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Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#111

Post by munn »

bloqs wrote: post #49
modernerd wrote: post #5

“…for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ’If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.” - Steve Jobs' 2005 St…

This is not good advice and it largely goes against steve jobs work. This fundamentally works, for a small subset of people that are predisposed via their personality to extremely high levels of dilligence and conscientiousness who need to be told to stop working. If you are the opposite, this advice basically says "stop sacrificing the short term for the long term, and stop working towards difficult but ultimately w…

You should be glad if you're doing something you find meaningful. If you aren't,then you need to find reasons to be.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#112

Post by fknorangesite »

jdthedisciple wrote: post #89
bloopernova wrote: post #62

For young, single heterosexual men; cultivate deep platonic friendships with women. Get a hobby, do charity work, find something where you meet and become good friends with multiple women of different ages and backgrounds. Do not ever attempt to date any of these women. Why? Because most men know woefully few women, and your life will be much richer. A lot of men know very little about the experiences, fears, and hop…

I'd say do that, but with men. Men of good character, morals, aspirations and goals. Platonic friendship between men and women is a myth. (Exceptions exists, but only confirm the rule)

> Platonic friendship between men and women is a myth.

Despite all the examples to the contrary? If anything you're telling on yourself, here.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#115

Post by SunghoYahng »

pkoird wrote: post #20

This is a mix of Buddhist, Hindu, and Stoic philosophy: Ask yourself this, why do you do anything? For the sake of Profit? Recognition? Love? Or return of any kind? Any deed done with reward in mind creates an expectation which, if not met, causes suffering. Similarly, you will end up focusing more on the reward than the task itself and will unable to be loyal to the task. The only reason you must do a task is becaus…

Sounds like a good bedtime story for a slave owner to tell his slave.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#117

Post by stevofolife »

pkoird wrote: post #20

This is a mix of Buddhist, Hindu, and Stoic philosophy: Ask yourself this, why do you do anything? For the sake of Profit? Recognition? Love? Or return of any kind? Any deed done with reward in mind creates an expectation which, if not met, causes suffering. Similarly, you will end up focusing more on the reward than the task itself and will unable to be loyal to the task. The only reason you must do a task is becaus…

Re-program yourself. We're both the programmer and the program that we designed for ourselves.

This idea is taught in The 7HoHEP by Stephen Covey.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#118

Post by baobabKoodaa »

prettyStandard wrote: post #59
thefz wrote: post #15

From my mom: If in a couple there is a wide intellectual imbalance, it is not going to last long. Whether it is intelligence or curiosity or culture.

Since you're on this site, sounds like your mom doesn't want you going after beautiful dummies. My mom told me she saw lots of beautiful dumb girls marry successful men, and then their kids were dumb as bricks. Also to be careful with dating short women because then your boys might be short. I said okay well then by that logic you don't want to date tall women either because you might have tall girls.

I'm not advocating for eugenics, but I just have to say being a "tall girl" is not in any way comparable to the handicap of being a "short boy".

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#119

Post by SunghoYahng »

modernerd wrote: post #75
bloqs wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not good advice and it largely goes against steve jobs work. This fundamentally works, for a small subset of people that are predisposed via their personality to extremely high levels of dilligence and conscientiousness who need to be told to stop working. If you are the opposite, this advice basically says "stop sacrificing the short term for the long term, and stop working towards difficult but ultimately w…

It's not a rallying cry for hedonism, short-termism or defeatism. It's a suggestion to correct course; to be self-aware; to get over your fears; to ensure you're pursuing things you find worthwhile and believe in; to accept that even for those things you will have days when you don't love them, but to consider a change if that feeling persists. He goes on to say, “…all external expectations, all pride, all fear of em…

I know that's how people take this advice. But that's not the explicit meaning of the words. It's like me telling you that you're an asshole and you should take it to mean that I love you.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best advice you got on any aspect of life?

#120

Post by derwiki »

lukebitts wrote: post #72

When I was a child in school, we had to cut a piece of paper in the shape of a flower with a hole in the middle, to put around an utensil as a gift. When I cut my flower and tried to fit it in the utensil, the hole was a bit smaller than I needed. I was ready to cut a full circle around the hole when a teacher told me “sometimes all you need is just a little bit” and she cut the smallest piece of paper and suddenly t…

This is probably too literal an interpretation, but it’s similar to some of the best advice I’ve received for woodworking: sneak up on the cut. When I need to cut a piece of wood to an exact precision, I end up making 5-10 cuts to shave off a tiny piece of the end, check if it’s right, and shave again if needed.
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