Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I decided that I must live my life on my terms

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 223 posts

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#161

Post by tehnub »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #108

> I've spent my whole life trying to find my purpose I've always been puzzled at how so many people expect to find "purpose". Nobody has "purpose". You weren't placed on Earth for a reason. You only exist due to the luck of your parents getting laid. And quite frankly, 99.9% of the population will be unremarkable, even if you restrict that 99.9% to first-world countries. I don't expect to have an impact on the world…

The main thing I take issue with in your comment is the criticism of "Making the world a better place". What exactly is wrong with that? Nothing, I say. Maybe you're thinking of those who have co-opted that phrase to do bad, selfish things. There's nothing wrong with making your surroundings, your community, and beyond, a better place.

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#162

Post by loa_in_ »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #48
rmellow wrote: post #18

I find it very curious that the phrase "None of this matters!" can be simultaneously depressing and liberating, depending on who is reading. Understanding can't just be transmitted through words, and requires introspection. Congratulations on your epiphany! I optimize life for happiness. I try shape my life to enjoy the process like you said: good work-life balance, doing something that challenges me just enough on a…

> "None of this matters!" Getting into genealogy has made me realize what a small blip I am in the long stream of human endurance on this planet (and what is that compared to the age of the universe, of course?). Being nothing has given me some comfort from the fears of death/oblivion.

On the other hand you're one of the first living in the information age, when entities truly bigger than people actually exist

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#164

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

tehnub wrote: post #161
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #108

> I've spent my whole life trying to find my purpose I've always been puzzled at how so many people expect to find "purpose". Nobody has "purpose". You weren't placed on Earth for a reason. You only exist due to the luck of your parents getting laid. And quite frankly, 99.9% of the population will be unremarkable, even if you restrict that 99.9% to first-world countries. I don't expect to have an impact on the world…

The main thing I take issue with in your comment is the criticism of "Making the world a better place". What exactly is wrong with that? Nothing, I say. Maybe you're thinking of those who have co-opted that phrase to do bad, selfish things. There's nothing wrong with making your surroundings, your community, and beyond, a better place.

"Making the world a better place" is a trope that Silicon Valley was making fun of. Every startup thinks they're making the world a better place and the phrase has lost its meaning.

https://youtu.be/B8C5sjjhsso

https://danielfschmidt.medium.com/is-your-startup-trying-to-...

Unless your goal is to eliminate poverty, homelessness, disease, hunger, human trafficking, climate change, or assist with any other humanitarian effort, then claims of "making the world a better place" are eye roll worthy.

I would groan if someone said Atlassian was making the world a better place by creating Jira so managers and engineers can track work more effectively.

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#165

Post by kkfx »

I think I'm living to live, not for any special purpose, but I want to do various things, so create not one but various purposes, one is enjoy my life, of course, but it's not the only. One is live something behind me, something future generations might benefit from, because all living being want to live better and that's not an easy thing, a generation after another progress potentially can improve life etc.

However I'm not really "totally free", I live in a society, I depend on many others (for instance for food, industrial products, services, ...) so my freedom is limited by others freedoms, my will is limited by others will and to live all well matching individual agenda is not easy but we need to find a balance.

That's is. Unfortunately our life cycle is far shorter than social cycle so if we born in a bad era we have to go through it, but that's do not means avoid living a life just because there is something to do, the key is finding a good balance and probably it demand the entire life keeping adjusting the aim.

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#166

Post by hugohamelcom »

dgb23 wrote: post #23
evancoop wrote: post #7

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” ― Bob Dylan I aspire to this and to help others do the same.

Reminds me a bit of: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” ― Albert Camus

I love these two quotes!

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#167

Post by hugohamelcom »

carlgreene wrote: post #94

How old are you OP? Just because I'd like to compare myself with you ;). I really struggle with this and have yet to have the "click". I feel maybe I've been doing a bit better as I've gotten older (32 now), but still nowhere close where I want to be - both in terms of mentally letting go and objectively where I want to end up. The problem I really struggle with is the dichotomy of the two in my head. One part of me…

We're around the same age, I'm approaching 30, and I've been doing inner work for the last 2 years. And don't worry, I still not feel perfect about everything, as there's a lot of "inner demons" that are creeping in all the time, but it's a work in progress, and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was basically trying to fit in the mold of how business has become and I had forgotten who I truly was. Just keep doing the inner work, and slowly the fog start to dissipate and you finally start to see more and more.

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#168

Post by hugohamelcom »

ghoomketu wrote: post #133

Your post reminds me of the intro for Eckhart tolle's Power of now. He had a similar experience though he became enlightened after his. I quick google helped me find the passage from his book. I got goosebumps when I first read it, and his book did have quite an effect of me, alas, I felt back to my old comparing-money-worrying self rather quickly. But read that book if you haven't already, maybe you will relate with…

Interesting, I had not prioritized reading this book, but will definitively do now, thank you for sharing!

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#169

Post by escapedmoose »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #108

> I've spent my whole life trying to find my purpose I've always been puzzled at how so many people expect to find "purpose". Nobody has "purpose". You weren't placed on Earth for a reason. You only exist due to the luck of your parents getting laid. And quite frankly, 99.9% of the population will be unremarkable, even if you restrict that 99.9% to first-world countries. I don't expect to have an impact on the world…

I’m a person who always scoffed at the idea of a human life having “purpose.” Yet somehow I wound up finding a purpose in life without trying. It’s drawing. I’m ok at it, not the best by far. I do it completely selfishly, to the benefit of no one save for a few nerds on tumblr. I’m not talented enough that I could use it to make money or influence much of anything, but I love it so much that I don’t care. I know it’s my purpose because it’s the one thing in life that I would be completely miserable without. I’m willing to sacrifice an embarrassing number of things for it.

I never understood why some people talk about wanting a “purpose” in life until I realized that this was mine. I always thought it was pretty cringe when people said that their children gave their life meaning, but now I get it. It’s just that the act of drawing is my kid. The whole “human life has meaning” bit is very stupid until you find yours.

Re: I decided that I must live my life on my terms

#170

Post by hugohamelcom »

gerbilly wrote: post #151

The problem isn't so much with work, which many people have mentioned, it's with careers. The most famous quote, might be from Into the Wild: "Careers are a twentieth century invention." I'm aware that this quote isn't entirely accurate, but I think it makes a good point. Most people didn't have careers in past centuries, and those that did were from the upper classes. Careers as diplomats, military officers etc. I t…

100%, that's a really good point of view that I had almost forgotten about. It's a bit like the Ikijai in Okinawa (Japan) where the concept of being retired doesn't exist. It's a concept that we've been sold to.
Post reply on HN