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Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

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Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#201

Post by daveloyall »

zacharycohn wrote: post #158
windowshopping wrote: post #119

I've been feeling this way since middle school. I didn't really have any bad subjects in school, so I figured I could do whatever interested me professionally, but nothing really strongly appealed to me other than a paycheck large enough to eat out whenever I wanted. I discovered programming was pretty fun, now I'm a software engineer, and I'm just saving money for..... something . I don't know what. I've been trying…

You could come join us at 18F or USDS. :)

Waiting to see what the next administration does with ya.

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#202

Post by jason_slack »

elmojenkins wrote: post #155
jason_slack wrote: post #94

I am 39. I feel this way every few years. I look back on the previous few years and realize that the ideas/goals that I had, I did not accomplish. I then start to look for new ways to accomplish them. I still have a 8-5 that I need to pay my bills. So I start with the 1 hour a day idea. Goto work, come home, eat dinner with the family. Then I get 1 hour to do whatever I want. No interruptions. Then, well, it is Frida…

Honestly, i feel like your answer highlights the problem. Compromising to the degree at which you can accept that you only get 1hr a day to yourself, is (to me) crazy. I am crazy too because I do the same thing. It's hard to buy into the notion of working 8hrs and only getting 1hr for yourself, and then being ookay with that. It's a tough pill to swallow.

It is indeed a tough pill to swallow. For me, I have a bills and a family and I make that trade off to take care of them and still have time for my own agenda.

In regards to the OP, I was trying to demonstrate that you should start with that you can obtain and not make an irrational decision. I also read a tone of depression in the OP's post and the last thing I would want to tell them is "you are stuck, live with it." It's not true.

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#203

Post by rimutrees »

anysz wrote: post #147

PROJECTS ! You should embark on side projects. They will teach you so much more than school ever will, and they will reward you in a way that nothing else really can. If your projects can make money too, then that's icing on the cake. You will be free. I'm 25 years old with no degree, taught myself to code for the past 2 years and got turned down for thousands of developer jobs. I ended up working in a factory doing…

Sounds awesome whats your next project?

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#205

Post by squeaky-clean »

daveloyall wrote: post #177
cp9 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... that is not what slavery is

Employment contracts aside... Let's just ask ourselves, is having a job optional? Of course it is optional, because no one is holding a gun to your head, right? But "everybody knows" that 1. if you don't work, you'll sooner or later (perhaps sooner!) be homeless and 2. homelessness can lead to sudden, violent death. Just because the trigger and the barrel are far apart doesn't mean it isn't a gun.

> Employment contracts aside... Let's just ask ourselves, is having a job optional?

The majority of people need to work if they want to survive, that's true. So "jobs" aren't voluntary. But "a job" is. You don't have to pick plants out in a field if you don't want to. If you don't like your position, or boss, or pay, you can quit and look for work elsewhere. Or even have multiple jobs!

A slave doesn't get to say "This other company is nicer and pays better, so I'm leaving here and going there instead." But you can.

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#207

Post by apineda »

windowshopping wrote: post #119

I've been feeling this way since middle school. I didn't really have any bad subjects in school, so I figured I could do whatever interested me professionally, but nothing really strongly appealed to me other than a paycheck large enough to eat out whenever I wanted. I discovered programming was pretty fun, now I'm a software engineer, and I'm just saving money for..... something . I don't know what. I've been trying…

Just get involved in something and figure out how you can get leverage. If at every step in your life you are looking to build up leverage it becomes more interesting. Can I use that experience to convince someone to hire me/ contract me? Can I make contacts that will help me eventually If I need press? Can I learn a skill that is unique and interesting and adds value where people are not easily willing to give it?

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#209

Post by apineda »

mysticlabs wrote: post #64

29 myself, and going through something similar. Millennials like us aren't allowed to grow up, it doesn't matter how successful or educated we are. In fact, the more we accomplish the more we are disinfranchised because society merely wants us to be consumers, go to work, pay the bills, and try not to cause any trouble. We aren't supposed to be anything more than consumer wage slaves. Our generation has been brainwas…

I'm just getting through "How I found freedom in an unfree world", It's amazing and touches on a lot of themes of this post, Please read it. :)

Re: Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life

#210

Post by clarry »

I think I have a slightly different experience that ends up feeling much like yours. I got a vocation, got a job, hated it, am quitting it in a few weeks. I rented another apartment in another town; I'm moving and leaving stuff behind, family included. For a year now I've been telling myself that I'm going to study once again but I have the feeling that I can't stand another 5-6 years eating noodles and accumulating debt, waiting for real life to begin. I really don't know if I have the motivation to study. Even if I did, and finished my studies, I'm not optimistic about finding a job I'll like. So would I go back to square one yet another time?

I really feel like shit. And lost.

I'm thinking of starting a company and just trying to make a living doing something I like. But past experiences suggest that other people won't like the things I like enough for me to make a living off of it. Or I just won't have the time and money to do what needs to be done. Kinda hard to concentrate and plan on anything that takes longer than a month when you're not sure whether you'll be able to pay the rent next month...

Did I tell I feel like shit? And lost?

Unfortunately, I've no advice to give you at this point. Good luck.

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