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I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

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Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#131

Post by giantg2 »

Tade0 wrote: post #69

I dropped such worries when I was 25 and started working for a startup, the founders of which were roughly my age for the most part(only the CEO was 34, which happens to be approximately my age at the moment). Eventually they built a successful company employing hundreds of people. Since then I started measuring my success by comparing to my past self - I think it's healthier that way. I've also found that it's a lot…

"Since then I started measuring my success by comparing to my past self - I think it's healthier that way."

That's certainly better than the one the author is using. Current day me would still fail though - I've made no progress and my opportunities/abilities are slipping away.

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#132

Post by mjg59 »

justsomebody1 wrote: post #115
mjg59 wrote: post #106

Growing up, the idea of a career in computing was implausible. The only computing course my school offered was scheduled against doing a full science course, and they had nothing for the 16-18 range. The local night school programming class I signed up for was cancelled because I was the only person who signed up for it. My parents made it extremely clear that the idea that I could ever make money writing software wa…

This is an exceptionally kind take. Thank you!

That means a lot, thank you!

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#133

Post by giantg2 »

moonchrome wrote: post #4

So either the author has a midlife crisis or they genuinely hate where they are in life. TBH, since they have no family/commitment and sound like they dislike where they got in life - I'd say discard the image of yourself and start doing radical things moving forward, sounds like a no lose situation to me, worst case scenario you die doing something risky - but that always sounded better to me than surviving in a hol…

Not having a family sounds like a good thing for them. They mention neve having lived in Morroco. Since they're single, they could just drop everything and go do something like that. That wouldn't really be possible with a family.

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#134

Post by marinappi »

It's not just that I thought of accomplishing more, but I also believed the world would be stable and things wouldnt change too much. How foolish that was. A stable world is a dream and at any moment something somewhere might impact us so hard that it changes everything. My parents lived through that, had their jobs replaced with automated systems halting most of their dreams. And now we went through a pandemic and are going through a possible world war....

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#135

Post by Draiken »

This is always a tough subject for me because everyone seems to have at least an idea of what they want to achieve.

When I was younger I had these silly dreams of moving to another country, getting married, becoming a programmer to make games, have my own company and get rich (haha).

I did become a programmer and got married, but never left the country or became rich. Now on my 30s I know how limited my options are.

I could focus on my craft. But I don't have the same drive as before. I could try to progress my career, but I'm already earning good money and I know to earn more I'd have to either start job hopping or study some leetcode to get into a FAANG. I could try to focus on my hobbies, but you realize very quickly that to get good at anything, you need hundreds/thousands of hours. I could try to start a company, but I know that's extremely hard to do and also requires a shit-ton of luck to work out.

After all that, I realize that I have no real objectives to strive for. Some of the dreams I realized and they weren't that satisfying. Some I discovered were not worth pursuing.

And now what?

In the end, I'm just a blip in the universe and when I'm gone it will be unchanged, the same as if I had never existed. Yet we focus on these artificial goals set by childish dreams, society or life events.

What's the point of it?

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#136

Post by giantg2 »

bmitc wrote: post #7
moonchrome wrote: post #4

So either the author has a midlife crisis or they genuinely hate where they are in life. TBH, since they have no family/commitment and sound like they dislike where they got in life - I'd say discard the image of yourself and start doing radical things moving forward, sounds like a no lose situation to me, worst case scenario you die doing something risky - but that always sounded better to me than surviving in a hol…

Just to note, this piece is in the humor section. Like most humor, it’s likely a constructed story based on real events or feelings. And also like most humor, it’s relatable. I think your advice to move forward is still relevant though.

I didn't find it funny nor was it that relatable. I'm actually wondering why it's even on HN in the first place and not flagged.

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#137

Post by JKCalhoun »

Draiken wrote: post #135

This is always a tough subject for me because everyone seems to have at least an idea of what they want to achieve. When I was younger I had these silly dreams of moving to another country, getting married, becoming a programmer to make games, have my own company and get rich (haha). I did become a programmer and got married, but never left the country or became rich. Now on my 30s I know how limited my options are.…

No kids, huh?

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#138

Post by SnowHill9902 »

math-dev wrote: post #95
cik wrote: post #28

There's something cross cultural here that just doesn't cross. I can't relate. I'm responsible for me - my success, my failures. I also sure as hell better check on my neighbour and lend a hand. Fulfilment comes from within, not externally. Results driven fulfilment comes from the gradual achievement of small goals, slowly combining into larger goals. They can be as small, as simple as reading a book. The best advice…

Finish what you start is such a great philosophy - I am trying my best to do that too.

You are not required to finish what you start but you are neither free to abandon it.

Re: I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

#139

Post by VoodooJuJu »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #6

Poor bastard. I think a lot of older people really don't understand this, but our generation (late millennials, or at least middle-class late millennials) were genuinely fed the lie our whole life that we were special and could do anything. At some point, you have to admit to yourself that you're just an ordinary human being and Elon Musk has something special that you don't have. Only when you're in this mindset can…

>Elon Musk has something special that you don't have

I think this kind of determinism is not only wrong, but damaging, should you choose to believe it, especially when it's used as a failure coping mechanism, because then it ultimately leads to forfeit, which removes any chance you may have had.

>He is successful. Therefore, it must be the case that he is able to bend The Laws Of The Universe. It is certainly not the case that Good Fortune and social effects were the major factors in his success.

Even if it were true, I'm not sure why one would want to believe that. At least fool yourself into believing either: (1) you're also special, and success can also come to you through your own "specialness" (2) no one is special, and success comes from tenacity and luck. What do you lose from believing either of these two things?

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