplifies cooking because it's automated. Just add the ingredients, close the lid, press a button, and wait. You will get a perfectly cooked one-pot meal with minimum effort. You can even mix fresh a…

Pressure cooking is very common in some countries, but I'm only familiar with the simple mechanical pressure cookers (that work on gas or induction stoves). Can electric pressure cookers do things that a regular one can't?
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