This dead horse wont die
Here was my actual response to the comment left on here a week ago.
I realize that this is basically the opposite viewpoint of most 20-something intelligent males with a lot of options, but its not one that I've come to without thought or consideration.
Happiness is a funny thing. I don't know a lot of old people but I'm sure if one talked to them there would be a strong consensus that chasing the all mighty dollar led to a lot of wasted life for them. I understand that to most people money and working are just means to an end. But I really feel that many people get lost in their original intentions. They forget what end they are trying to achieve. Yes, money is a means to an end, but if you don't have any "end" in mind, what are you really doing?
I guess what I'm saying is that I really don't understand most peoples insatiable desire to impress other people with their amount of money, job status and other superficial things of such nature. It is the driving force behind all western society. Battling your insecurities by trying to out-do your peers seems to be a colossally inefficient way to live. By this I mean, how efficient you are in achieving your happiness goals. If you derive your happiness from your comparable level of success (as most people seem to do) then you are wasting a lot of resources thinking about other people, when they shouldn't even be in your happiness equation.
I realize its hard to be happy without some sort of basis for comparison. And this is something I am currently struggling with. One side of my brain says, "never be satisfied, always improve" and the other says, "fuck it, be happy". At this point in my life the "fuck it, be happy" side is winning the struggle, and I'm trying to rationalize why. But in all honesty I am worried that it is an elaborate cop-out that will allow me to be lazy.
Or maybe I have it all figured out. Maybe my happiness/work ratio is the most efficient in the history of the world. I'd really like to talk to some old people about this. Because they have had a lot of time to think about what is really important in life. I'm sure when you ask them, money, status, etc will be at the bottom of their list. I suspect family, friends and personal improvement would be at the top of their list. You don't need money for these things but I suspect that some people will never accept that.
And I haven't changed my thoughts on what I said in my previous post. I still need to work a ton more, and I will be, simply because its becoming obvious how inefficient it is not to.
hey
I just read your comment on my blog.
First, I want to thank you for the criticism. Most people who read my blogs are friends and would never criticize me. Its nice to have an outsiders point of view.
I'm not sure I could ever come up with a satisfactory answer to your queries. I know I have a problem with laziness, and rather than deal with it head on I suppose I just make light of it. I can see how this would be annoying to someone who actually has drive and motivation in life.
But the crux of the matter for me is basically a lack of motivation to improve. I'm pretty happy as is, and if you want to call that complacency then so be it. I'm not entirely convinced that complacency is a negative thing.
I have no visions of grandeur, nor the desires to impress ANYONE that I meet. In fact I generally go out of my way to make everyone feel good about themselves, usually by diminishing my accomplishments, skills, etc.
I'm happy in life. I've come to my own understanding of happiness. This endless search for improvement and increased wealth/status/items I feel doesn't necessarily lead to increased happiness or wellbeing.
Like I said, I'm not in it to impress anyone or to make anyone feel worse about their situation.
And even with my laid back strategy, I'm still improving, moving up in levels and making more money, so even I consider the future in all of this.
Maybe my whole outlook is flawed. Or maybe its just different. I wouldn't worry about anyone else with the same experience/skill set as me going pro as I know they will probably do a lot better than me in the long run naturally.
This is just my explanation. I assume you still won't approve of it but I do thank you for the comment. It obviously struck a cord with me since I ended up writing a blog post on your comment section. I know I need to be more motivated and I think that the more I hear people tell me this the better I can become at it.
Thanks,
RikkiDee
I realize that this is basically the opposite viewpoint of most 20-something intelligent males with a lot of options, but its not one that I've come to without thought or consideration.
Happiness is a funny thing. I don't know a lot of old people but I'm sure if one talked to them there would be a strong consensus that chasing the all mighty dollar led to a lot of wasted life for them. I understand that to most people money and working are just means to an end. But I really feel that many people get lost in their original intentions. They forget what end they are trying to achieve. Yes, money is a means to an end, but if you don't have any "end" in mind, what are you really doing?
I guess what I'm saying is that I really don't understand most peoples insatiable desire to impress other people with their amount of money, job status and other superficial things of such nature. It is the driving force behind all western society. Battling your insecurities by trying to out-do your peers seems to be a colossally inefficient way to live. By this I mean, how efficient you are in achieving your happiness goals. If you derive your happiness from your comparable level of success (as most people seem to do) then you are wasting a lot of resources thinking about other people, when they shouldn't even be in your happiness equation.
I realize its hard to be happy without some sort of basis for comparison. And this is something I am currently struggling with. One side of my brain says, "never be satisfied, always improve" and the other says, "fuck it, be happy". At this point in my life the "fuck it, be happy" side is winning the struggle, and I'm trying to rationalize why. But in all honesty I am worried that it is an elaborate cop-out that will allow me to be lazy.
Or maybe I have it all figured out. Maybe my happiness/work ratio is the most efficient in the history of the world. I'd really like to talk to some old people about this. Because they have had a lot of time to think about what is really important in life. I'm sure when you ask them, money, status, etc will be at the bottom of their list. I suspect family, friends and personal improvement would be at the top of their list. You don't need money for these things but I suspect that some people will never accept that.
And I haven't changed my thoughts on what I said in my previous post. I still need to work a ton more, and I will be, simply because its becoming obvious how inefficient it is not to.
posted by RikkiDee at 12:10 PM
3 Comments:
I completely agree with your life philosphy. I haven't met a single person who shared that same view. My approach is somewhat different than yours as I don't have the poker cash cow/skills, so I'm forced to work hard now so I can retire early. 40years old to be exact. People laugh but its a simple equation. First to a million, live off the interest. Its really not that hard if your smart and don't mind living modestly (70-80K year) from retirement to death. Your key point is there needs to be an end. Set the end date and move on with REAL life. People that need more than 70K a year to be happy are too far gone to ever understand. An extra lexus will never be worth having to wake up at 6:30am everyday. Why? For what? To get from point A to B? 6:30 am in perpetuity to get from A to B.
You need to watch the movie "Into the Wild". It's an extreme example, but you will relate/understand I promise.
"Work is a 20th century invention"
awesome, thanks for the comment. I definitely will check out the movie.
You wanted comments from old folks, I'm 50+ and play poker... but the best things in life are not things. You are on the right track. Good wine, good food and sex, if you can find a good woman/man, but the same one because it only really gets good with practice, books to learn and something to keep you busy, music, business, art or poker. Of course if you have kids then everthing becomes out of place, so "kids" should be first. There's no secret to life. In the movie City Slickers...Billy Crystal asked the tough old cowboy what was the secret to life and Jack Palance (since deceased) told him "there's only one thing" and Billy C. asked what that one thing was. The answer ..."that's what you have to figure out". The only thing you control in life is your integrity... don't do anything that's not in your heart, that you don't believe. Of course you'll leave or lose a lot of jobs and make enemies, but you'll sleep OK.
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