8 ms·

"Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

156 points by danielh 17y ago

heed 17y ago
I apologize if I come across as snarky, it is not my intent, but I don't like being told what I should do. There's no 'right' way to go about using your time, and wasting it is completely subjective. If I'm about to die and all I want to do is watch TV, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't have to provide value, I don't have to travel, I don't have to take risks, I don't have to watch sunsets, I don't have to do anything, if I don't want to. Her message is good, and I found it very moving like many of you, but I can't agree that 'doing' something is always the best thing for everyone. Do what you want, as long as you aren't hurting anyone else's ability to do what they want.
- sonofjanoh 17y ago
  You missed the message. That's the whole message, to do what YOU want and not what someone else tells you or make you think you have to. Do more of what gives you pleasure and fulfilment. Be it watching a sunset or chasing storms or whatever unless pleasure is to hurt someone...
  - heed 17y ago
    The message I heard was 'get up and do something before it's too late,' so I could have very well missed part of what was intended. All I'm saying, is doing nothing is perfectly acceptable as well.
- kgroll 17y ago
  No, this is just a miscommunication. I think she's saying you _should_ sit there and watch TV - as long as that's what you aspire to do. (Just to go along with that example) In it's purest form, I interpret her message as 'You should be actively pursuing your goals, NOW.' Couldn't it be said that goals are nothing more than dreams if we don't have a plan for achieving them? Wasted time in this sense would mean setting a goal for yourself, but then failing to act on it. For example, it's easy for me to say 'I want to start my own business,' but then keep working my 9-to-5 without making any strides towards my goal. That's wasted time.
jff 17y ago
I wish I hadn't wasted my time clicking on that.
- philk 17y ago
  And yet you were perfectly willing to waste your time on a snarky reply.
- F_J_H 17y ago
  "Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack." - George Patton
- tsally 17y ago
  A lot of smart, well connected people read Hacker News. In addition to reflecting poorly on you, your comment reflects poorly on your academic institution (RIT). I doubt the people at RIT would be pleased. Try to put a little thought in next time?
- crosvenir 17y ago
  Thank you for espousing what I was was feeling in a more civilized manner.
wallflower 17y ago
A darker story: I was out of state, at a friend's house party, a few years ago and the discussion got non-superficial late in the night, as it sometimes does. His friends were talking about a friend who was not there. Some time prior, this woman had an argument with her mother that escalated into all-out shouting, petty criticisms, damning accusations, anger. The last thing she yelled to her mother was "F* y!!" The next morning her mother died suddenly. At the party, her friends were discussing how she regrets to the utmost of her life - that unfortunate and final send off. How she would give anything to undo what cannot be undone. How hard it is for this woman to try to forgive herself (the most important person of all to forgive). I know it's a cliche but this is a true story. You may not see someone you love again - so don't part in anger. Don't curse out your parents or your significant other.
- scotth 17y ago
  Or realize that these moments are just part of a relationship's ebb and flow. To have someone die during the low point doesn't erase all the previous positive experiences.
  - wallflower 17y ago
    I understand where you are coming from. But I think it is quite another thing to actually experience.
    - jongraehl 17y ago
      I have a hard time believing that she won't get over it. But who knows, people are crazy.
- zackattack 17y ago
  The Buddha tells me I will not be punished for my anger, but by my anger.
  - sam_in_nyc 17y ago
    Where can I find a list of these things?
ScottWhigham 17y ago
Wow that made me cry like a baby. That was intensely powerful on many levels. Thanks for sharing.
tpyo 17y ago
But... but.. I have to go to school! And write essays no one will ever want to read, essays that don't even aspire to be something interesting!
- mildweed 17y ago
  Then write essays that matter. Every assignment is an opportunity for greatness. The same is true after school too; every project is an opportunity for greatness.
  - tpyo 17y ago
    That's what I usually try to do. It's the ones on literature that get me. There's not much to be said about a play by Shakespeare.
    - KC8ZKF 17y ago
      http://www.orwell.ru/library/reviews/tolstoy/english/e_tas http://www.orwell.ru/library/reviews/tolstoy/english/e_tas
      - tpyo 17y ago
        (Briefly, it's an essay on someone who disparaged Shakespeare, but was ignored and forgotten.) Why did you link this?
    - kiddo 17y ago
      Are you serious? Not much to be said about a play by Shakespeare? Maybe you should try re-reading one.
- arthurk 17y ago
  How do you know that? post them on the internet, I'm sure someone will read them.
- emmett 17y ago
  Treat school like your day job. You only have to be there like 6 hours a day, 5 days a week - it's a pretty easy job.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
swombat 17y ago
What would you do if you found out, right now, that you have exactly 2 years left to live? Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly two years, and then you'll die in your sleep. What would you do with those 2 years? PS: "I'll train myself not to sleep" is not a good answer.
- davidw 17y ago
  It certainly wouldn't involve sitting around pondering improbable situations.
- zackattack 17y ago
  I WISH that this were the case. I feel like it would finally set me free. Until then, I remain a slave to my insidious ego, and do not really feel alive anyway.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- axod 17y ago
  FWIW, I don't think I'd do much different than I currently do (Which I think is a reasonably good sign). Would you?
  - Psyonic 17y ago
    Not necessarily. As I commented elsewhere, I doubt any medical students would stay in school for the entirety of those 2 years, if they weren't going to be able to use that knowledge anyway.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- Splines 17y ago
  I'd try to do all the things I've wanted to do, and bring as many people with me as I can.
- Psyonic 17y ago
hopeless 17y ago
As one of those that has lived (through a car accident) this resonates so strongly. There are elements of my life that I'm deeply unhappy about but I'm working on changing them. These changes won't overnight but what scares me more than anything is that it won't happen quick enough. I've seen the end game and it isn't scheduled months in advance or decades away in our future... ...it might be that you kiss your pregnant wife goodbye in the morning and simply disappear.
- keeptrying 17y ago
  Help someone out on a constant basis and then whatever your doing is meaningful ... www.ffe.org
Tichy 17y ago
