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I am rich and have no idea what to do

vinay.sh

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Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#651

Post by sixstringtheory »

KPGv2 wrote: post #541

> NPC coworkers I suppose "the author can go fuck himself" is a frowned-upon response on Hacker News Like what an incredibly egocentric, condescending, deplorable way to talk about other human beings with their own rich inner lives, desires, needs, relationships, etc. "No, they're just pre-programmed, unthinking bots following basic algorithms."

I’ve long been of the opinion that you can’t love others until you love yourself. Between the NPC comment and breaking up with his girlfriend, I’d say he has a long way to go, if he ever gets there at all. Hope he does.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#652

Post by orochimaaru »

pech0rin wrote: post #490

This is the most childish thing I’ve read. And shows a lot about he doesn’t have any people relying on him or community to support. He takes one hike and throws away 60m. Doesn’t try to find anything interesting to do at Atlassian just calls his coworkers NPCs. This is zero-empathy Peter Pan syndrome at its worse. Sad how he just goes adventure hopping to try and find meaning. The problem is no matter where you are y…

I have a different take. Most people in corporate jobs are NPCs, me included. I don’t mind it. My meaning and purpose is the family I’m trying to support. If that means things at work are on autopilot so be it. It’s just a matter of priorities.

So yeah - it’s fine to call me an NPC. I just have my priorities figured out better than the author.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#653

Post by danielbarla »

pech0rin wrote: post #490

This is the most childish thing I’ve read. And shows a lot about he doesn’t have any people relying on him or community to support. He takes one hike and throws away 60m. Doesn’t try to find anything interesting to do at Atlassian just calls his coworkers NPCs. This is zero-empathy Peter Pan syndrome at its worse. Sad how he just goes adventure hopping to try and find meaning. The problem is no matter where you are y…

While the tone of the post might come off as childish, I don't think it should be dismissed quite so off hand, because I think there's a lot more behind it than one might think.

I cannot but help think that there's a fair bit of truth behind Terror Management Theory [1], which paraphrased states that a lot of human activity is centered around the need to get our minds off the topic of our mortality, or to find something meaningful in it. I can totally see that someone who spends much of their life working towards a goal of essentially getting rich now finds that he is somewhat rudderless after that point. Is finding something interesting to do meaningful? I mean, it's completely subjective.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theory

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#655

Post by nprateem »

Unfortunately can't retire yet but have had enough time off to know how boring having no purpose is.

But I'm working on it anyway.

The only thing I want is to know my future is secure, have enough passive income/savings to be able to meditate.

I've seen for myself that thoughts just throw you off balance, and it's possible to be deeply contented just with the present moment. But the last thing I wanted to do was run a business or do work in that state.

I want to get loaded so I can just slip back into that state of contentment, then teach it. That's all.

But pursing experiences isn't the way to get there. I can see why someone would write a post like this.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#657

Post by rramadass »

intull wrote: post #512

I think OP's title itself answers the question — they're wealthy, and most if not all things that he could really want in the world is a transaction away. "Constraints" are key to finding purpose and direction. There can be a right/optimal set of constraints, but when there seems to be none, any is better. Constraints forbid us from being able to have something in life (things or experiences) that we also want. When…

Well said.

> "Constraints" are key to finding purpose and direction.

I would modify this as "externally imposed constraints w.r.t. socially validated goals". I had come to this conclusion long ago based on my study of philosophy and my own life situation. I had to give up a software career to become a caregiver; my needs and wants being few and frugal with no dependents i found myself in a situation where i had a place stay, clothes to wear and enough food to eat and no "goal" in life i.e. freedom. That was when i realized that every goal had been imposed from outside and i had simply followed a socially validated path taking it as my own. Breaking out of this cycle means you are suddenly in a situation where you have to define your own goal from a large options menu with no constraints pushing you one way or another. This is when a feeling of "emptiness" dawns on you i.e. everything feels unnecessary/empty/worthless without social validation. Note that it has nothing to do with the amount of wealth you have but having enough for oneself based on how you choose to live.

The Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement is very relevant here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRE_movement

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#659

Post by gamblor956 »

pech0rin wrote: post #490

This is the most childish thing I’ve read. And shows a lot about he doesn’t have any people relying on him or community to support. He takes one hike and throws away 60m. Doesn’t try to find anything interesting to do at Atlassian just calls his coworkers NPCs. This is zero-empathy Peter Pan syndrome at its worse. Sad how he just goes adventure hopping to try and find meaning. The problem is no matter where you are y…

Fully agree. Clients like this are why I left firm life and went in-house doing corporate tax work.
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