Ask HN: Your subjective takes on living a non-boring and pleasant life? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Your subjective takes on living a non-boring and pleasant life?

#41

Post by sp527 » Tue, Sep 04, 2018, 8:52 PM UTC

criveros wrote: post #39

- Travel - Don't take life too seriously - Party. Enjoy the nightlife. Go to clubs and bars and meet people. - Approach anybody you are interested in.

This is by far the best advice for anyone who's young and/or single. I would only add:

- Hobbies (preferably social ones; commit at least 5-10 hrs a week) - Don't overwork while young; the marginal gains aren't worth it unless you get really lucky. If your job/role comps well but is more than 60 hrs a week (and even that's pushing it), it's not worth it. Or maybe you do want to play the startup lottery; just fully appreciate that it is in fact a lottery and make your choice accordingly.

^Highly opinionated

Re: Ask HN: Your subjective takes on living a non-boring and pleasant life?

#42

Post by marssaxman » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 11:21 PM UTC

djrogers wrote: post #2

Get married, have kids, dedicate your life to making theirs better. There’s a reason the vast majority of people in history have gone this route - it’s very fulfilling.

That sentence could be my definition of a "boring, unpleasant life"; I would rather do almost anything else. It's great if it works for you, but different people are very different indeed...

Re: Ask HN: Your subjective takes on living a non-boring and pleasant life?

#43

Post by troycarlson » Fri, Sep 07, 2018, 3:15 AM UTC

Here's what I try to do:

- Outsource chores or tasks I hate doing (like shopping and laundry).

- Optimize for free time where I have no obligations...I find that very pleasant.

- Say yes to things I've never tried before...if I hate it I'll say no the next time but I'll forever be able to tell people I tried X. This also makes conversations with strangers and acquaintances easier because I've tried a lot of stuff and can contribute to more conversations.

- Travel with friends. This can be hard to coordinate but is incredibly fun.

- Treat myself on occasion. I try to minimize the "stuff" I own but I just bought a nice pair of shoes that I've been looking at for a while and they make me happy every time I wear them.

- Only use social media for staying connected instead of entertainment. If I want to send a message to someone specific or look at pictures of my nephew, I'll log into Facebook. But as soon as I find myself scrolling through any sort of "feed" I pinch myself and log out...it's 95% bullshit I don't care about and 100% stuff I don't NEED to see right now anyway.