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Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

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Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#151

Post by Mezzie »

foobiekr wrote: post #83
Swizec wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I'm 34 in SF, turning 35 this autumn, and feeling like I'm literally in my prime. Old enough to have matured, experienced enough to have some good battle scars, young and energetic enough that there's decades of quality life ahead of me. The mindset stability that came in the past few years has been nice. Hustling for the shiniest immediate goal in sight no longer appeals, but there's plenty of energy to go afte…

A friend died at 51 not long ago. If you die at is age, you are already 68% of the way there. It's not barely getting started, it's behind you. More realistically, a man who is 35 years old has a life expectancy of another 43 years, so not quite there yet.

> More realistically, a man who is 35 years old has a life expectancy of another 43 years, so not quite there yet.

It's crazy how much this can vary. I'm 34, but I'm female and from a family where multiple people have lived to be over 110. I've always estimated my 'mid life'/halfway mark to be about 45.

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#152

Post by [deleted] »

fleddr wrote: post #132

A great way to spontaneously trigger a midlife crisis, no matter your age, is to watch Youtube videos about the universe, the origin of life, etc. You'll get this inspirational rush of how amazing everything is, how vast the universe, how incredibly unusual for life to exist and for us specifically as a species to exist. And the advanced state we're in, able to do almost anything. And then you realize that you're usi…

[deleted]

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#153

Post by fleddr »

arbitrary_name wrote: post #146
fleddr wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could be worse is not that much of a comeback. But I'm happy that you're happy. I'm not unhappy, and I was exaggerating, but I do believe there's quite a gap between how amazing our existence is and how unamazing we tend to spent it.

But i have issue with your 'unamazing': the mere fact of existence is a miracle, and what you do with it is up to you. The amazingness is an entirely made up and subjective judgement. In this case, you just seem to be going around saying 'you are spending your life mediocrely' because that's your measure. From my perspective, you have no business declaring that to be a universal value. I personally think there are bi…

You seem upset. Try to be more happy.

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#154

Post by beeboop »

fleddr wrote: post #132

A great way to spontaneously trigger a midlife crisis, no matter your age, is to watch Youtube videos about the universe, the origin of life, etc. You'll get this inspirational rush of how amazing everything is, how vast the universe, how incredibly unusual for life to exist and for us specifically as a species to exist. And the advanced state we're in, able to do almost anything. And then you realize that you're usi…

> how incredibly unusual for life to exist

very debatable :)

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#155

Post by Swizec »

fleddr wrote: post #125
hondo77 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah I'm 34...and feeling like I'm literally in my prime. You are. Most people don't realize that until they're in their 40s.

He's not. Assuming he's male, physical peak is near 26, intellectual peak early to mid 20s. This doesn't mean you can't learn new things nor does it mean your body isn't fit anymore, it just means you're already on the way down. It won't feel that way though, I understand.

> Assuming he's male, physical peak is near 26,

My measurable physical stats are much better than they were at 26. Yes I notice junk food a little sooner and can't handle as much alcohol. But I can run a marathon faster, do better in the boxing ring, and can lift more weight with higher volume.

The main physical drawback that I can see are slower reflexes. That comes out in the boxing ring when going against people 10+ years younger.

> intellectual peak early to mid 20s.

Depends what kind of intellectual peak you measure. My focus is better and more intense. My ability to learn new stuff has greatly increased because I have a bigger vaster framework to hang new knowledge onto.

And I am infinitely better at solving difficult problems in a dumb easy way because I no longer care about showing off how smart I am. This not only makes my solutions easier to build, they're also easier to maintain so future me will have less work to do.

What I'm probably less good at these days is waxing poetically about the sort of very deep thoughts that feel deep to a 25 year old. And pointless brain twisty puzzles that I was never good at anyway.

I'd say these days, intellectually speaking, I'm more of a reliable orc that plows through problems with brute force, than an elf fleeting about using dexterity.

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#156

Post by aetherson »

aetherson wrote: post #48
sneak wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps they can buy an annuity or something that will bank on 7% average annual over a 20-30 year timespan and guarantee 5% real return each and every year.

Does such a product exist? I would be surprised if it does. (I played with Schwab's annuity estimator and it basically refused to give me an estimate)

Now that I'm back in front of a computer instead of a phone, I looked up: https://www.bankrate.com/investing/annuity-calculator/

It suggests that for an annuity with a 2% annual growth (which at least maybe approximates "flat real rate of return,") for 30 years, it'll give you about 3.7%, not 5%.

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#157

Post by nbzso »

I always had a clear baseline in life.

Avoid self-inflicted suffering.

To keep an open eye on my own internal biases, I always remind myself that in this very moment on this Big Blue Planet, there are millions of people starving and suffering, and I am really, really glad that I am healthy and alive.

>Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Reading Markus Aurelius Meditations also helps me a lot:)

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#159

Post by FFRefresh »

fleddr wrote: post #132

A great way to spontaneously trigger a midlife crisis, no matter your age, is to watch Youtube videos about the universe, the origin of life, etc. You'll get this inspirational rush of how amazing everything is, how vast the universe, how incredibly unusual for life to exist and for us specifically as a species to exist. And the advanced state we're in, able to do almost anything. And then you realize that you're usi…

> You're not exploring anything, you're not celebrating life, not producing any meaning. You just sit there, like a robot, pissing it all away.

I would suggest that meaning can be found, even if you are unable to transcend our human limitations in this insanely large universe. But I can tell that you are on a path of reflection of what a meaningful human life means for you, and that's exciting! I wish you the best!

(Don't read this as if I have it all figured out, because I most certainly do not)

Re: Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

#160

Post by polishdude20 »

howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #56

Acceptance. My survival strategy for mid-life has been to replace the ambition and balls that got me through my 20's and 30's with age appropriate acceptance of the MANY things I cannot control & don't have time to do, with a wisdom to focus on the FEW things that are likely to matter to me when I hit my 70's and beyond. For example, I can't control the divorce that consumed a ton of time and money in my 40's, but I…

I've had this feeling in life that after middle age, it is most satisfying to adopt the mindset of a teacher. No more am I an explorer or barrier breaker. I am now a foundation, a home, a tome of knowledge and wisdom that should be used to help the next generation get a leg up.
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