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Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

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Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#201

Post by rramadass »

marto1 wrote: post #185
rramadass wrote: post #138

A lot of the "Entrepreneurial rah-rah, YOLO etc." are complete BS. Only a very very lucky few make it; the vast majority fail and suffer for the rest of their lives. I personally know of a couple of people whose entire lives (and their families) have been ruined because they kept trying to be "Entrepreneurial" and failing repeatedly instead of maintaining a steady job, saving money and taking care of their family. Fo…

I think what you have written is very valuable and has to be taken into consideration. There is, however, a difference between the “scorched earth” entrepreneurship you’re talking about and the more organic type rooted in smaller(often self funded) ventures. It doesn't even have to be a registered business per se, something like a shared veggie garden in your neighborhood can be defined as "making it" for some people…

Agreed. Maintaining the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" (in the sense of Autonomy, Self-Directed growth etc.) is important but drinking the "Entrepreneurial" kool-aid of "don't work for the Man/Company" but "bet everything on doing something on your own" nonsense has to stop. The requirements of a financial safety net, time, effort etc. to build the next FAANG is just too much for most folks. It is even more stupid if you realize that the average salary in the Software Industry is much more than what can be earned in established Engineering disciplines like Mechanical/Civil/etc. I have met more PhDs(from Maths, Physics, Microbiology etc.) in the Software industry than outside of it. The rest of the World would kill to get that boring, CRUD-app churning, six-figure income earning job.

Everybody moaning about their "boring" job should read Taleb's description of Mediocristan vs. Extremistan first.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#202

Post by lostinenigma »

annyeonghada wrote: post #126
oxff wrote: post #94

> The body requires a lot of maintenance and has limited energy Weight training 3x week takes around 270 minutes. Add rowing / swimming 2-3 week for some 30 to 60 minutes. That's ~330 minutes a week, nothing.

Then you start adding commute and preparation and it's never 1-1.5 hours, it's 2-2.5. Then you start taking into account that you hate physical exercise (I've tried group sport, gym, running, swimming, walking etc...) and you start treating it like a job and instead of being relaxing is another chore. So not only I'm doing something just for maintenance, but it feels like work (in my case, it is work) and while I'm s…

I agree, I dread exercise. I push myself to the gym filled with regret that this is a necessity and I don't have a choice.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#203

Post by bckr »

dangerface wrote: post #173

Being happy isn't boring. If you are happy getting paid to create nine to five and the only thing it costs you is the creative freedom you lose by having to work for others I think its probably a fair deal. There are other things in life worth investing your time and money, take the money and joy you get from work and apply it to other parts of your life. This doesn't mean you will become stagnant or boring it means…

> with the money and stability you have achieved you can now scale your self horizontally

I love this way of putting it! Scaling myself horizontally, yes. But only into a handful of other verticals, I think. Or perhaps following some power law of investment.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#205

Post by bckr »

bckr wrote: post #134
annyeonghada wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you start adding commute and preparation and it's never 1-1.5 hours, it's 2-2.5. Then you start taking into account that you hate physical exercise (I've tried group sport, gym, running, swimming, walking etc...) and you start treating it like a job and instead of being relaxing is another chore. So not only I'm doing something just for maintenance, but it feels like work (in my case, it is work) and while I'm s…

This also doesn't count time spent thinking about / gathering / preparing / cleaning up w.r.t. food, hygiene, etc. GP is just another dismissive comment. Exercise is also a job to me.

An update on this. I remembered when I enjoyed working out: it was when I would go solo to a clean, low-traffic, convenient gym and do some cardio and weightlifting at my pace, tracking progress.

I started doing this again today!

I have also enjoyed biking, but I don't feel very safe doing it in the city.

Also, hiking and group outdoor games. This requires effort to set up, so it will take some time before I can do this regularly.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#206

Post by bckr »

encognito wrote: post #28

I don't want to seem condescending, so I have to ask you to please bear with me: what led you to believe that those big ideas are achievable? Sheer youthful exuberance? The forgivable hubris of one who outshines most of their peers intellectually while still in a small-pond environment? Perhaps in our youths, we were not informed that world-changing ideas require not just the eurekan spark, nor the 99-percent perspir…

Such eloquence! You've thought long about this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

> The forgivable hubris of one who outshines most of their peers intellectually while still in a small-pond environment?

