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

Quitting the rat race

seanbarry.dev

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 434 posts

Re: Quitting the rat race

#191

Post by bumby »

lapcat wrote: post #82
BaseballPhysics wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bluntly, every person I know who's expressed these kinds of sentiments is guilty of the same mistake: externalizing their happiness. They inevitably move, only to find the new place they're in sucks, just in different ways. Or they find another job, but just discover more things they hate there. Or they find a new partner, only to discover a new set of annoyances. The same psychology leads people to think they'll be…

> I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within. What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. I'm old enough now (5 years later) to confidently say that, yes: Quitting my last job really did make me happier.

>What does age have to do with it?

I don’t want to speak for the OP, but I think they’re using age as a proxy for “I’ve seen this same pattern enough times to…”

Re: Quitting the rat race

#192

Post by bumby »

anonreeeeplor wrote: post #180
lapcat wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within. What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. I'm old enough now (5 years later) to confidently say that, yes: Quitting my last job really did make me happier.

Yes. I quit and then asked: “what if I stayed and do I regret leaving” on my last 4 companies. Universally the answer is no I don’t regret it. One imploded and laid off like 60% of people after turning into a nasty political hell hole. Another laid off massively and is now world renowned as a failed story. Another gave me zero opportunities and everyone was yelling at each other all the time. Believe me, I tried to e…

“No one is going to talk me into…” is shorthand for “I’m not open to any other ideas that don’t align with my preconceived notions.” It’s not terribly productive on a site whose guidelines try to foster an open and curious conversation.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#193

Post by rubicon33 »

bradly wrote: post #49
rubicon33 wrote: post #14

Posts like this frustrate me. "I'm quitting! But I'm not telling you anything about how I plan to pay for life." The message mostly resonates with me, right up until they leave out the most crucial part of the post. How do you escape the rat race, and still pay for things like health care, food, rent, etc. Even if you're making $100k+ a year, those costs aren't insignificant. No how do you handle them making $0k a ye…

> "I'm quitting! But I'm not telling you anything about how I plan to pay for life." I quit the rat race in my late 30's. I saved and lived a frugal life while earning a great FAANG salary during a time of economic growth. I used my savings to buy income producing rental properties and aggressively payoff mortgages. I now do woodworking most days and love it. The pay is low, but at least the hours are long. I used to…

Thank you for explaining how you did it!

Re: Quitting the rat race

#194

Post by dylan604 »

daveidol wrote: post #189
dylan604 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i've done something similar but different. when i get to the absolute breaking point of cannot stand to look at code any longer, i switch industries altogether and go back to a lower paying but much more creative field. once i get tired of essentially being a broke artist, i find a tech job again to start the process over. i also try to stave off the hatred of tech by having creative hobbies, and when i'm being a bro…

What kind of art/creative projects do you work on?

for paying gigs when it's that time, video/photography work. when it's just playing/hobby time, i like to make things by hand that can be used. techy side of my is always tinkering with things to make video/photography stuff like arduino controlled things. i've made my own camera support things by milling aluminium blocks from my own designs. randomly, i even do things like make lye soaps and candles and other bath products. it always gets a raised eyebrow at first, but ends with great big smiles when people try them. it's actually my favorite thing to make simply because of it having that kind of result.

jack of many master of few

Re: Quitting the rat race

#195

Post by danielmarkbruce »

themitigating wrote: post #185
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in my experience this is nonsense. The circumstances of my work make a large difference to my happiness. I know because I've been in a number of different circumstances and my happiness has varied greatly.

Happy or less annoyed? I find when I was truly happy I cared less about external influences. For example, if it's hot, a person is annyoing, someone almost hits me with a car, or it my manager wants me to do something boring. So maybe what some people think are the sources of their unhappiness is actually just making their unhappiness more obvious.

I don't mean the minutiae.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#196

Post by codeOnMaster »

gymbeaux wrote: post #164
sudoit wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same in my case. I quit my first software job because it made me feel so meaningless and depressed. I was immediately happier. I quit my second job because they overworked me. Same result. I have less money now, but I don’t care. I’m much happier being where I am now. People underestimate just how much work life affects your entire life.

You spend most of your life at work (at least in the US). 24 hours in a day. 8 of them spent working. 1 hour for lunch. ~2 hours getting ready for work/sleep each day. 8 hours for sleep... that leaves you with ~5 hours per day, but you also have to do chores around the house, maybe pickup/dropoff kiddos, commute (if you don't work from home), and cook dinner and clean up afterwards. If you have 2 hours a day to yours…

What do you mean by “fucked”? If you don’t enjoy your job, you’re fucked? Seems like you’re saying you’re fucked unless you work less hours.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#198

Post by lapcat »

bumby wrote: post #191
lapcat wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within. What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. I'm old enough now (5 years later) to confidently say that, yes: Quitting my last job really did make me happier.

> What does age have to do with it? I don’t want to speak for the OP, but I think they’re using age as a proxy for “I’ve seen this same pattern enough times to…”

Enough times to... make a vast overgeneralization about human nature based on personally experienced anecdotal data.

Also, there's no evidence that the OP is older than, say, me, which is why citing age is largely irrelevant.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#199

Post by lapcat »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #102
lapcat wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within. What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. I'm old enough now (5 years later) to confidently say that, yes: Quitting my last job really did make me happier.

> What does age have to do with it? You're one person. It's anecdotal data. Actually an entire field of psychology is based on the idea: cognitive behavioral therapy. But you seem like you need to pick a fight, and I'm honestly not in the mood, so carry on.

> you need to pick a fight, and I'm honestly not in the mood

"Bluntly, every person I know who's expressed these kinds of sentiments is guilty of the same mistake"

Re: Quitting the rat race

#200

Post by dylan604 »

themitigating wrote: post #183
dylan604 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's one of those things like "time heals all wounds". Nobody likes to hear it when the wound is fresh, but it's absolutely true. When you're younger, FOMO is much stronger. As you get older, FOMO starts to get replaced with "who gives a...". With that in mind, age might matter

Just to note, as middle aged person, the "who gives a .." might not be from a deeper wisdom due to age but cynicism.

maybe true. but for me personally, i just realized that the constant comparison of what i have vs what other people have is just dumb. as long as what i have makes me happy and the pursuit of those things isn't causing me to make bad decisions about other things, then i'm okay with it. it might be why i'm so sickened by all the ad tech as ultimately it's keying in on people's FOMO.

it might sound embarrassing to admit, but it was actually watching Fight Club and the scene animating the Ikea catalog and the accompanying monologue (and overall theme of the movie/book) really got me thinking about it. i was mid-20s when that came out, and it definitely planted a seed. people do remind me of that when i mention making soap!

Post reply on HN