The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track. What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the pile of other papers (bills, other plans and what not). Maybe daily checks would be the thing - just write a new plan every day, with adjustments from the daily experience?
- megamark16 17y ago
  This might sound lame but for me it's Twitter. I'm back on Weight Watchers try to drop the 20 pounds I put over the holidays and new year, so I'm tweeting my weigh ins every Friday. I slipped up a little yesterday; everybody at work brought in their superbowl leftovers. But you can bet that I'm back on today, because I'd really like to have something positive to tweet about Friday, and "the whole world" is watching :-) I'm doing the same thing with one of my side projects (or trying to anyway). I'm tweeting about little updates, every step closer to a closed beta, and I plan on continuing to tweet about the ups and downs as they come. I have enough followers who I greatly respect that I'd feel pretty silly if I didn't follow through.
  - Tichy 17y ago
    Doesn't sound lame at all. I've actually tried Twitter, too. But I have created a separate account to tweet about my progress in programming - what I have learned today, what I am currently working on, stuff like that. Unfortunately I let that slide, too, but I want to take it up again. Of course with the separate account I don't have the social pressure, which might be essential.
  - Sukotto 17y ago
    Yeah... me to (sans the Twitter) Set up joes goals [1] with a positive "I weighed myself today" and a negative "I broke my No S diet [2] today" (can have multiple ticks against that last one). The little chart that joesgoals makes for me is oddly compelling. [1] http://joesgoals.com/ http://joesgoals.com/ [2] http://www.nosdiet.com/ http://www.nosdiet.com/
blackswan 17y ago
Have less; do more.
F_J_H 17y ago
Reminds me of "Instantes" by Jorge Luis Borges: If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations, contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments. Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now. I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me. But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying.
- simplegeek 17y ago
  Upvote isn't enough, I've to say this: "Beautiful writing".
  - jeffcoat 17y ago
    You have excellent taste; go now and grab a copy of Borges's _Ficciones_ for more. http://books.google.com/books?id=4dPBlkL1dkIC http://books.google.com/books?id=4dPBlkL1dkIC
    - simplegeek 17y ago
      Thank you, my friend. I was about to ask for a book recommendation. Ah, HNer's you're awesome ;) If you've any more recommendations please feel free to share. Thanks.
      - hernan7 17y ago
rmanocha 17y ago
Reminds me of "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. That was one of the most inspiring talks I've ever heard. Check it out if you haven't yet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
- ashishbharthi 17y ago
  I got the exact same thought. I still remember seeing above YouTube link on google homepage and clicked on it. I missed my dinner, my wife kept calling me, but I just got sucked into Randy's talk. It definitely changed me and how I look at my life. I think this is another powerful message. Thanks for sharing this.
- ArturSoler 17y ago
  Oh, man, I wondered before watching it if it was worth the 1 hour 16 minutes it's long. Now I've watched it and I know it would have been worth even if it lasted 100 hours. Thank you very much for letting me know about it.
keeptrying 17y ago
People have pointed out in this discussion that its hard to actually live a meaningful life. Especially in the US it can be hard to learn how to lead one. I've been delving into Buddhism over the last 5 months because of a family situation of mine that I have had to deal with and I think to be able to live a meaningful life all you have to do is help someone else who: 1. Really needs your help. 2. Can do nothing (by the nature of his/her predicament) for you in return at this very moment. 3. needs help on a continual basis. Ie, a long term commitment which then implies that you going to work everyday is helping someone else. That would be living a meaningful life. I think thats why having kids is living a meaningful life. My recommendation: Put an underprivileged kid in India through college who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it. http://www.ffe.org http://www.ffe.org (100% of your money is given to the children as the administration fees are paid for by a separate fund). It takes a long time to get to this thinking though. I mean think about it: If you had only $2000 in your bank, the only way you could give $2000 to charity is to be able to either give up all your dreams/aspirations or at least put them on hold. That is very hard to do ...
- koningrobot 17y ago
  To have a kid is to create such a person who really needs your help, can do nothing in return, and needs help on a continual basis. This is a horrible thing to do! Not to mention that those created will most likely do the same thing in turn, reinforcing the vicious cycle. You don't quite seem to be advising people to lead a meaningful life by having kids, but it's close. Your recommendation to help people in need who are already born, though, is sound.
jacoblyles 17y ago
This is not to be confused with "never work towards a long term goal" or "never invest in the future", which is the primary criticism I have of the "live for the day" moral. It's rational to say "forget about 10 years from now" if you have two years to live. It's not rational if you're expecting to live 50 or 60 more years, even if there is some standard deviation to your expectation.
mortenjorck 17y ago
I'm incredibly, ecstatically glad my only wake-up call has been a general "hey, do you realize you're going to get old?" rather than something life-threatening. But it has caused me to make this resolution: Never pass the time. If you want to waste some time, make the conscious decision to. Enjoy the restfulness of doing nothing for awhile. But never be bored. There is always something worth doing, even if it's just driving to the library and checking out a book. There's so very much in this world to learn, to experience, to explore, and whether you're hopping on a jet to go find it yourself or just basking in the richly-woven words of a great book about it, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a look. The world is too interesting, the universe is too interesting, humans are too interesting to waste your time with throwaway things. I can't tell you what those throwaway things are for you, but you know them. They're not important. Use your time for the things that are.
sidsavara 17y ago
Surprised that HN likes this. I wrote a post on this topic too: http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-golden-ticket http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-gold... Since people enjoyed this video, here's the HN link - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797
Mz 17y ago
I didn't really learn to live until I spent a year at death's door. Since there is no cure for my disorder, even getting well doesn't remove the "death sentence" I am living under. I find it is a gift and very freeing.

