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The quiet rebellion of a little life

caitlynrichardson.substack.com

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Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#41

Post by spokaneplumb »

notnaut wrote: post #24
bdangubic wrote: post #22

the irony in all of this, is that if social media were completely eradicated from the world and everyone had a chance to look inward in order to pursue being the very best version of themselves possible, both emotionally and logistically in their career pursuits, imagine the repercussions of this and how it would positively impact our society… but alas, i’m dreaming of a world where that could never exist again. coul…

Is hacker news not social media? Or do you find that it works as a form of social media that is “good” whereas all these other forms you’ve abandoned are “bad?” If it’s a simple matter like that, what ideas could other social media take from HN to improve?

No personalized feed driven by anything other than user selections. User identities downplayed. Profiles, but barely. Can’t “follow” people.

If HN is social media, the term’s being used so broadly we’ll need something other term to refer to the kind of thing that Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et c, are.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#42

Post by riku_iki »

xigency wrote: post #15
eluketronic wrote: post #11

I’ve wrestled with this idea since reading My Side of The Mountain when I was quite young. Our society and culture constantly reinforces the perceived need to make enough money to retire one day, assuming that there is a necessary amount of money one needs to continue living and that one should stop working at some point. The fear of exorbitant medical costs in our privatized healthcare system scare me into thinking…

I'm coming to terms with the fact that if I want to leave any inheritance at all I will need to be voluntarily turning down medical care at some point in my life. I'm only 30 and I know for certain that lifespan is not the parameter I want to optimize. Rather, it is quality of life.

I hope to solve it through the healthy lifestyle: diet, exercises, sleep, outdoor time, stress management, so I will be healthy and active for a long time until some organ suddenly fails, so I won't spend money on medical care which observes my slowly fading body while giving some not necessary helpful treatment.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#43

Post by readthenotes1 »

"there’s a pervasive myth that has seeped into every corner of our current reality claiming that in order to have a meaningful life, we’re told that worth is measured in titles, achievements, and the scope of our influence. "

The formerly most pervasive myth in my culture required that in order to live a good life we should strive to treat others well.

Not many did it but it seems a good aspiration, to base my self-esteem on how I treat others rather than on how they view me.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#44

Post by saltcured »

xigency wrote: post #15
eluketronic wrote: post #11

I’ve wrestled with this idea since reading My Side of The Mountain when I was quite young. Our society and culture constantly reinforces the perceived need to make enough money to retire one day, assuming that there is a necessary amount of money one needs to continue living and that one should stop working at some point. The fear of exorbitant medical costs in our privatized healthcare system scare me into thinking…

I'm coming to terms with the fact that if I want to leave any inheritance at all I will need to be voluntarily turning down medical care at some point in my life. I'm only 30 and I know for certain that lifespan is not the parameter I want to optimize. Rather, it is quality of life.

That's definitely true, and I think it's good you realize it so young.

It's inherent because of the diminishing returns for aggressive healthcare intervention. We're all going to die. We could ramp up the costs of intervention to arbitrary levels in a final death spasm, but we will still die. So, we have to strike some kind of balance.

The harder part, I think, is thinking about the decades leading up to that final end game. How do you trade off quality of life in different decades by saving and time-shifting some of your spending power into the future. It's not just medical costs but all the other aspects of life which carry a mix of predictable and unpredictable costs.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#45

Post by HL33tibCe7 »

throwaway34443 wrote: post #33
sgt101 wrote: post #3

Ok, no capital letters as a writing affectation is immediately upsetting... but I'll let my anxiety about that subside and focus on the content. I get it, I really do. I find it a daily struggle. Last week I told my boss I couldn't travel this week. He was fine about it, there wasn't even a discussion. But I've worried about it ever since. Not because I want a raise or a promotion, but because I need this job and I w…

I think I've found my peace. I'm 24, planning to live my entire life without long term relationships, so I don't have to worry about responsibilities to others. I live in Europe so theoretically retirement is not a death sentence, but if it gets too difficult I can always kill myself. One advantage of this life is that it becomes quite easy to save money when you don't have pointless expenses. So far I am very happy…

Seek professional help

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#46

Post by riku_iki »

skwee357 wrote: post #40
fireynis wrote: post #5

I always think these kinds of mentalities are based on people who have never been in dire straits or financially insecure. Living a simple life is almost impossible, pursuing wealth is probably the only way to be secure in a simple life. Even if you FIRE, you need to pretty aggressively pursue wealth at the beginning to make it work.

This. It reminds me of the average “indie hacker” mentality: just move to Bali and live off $2-3k. The problem is that it just doesn’t work once you are past a certain age, and suddenly have “adult life”: parter, kids, aging parents. I’d love to life a “little life”. Read books with my partner, drink coffee in the morning while watching the birds. The problem is that one small unlucky event, like being laid off, or s…

what prevents you from asking partner, kids, aging parents to live "little life" too?

> The problem is that one small unlucky event, like being laid off, or someone you love getting sick, and it can all snowball into oblivion.

that's why financial health would be to allocate 15% of your indie $2-3k to saving account to cover this unlucky event.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#47

Post by fwsgonzo »

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #35
uncletaco wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you the author on an alt? This article and comment are the first time I've ever seen someone on this website not use capitalization.

1) lots of people write like that; it's become a bit of a trend 2) the author did not capitalize "I" when referring to themselves like OP did

A trend? People never capitalized anything on IRC in the early 90s. The only time I saw it was on forums and other longer forms of text. And then eventually everyone else joined the Internet and more formal writing became the norm. Not wanting to pointlessly capitalize letters is neither here nor there. It doesn't mean anything.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#48

Post by insane_dreamer »

fireynis wrote: post #5

I always think these kinds of mentalities are based on people who have never been in dire straits or financially insecure. Living a simple life is almost impossible, pursuing wealth is probably the only way to be secure in a simple life. Even if you FIRE, you need to pretty aggressively pursue wealth at the beginning to make it work.

> Living a simple life is almost impossible, pursuing wealth is probably the only way to be secure in a simple life.

Maybe this seems true if you live in SF or NYC or are surrounded by people who are continuously preaching "high acheivement", but there indeed many people who lead a simple life. They don't have all the comforts that they could otherwise have if they pushed themselves to have more money, but they earn enough at their job for their own modest needs and contentment. It's the feeling that you always have to be reaching for the next rung in the ladder that creates anxiety.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#49

Post by cab11150904 »

sgt101 wrote: post #3

Ok, no capital letters as a writing affectation is immediately upsetting... but I'll let my anxiety about that subside and focus on the content. I get it, I really do. I find it a daily struggle. Last week I told my boss I couldn't travel this week. He was fine about it, there wasn't even a discussion. But I've worried about it ever since. Not because I want a raise or a promotion, but because I need this job and I w…

Thank you for keeping me from even opening the article. No caps just sounds like someone whimpering in a corner.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#50

Post by TaupeRanger »

mberning wrote: post #7

I find these types of ideas to be more of a coping mechanism than any sort of deep insight on the human condition. Once everything is stripped away and you are spending your days making artisanal gooseberry preserves you may find that life is still not possessed of anything meaningful.

Yes. These types of hot takes only have force because most people don't pursue them. In a world where most people pursued a "little life", you'd see articles about the "quiet rebellion of ambition". Is either life better than the other? On what grounds? Is it not entirely dependent on the details of the life in question? Does no one understand the deep truth of the phrase "the grass is always greener"?
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