You've got some internal, "spiritual" things you've got to sort out then. Be happy for them, learn from them, emulate what your identity allows. Otherwise, forget about it. You're not going to grow from envying people.
Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
261–270 of 292 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#262> When someone younger than me ...
The first thing is, you have to forget the fallacy that it matters where everyone is situated chronologically in human history.
Neither you, nor these ones you envy, will be as good as some historic twenty-year-old who might be 200 if he were alive today. Or as good as some twenty-year-old who won't be born for another fifty years hence.
People are mostly rewarded with money and acclaim by doing things that please others: mainly others who are able to market and sell whatever it is. Money doesn't just fall from the sky onto good engineering alone. For every dollar those people make from their work, someone else gets ten.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#263Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a solid observation. I made a personal decision sometime in my late 20s to never do anything for money that I wouldn't also be willing to do for free. As a result of this decision I make a lot less money than many of my peers, but I'm always working on projects I'm excited about and I have more free time than most of the people I know. If anything, like you, I feel sorry for the people I see working all the t…
> I made a personal decision sometime in my late 20s to never do anything for money that I wouldn't also be willing to do for free Unfortunately, for me and for a lot of people, I don't think there is an intersection of things I would be willing to do for free and that can make decent money (or livable money, for that matter). > You can buy a lot of stuff with money, but you can't take it with you when you die. Well,…
What? I thought there was an exception: that you can take the sources for your compiler with you; just not things like money and cars. Shit!
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#264As a late professional bloomer in corporate America/megacorp tech and someone without a traditional CS education background I struggle with this a lot. But in the moment of envy it comes down to what your personal goals are and if you are reaching them. Personally, when I see others flying high I wonder how many long hours and weekends they have put in for that 10-20% extra they might be making. When others get more…
> that 10-20% extra We’re talking about the difference between an engineer approaching forty at an ordinary company earning a little over $100k versus someone ten years younger at a FAANGMI earning $250k+. There are a lot of people in the former group who would happily give up a few weekends and put up with more stress to be a part of the latter group.
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#265Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doesn't envy require me wanting to be like him?
Running successful business with multiple campaign fronts and ambitious product ideas? That's worthy my envy. Maybe you don't care.
Speak for yourself. You must be envious of a whole lot of shady people if your bar is so low. I don't even know how you keep track of them all, let alone prevent all that envy from eating you up inside! I've got much better things to do with my time and aspirations and stomach lining.
(By the way, every wanna-be Instagram/YouTube/Twitter influencer has "multiple campaign fronts". And "ambitious product ideas" are a dime a dozen and worse than worthless. They distract you from practical product execution.)
Maybe you too should take his excellent advice and "compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today", instead of envying him.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
Running successful business with multiple campaign fronts and ambitious product ideas? That's worthy my envy. Maybe you don't care.
Speak for yourself. You must be envious of a whole lot of shady people if your bar is so low. I don't even know how you keep track of them all, let alone prevent all that envy from eating you up inside! I've got much better things to do with my time and aspirations and stomach lining. (By the way, every wanna-be Instagram/YouTube/Twitter influencer has "multiple campaign fronts". And "ambitious product ideas" are a d…
I'm happy that you feel are above and beyond everyone and everything you deem worthless.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#267Reminds me of this book called "Designing your life" it's about career, here's what you do.
Talk to people in field by buying them a coffee and you spit in it
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#268Jordan B. Peterson writes in “12 Rules for Life - an antidote to chaos” that you should “compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today”
The same Jordan B Peterson who asked "Is it possible that young women are so outraged because they are craving infant contact in a society that makes that very difficult?" -Jordan Peterson, infant craver Who denies women have been systematically oppressed: "The idea that women were oppressed throughout history is an appalling theory." -Jordan Peterson, history understander Who claims to be a champion free speech, yet…
Can you please not take HN threads further into flamewar?
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#269I'm reminded of an apocryphal story I read somewhere about an exchange between Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller that was supposed to have taken place at a fancy party hosted by a successful hedge fund manager. Google reveals various versions and sources of the exchange. Here's mine: Vonnegut: Can you believe this guy? He makes more money in a single day than we'll make in our entire lives. And you wrote Catch-22! Hell…
It is nice to get to that place where you have enough. I'm at the spot in my career, where I don't want any advancement or promotions. I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I've got a nice nest egg saved up, so money isn't that big of a motivator.. Really at this point my career is on cruise control, just biding time until I can retire. I'm still learning new technologies, but it is because I want to, not because I have to…
If you don't mind my asking, how do you plan for your retirement? How much money etc. needed?
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with professional envy?
#270I'm reminded of an apocryphal story I read somewhere about an exchange between Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller that was supposed to have taken place at a fancy party hosted by a successful hedge fund manager. Google reveals various versions and sources of the exchange. Here's mine: Vonnegut: Can you believe this guy? He makes more money in a single day than we'll make in our entire lives. And you wrote Catch-22! Hell…
"The poor lacks much, the greedy everything." [Publilius Syrus]
Being content and being able to say that you have enough is probably one of the best thing you can do for your mental health. And happiness.