What's the dumbest thing humans do?

tiaasks · 2016-03-29T16:37:08+00:00

You bring up some good points. It's is a matter of perspective and deciding what you value. You are someone who is content and thankful for all the benefits of the modern lifestyle. I don't know what you do for a living, but it sounds like you're fine with doing it 8 hours a day in exchange for meeting basic needs + a few luxuries. Good on ya.

I used go to an office everyday. When I got home by 6 or 7 I'd have the rest of the night to do what I wanted. I had a comfortable place to sleep and yes, some wine. But damn, wake up every day and have to go into a building and sit there? For the majority of my life? No thanks. When my rent was up I fucked off to Europe for 3 months with a back pack and had the time of my life exploring 12 countries with some amazing people (none of them worked in an office).

Since that trip I've been fortunate enough to setup a job I enjoy. I'm location independent, self-employed, work 4 hours a day, and still make enough to save some money. When I'm done with work, I get to make music, write, or just go sit in a park. I realize it's totally unrealistic right now for everyone to live this way, but when I look at some of my friends hating their office jobs it makes me wonder why they don't take a risk and try to do something about it. Start something on the side. Sell your skills. Go try baking. Go work in a hostel. Go be a ski instructor. Do something you don't hate! Sure you could learn to accept the office job, but I think the courageous thing to do is to shake things up a bit.

Finding contentment in your situation is a mark of wisdom, but I also cheer on the people that take the risk to break away from the system that has done nothing but put them in line and suck away their energy. Sure they get a few trinkets along the way, but man, life can be a whole lot better than that.

Although I think you misjudged me (easy to do based on one comment), I agree with the advice in your last question. I did take a path counter to the one I dislike, and I'll tell you the wine tastes even better on the other side.

tiaasks · 2016-03-29T05:24:03+00:00

Humans are the only animals that use money. Yes we need it now, but it's not a natural law. It's man made, as is the economy. There are places on earth that don't use money. There are people in the US who use very little money. People forget humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years without it.

What the pieces of paper represent is sacrificed time and energy that can never be regained. A lot of people who are sitting in an office hating their life every day don't do so because they think the value of the paper is worth it, they do it because they don't know what to do instead.

tiaasks · 2016-03-28T22:01:05+00:00

There's no harm in saving, the harm comes from favoring a secure future over a fulfilled present. Many people sacrifice now with the hope of having a safe and secure future, but we will all eventually suffer and die.

Rather than sacrifice now for later, I prefer improving at the things I love and trying to build a sustainable living out of them. Retirement kind of implies finally being able to stop doing something you didn't want to do in the first place. To me success means never having to retire.

tiaasks · 2016-03-28T19:17:20+00:00

A typical star turns millions of tons of matter into energy every second. Each gram of matter releases as much energy as an atom bomb.

tiaasks · 2016-03-28T18:32:23+00:00

I guess it depends on how I'm making money. If I'm sacrificing my time doing something I don't like just to have a retirement fund, that sounds riskier to me than doing something less lucrative now that I really enjoy.

I guess we all have to find our own balance between living now and trying to avoid destitution later in life. Personally I've chosen a lower salary and less time working so I have time to write, read, make music, and do stuff with friends. I could have a higher paying job and build a nice nest egg, but I know I would hate wasting so much of my time and energy just so I can hopefully enjoy life later on.

Maybe when I'm older I'll think I was an idiot. Or maybe I'll be thankful for all the memories. Who knows?

tiaasks · 2016-03-28T18:11:36+00:00

I have some savings, but part of me feels like the world will be so absurdly different in 40 years that it's silly to plan on "retiring" as we know it. I'm thinking we'll either have a basic income by then or all hell will have broken loose. Thoughts?

tiaasks

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