156 points by danielh 17y ago

heed 17y ago

I apologize if I come across as snarky, it is not my intent, but I don't like being told what I should do. There's no 'right' way to go about using your time, and wasting it is completely subjective. If I'm about to die and all I want to do is watch TV, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't have to provide value, I don't have to travel, I don't have to take risks, I don't have to watch sunsets, I don't have to do anything, if I don't want to. Her message is good, and I found it very moving like many of you, but I can't agree that 'doing' something is always the best thing for everyone. Do what you want, as long as you aren't hurting anyone else's ability to do what they want.

sonofjanoh 17y ago
You missed the message. That's the whole message, to do what YOU want and not what someone else tells you or make you think you have to. Do more of what gives you pleasure and fulfilment. Be it watching a sunset or chasing storms or whatever unless pleasure is to hurt someone...
- heed 17y ago
  The message I heard was 'get up and do something before it's too late,' so I could have very well missed part of what was intended. All I'm saying, is doing nothing is perfectly acceptable as well.
kgroll 17y ago
No, this is just a miscommunication. I think she's saying you _should_ sit there and watch TV - as long as that's what you aspire to do. (Just to go along with that example) In it's purest form, I interpret her message as 'You should be actively pursuing your goals, NOW.' Couldn't it be said that goals are nothing more than dreams if we don't have a plan for achieving them? Wasted time in this sense would mean setting a goal for yourself, but then failing to act on it. For example, it's easy for me to say 'I want to start my own business,' but then keep working my 9-to-5 without making any strides towards my goal. That's wasted time.

