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

Don't Waste the Good Days

seths.blog

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 333 posts

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#241

Post by JTBooth »

andi999 wrote: post #151
JTBooth wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took off right before the pandemic. Now I'm living in Tokyo, engaged, and like my job. Doing weird shit rocks.

Can you tell more about your job? I love Tokyo, but the work environment seemed to have a lot of drawbacks (general long hours, presence over productivity restricted days off) Did that change, or are you good with it, or did you find a different niche?

I'm working at Stripe, so, definitely not the traditional "wait for your boss to leave" experience. My previous was Google, and the change was as much my mental state as the work.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#242

Post by JTBooth »

rixed wrote: post #118
JTBooth wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took off right before the pandemic. Now I'm living in Tokyo, engaged, and like my job. Doing weird shit rocks.

Survivor bias?

I don't think so. If you put some effort into your fallback plan, and choose your weird shit so that it's likely to work out, I think it can just be a good bet. And it's hard to imagine working up the energy to do it if you're really happy where you are, you know?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#243

Post by docmars »

derekp7 wrote: post #56
nightowl_games wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd have played fewer video games, traveled less, and relaxed on the beach less. This seems totally opposite of what old people say on their death bed. You sound so obsessed with money here. My guess is your probably very wealthy relative to the average peer and your too naive to realize it. You have to keep telling yourself this philosophy to justify not wind surfing in Bali. You think your gonna wind surf when yo…

The truth is, no matter what path you take in life, you can find yourself wishing that you took a different path.

Many of us have an innate drive for diverse experiences and forming fond memories around them, to the point it feels like it's never enough.

Sometimes it is those who are looking for a void to fill in life, because their childhood lacked a crucial element to healthy development that they end up looking for anything that could scratch that itch; and that itch is often nostalgia waiting to be found, perhaps falsely, because that void seeks something else to satisfy it relationally.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#246

Post by randomsearch »

ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

When you’re young, you’re time rich and cash poor.

When you’re old, you’re cash rich and time poor.

But when you’re young you’re healthy, which is more important than both.

If you’re in your 20s and not hitting the gym regularly, start now. Wish I hadn’t left it so long, it will change your life.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#247

Post by jacquesm »

ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

> Due to compounding interest, a dollar made in your 20's is far, far more valuable than a dollar made in your 60's.

Yes. But you'll be earning relatively little when you're young so there won't be too many dollars left at the end of your fixed expenses to pull that trick with, besides, the interest rates are negative at the moment.

Whereas later in life you will likely make a multiple of what you make in your twenties, comfortably offsetting your gains.

Indeed, life is short. So while you're young and healthy, first and foremost ENJOY LIFE rather than to be focused on money and your old age all the time. Those will come anyway.

It's a fine line between having fun and enjoying life versus 'goofing around', but the big trick is to not look back with regret on what you could have done, but instead to appreciate what you have. If you don't your life will be an endless source of frustration.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#248

Post by jacquesm »

bathtub365 wrote: post #66
derekp7 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The truth is, no matter what path you take in life, you can find yourself wishing that you took a different path.

I saw this posted elsewhere on HN and it really resonated with me. “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and a…

Not choosing is also a choice. The paralysis of choice is very nicely laid out in that piece.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#249

Post by throwoutway »

jacquesm wrote: post #247
ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

> Due to compounding interest, a dollar made in your 20's is far, far more valuable than a dollar made in your 60's. Yes. But you'll be earning relatively little when you're young so there won't be too many dollars left at the end of your fixed expenses to pull that trick with, besides, the interest rates are negative at the moment. Whereas later in life you will likely make a multiple of what you make in your twenti…

> Yes. But you'll be earning relatively little when you're young so there won't be too many dollars left at the end of your fixed expenses to pull that trick with, besides, the interest rates are negative at the moment.

I don’t think you understand it. The intent is to invest that dollar into a basket of investments for 40 years. The stock market is up this past year, not negstive.

Sure Interest rates are negative but OP did not suggest sticking it in a bank. Besides, inflation eats at the value of a dollar.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#250

Post by goodpoint »

01100011 wrote: post #170
ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

It's tough... at 47 I'm old enough to have felt the decades past turn into a scant handful of memories. When you're older, the past matters less. The now matters more. Not being able to pay for good health care matters. Not being able to eat what you want or take vacations matters. When you're old, you realize "Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone" and you have the now to worry about. But I…

> if you're going to have kids, have them young. There is absolutely nothing on this earth which is as valuable as the time you'll have with your children

This is entirely self-centered. The kids, instead, benefit immensely from having parents with experience, emotional maturity, financial stability, better work-life balance.

You might not get to meet your grand[grand]kids but this is a sacrifice parents should be willing to make to provide a good life to their kids.

Post reply on HN