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"Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

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Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#11

Post by Tichy »

The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track.

What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the pile of other papers (bills, other plans and what not). Maybe daily checks would be the thing - just write a new plan every day, with adjustments from the daily experience?

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#12

Post by mildweed »

tpyo wrote: post #6

But... but.. I have to go to school! And write essays no one will ever want to read, essays that don't even aspire to be something interesting!

Then write essays that matter. Every assignment is an opportunity for greatness. The same is true after school too; every project is an opportunity for greatness.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#14

Post by scotth »

wallflower wrote: post #3

A darker story: I was out of state, at a friend's house party, a few years ago and the discussion got non-superficial late in the night, as it sometimes does. His friends were talking about a friend who was not there. Some time prior, this woman had an argument with her mother that escalated into all-out shouting, petty criticisms, damning accusations, anger. The last thing she yelled to her mother was "F * y !!" The…

Or realize that these moments are just part of a relationship's ebb and flow. To have someone die during the low point doesn't erase all the previous positive experiences.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#15

Post by zackattack »

swombat wrote: post #8

What would you do if you found out, right now, that you have exactly 2 years left to live? Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly two years, and then you'll die in your sleep. What would you do with those 2 years? PS: "I'll train myself not to sleep" is not a good answer.

I WISH that this were the case. I feel like it would finally set me free. Until then, I remain a slave to my insidious ego, and do not really feel alive anyway.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#17

Post by megamark16 »

Tichy wrote: post #11

The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track. What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the…

This might sound lame but for me it's Twitter. I'm back on Weight Watchers try to drop the 20 pounds I put over the holidays and new year, so I'm tweeting my weigh ins every Friday. I slipped up a little yesterday; everybody at work brought in their superbowl leftovers. But you can bet that I'm back on today, because I'd really like to have something positive to tweet about Friday, and "the whole world" is watching :-)

I'm doing the same thing with one of my side projects (or trying to anyway). I'm tweeting about little updates, every step closer to a closed beta, and I plan on continuing to tweet about the ups and downs as they come. I have enough followers who I greatly respect that I'd feel pretty silly if I didn't follow through.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#18

Post by zackattack »

wallflower wrote: post #3

A darker story: I was out of state, at a friend's house party, a few years ago and the discussion got non-superficial late in the night, as it sometimes does. His friends were talking about a friend who was not there. Some time prior, this woman had an argument with her mother that escalated into all-out shouting, petty criticisms, damning accusations, anger. The last thing she yelled to her mother was "F * y !!" The…

The Buddha tells me I will not be punished for my anger, but by my anger.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#19

Post by philk »

Tichy wrote: post #11

The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track. What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the…

Very interesting point. I think one has to be aware of one's inbuilt limitations; it's not possible to be doing meaningful stuff all the time as you'll burn out.

Hence it might be better to simply aim for a somewhat meaningful life; choose a goal you think is worthwhile and do something towards it every single day.

Over time, if it's making progress and bringing you a measure of happiness you can slowly tweak your life so that you spend more and more time pursuing this goal.

The trick is probably to realise that a) there is no optimally meaningful experience and b) life is a marathon, not a sprint (generally speaking), and getting worked up that you're not moving fast enough is not productive. It's just that you'd better be running in the first place.

Re: "Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

#20

Post by F_J_H »

Reminds me of "Instantes" by Jorge Luis Borges:

If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations, contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments.

Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now.

I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me.

But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying.

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