Yes, but more than that--the loathing of a bright young mind for the dirty and low world he found himself in, not yet tempered by wisdom which says "seek beauty in all things; do not cry for the dawn, but enjoy the pleasures of the night".

Escapism is a powerful drug, and boy did I want to escape. And I did, but getting out was just a first step. Getting over took longer and needed more focus and patience than I had... And so many detours have been taken. Yet, here I am, capable and much more mature, if less eager. But my heart is larger and less full of spiders. I walk more gently.

In a hundred years, we will be transformed, I think, into a more fantastical world, to our eyes now, but the steps there will all be vain and grumbling... and no one will be able to appreciate it when kingdom come is here, because dirt will still get in everyone's fingernails, and nothing will ever be so good as advertised.

I'm content, I'm curious about life and death, and sleeping dreams. Waking dreams, too, are available but, I think, less within our grasp. I'll sleep now and pray for beautiful dreams.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#207

Post by burntoutfire »

wolverine876 wrote: post #183
AussieWog93 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That's an interesting take. I get where you're coming from, but I think the fact that this take is at all interested says more about our culture than anything else. I'm not an anthropologist, but I'd be very surprised if there were many cultures that told their kids to do more than "get married, have kids, spend your time doing something of value to your tribe/village/country".

> I'd be very surprised if there were many cultures that told their kids to do more than "get married, have kids, spend your time doing something of value to your tribe/village/country". Most free, advanced countries say more. A common theory is that it's a matter of safety - look up Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Much of the world for most of history felt very insecure, with food and survival at risk, and couldn't ful…

> Most free, advanced countries say more.

I'm not so sure. Europe is pretty conservative, and people tend to play it safe. Japan is obviously even more so.

US is probably unique in its pushing the young to follow their dreams. This probably comes from its singular history - not so long ago, millions of regular American were starting successful ventures from scratch - whether it were farms in the wilderness of the West, or small businesses in towns. That was quite unique time and place in world's history, when the common man had actualy some agency and could conceivably start something from scratch with a good change of success. Meanwhile, Europe and the rest of the world was already mature, overcrowded and calcified, with little room for organic growth. Now, in XXI century, America in terms of opportunities is becoming more similar to rest of the world than to XIX century's past self - but the values and attitudes have not caught up to that yet.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#208

Post by meigwilym »

I first came across this old Chinese curse around 2006 "May you live in interesting times". It took Brexit and a pandemic for me to truly understand its meaning (and probably growing up - both myself and my now teenage children).

Boring is good. Boring is having a reasonable control over your live. Boring is being able to do the things you want, when you want (but within reason). Boring is having the control over my life to be able to do things other than work.

I have the time and freedom now to write and perform comedy, and I have started refereeing adult rugby games. Both of which give me great pleasure.

I think my point here is that you have to have some sort of boringness in your life (or perhaps, stability?) which allows the rest of you to be creative and exciting.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#209

Post by JeremyNT »

There's a truism: life is what you make of it.

The longer version, which might get you thinking a little more than the aphorism, is in the famous graduation speech by David Foster Wallace: "This is Water" [0] (you can also read a transcript [1]).

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhhC_N6Bm_s

[1] https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on being “boring”

#210

Post by ultrasounder »

rramadass wrote: post #201
marto1 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what you have written is very valuable and has to be taken into consideration. There is, however, a difference between the “scorched earth” entrepreneurship you’re talking about and the more organic type rooted in smaller(often self funded) ventures. It doesn't even have to be a registered business per se, something like a shared veggie garden in your neighborhood can be defined as "making it" for some people…

Agreed. Maintaining the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" (in the sense of Autonomy, Self-Directed growth etc.) is important but drinking the "Entrepreneurial" kool-aid of "don't work for the Man/Company" but "bet everything on doing something on your own" nonsense has to stop. The requirements of a financial safety net, time, effort etc. to build the next FAANG is just too much for most folks. It is even more stupid if you r…

As a Electrical Engineer of 15 years pivoting into Cloud Data Engineering (AWS stack) I can completely attest to this. Salaries in Sweng are bloated and will continue to do as Software becomes more and more commoditised( exact opposite of other established fields like ME and EE) as the world is yet to arrive at a realistic value for software!
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