jff 17y ago

I wish I hadn't wasted my time clicking on that.

philk 17y ago
And yet you were perfectly willing to waste your time on a snarky reply.
F_J_H 17y ago
"Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack." - George Patton
tsally 17y ago
A lot of smart, well connected people read Hacker News. In addition to reflecting poorly on you, your comment reflects poorly on your academic institution (RIT). I doubt the people at RIT would be pleased. Try to put a little thought in next time?
crosvenir 17y ago
Thank you for espousing what I was was feeling in a more civilized manner.

wallflower 17y ago

A darker story: I was out of state, at a friend's house party, a few years ago and the discussion got non-superficial late in the night, as it sometimes does. His friends were talking about a friend who was not there. Some time prior, this woman had an argument with her mother that escalated into all-out shouting, petty criticisms, damning accusations, anger. The last thing she yelled to her mother was "F* y!!" The next morning her mother died suddenly. At the party, her friends were discussing how she regrets to the utmost of her life - that unfortunate and final send off. How she would give anything to undo what cannot be undone. How hard it is for this woman to try to forgive herself (the most important person of all to forgive). I know it's a cliche but this is a true story. You may not see someone you love again - so don't part in anger. Don't curse out your parents or your significant other.

scotth 17y ago
Or realize that these moments are just part of a relationship's ebb and flow. To have someone die during the low point doesn't erase all the previous positive experiences.
- wallflower 17y ago
  I understand where you are coming from. But I think it is quite another thing to actually experience.
  - jongraehl 17y ago
    I have a hard time believing that she won't get over it. But who knows, people are crazy.
zackattack 17y ago
The Buddha tells me I will not be punished for my anger, but by my anger.
- sam_in_nyc 17y ago
  Where can I find a list of these things?

ScottWhigham 17y ago

Wow that made me cry like a baby. That was intensely powerful on many levels. Thanks for sharing.

tpyo 17y ago

But... but.. I have to go to school! And write essays no one will ever want to read, essays that don't even aspire to be something interesting!

mildweed 17y ago
Then write essays that matter. Every assignment is an opportunity for greatness. The same is true after school too; every project is an opportunity for greatness.
- tpyo 17y ago
  That's what I usually try to do. It's the ones on literature that get me. There's not much to be said about a play by Shakespeare.
  - KC8ZKF 17y ago
    http://www.orwell.ru/library/reviews/tolstoy/english/e_tas http://www.orwell.ru/library/reviews/tolstoy/english/e_tas
    - tpyo 17y ago
      (Briefly, it's an essay on someone who disparaged Shakespeare, but was ignored and forgotten.) Why did you link this?
  - kiddo 17y ago
    Are you serious? Not much to be said about a play by Shakespeare? Maybe you should try re-reading one.
arthurk 17y ago
How do you know that? post them on the internet, I'm sure someone will read them.
emmett 17y ago
Treat school like your day job. You only have to be there like 6 hours a day, 5 days a week - it's a pretty easy job.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

swombat 17y ago

What would you do if you found out, right now, that you have exactly 2 years left to live? Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly two years, and then you'll die in your sleep. What would you do with those 2 years? PS: "I'll train myself not to sleep" is not a good answer.

davidw 17y ago
It certainly wouldn't involve sitting around pondering improbable situations.
zackattack 17y ago
I WISH that this were the case. I feel like it would finally set me free. Until then, I remain a slave to my insidious ego, and do not really feel alive anyway.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
axod 17y ago
FWIW, I don't think I'd do much different than I currently do (Which I think is a reasonably good sign). Would you?
- Psyonic 17y ago
  Not necessarily. As I commented elsewhere, I doubt any medical students would stay in school for the entirety of those 2 years, if they weren't going to be able to use that knowledge anyway.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
Splines 17y ago
I'd try to do all the things I've wanted to do, and bring as many people with me as I can.
Psyonic 17y ago

hopeless 17y ago

As one of those that has lived (through a car accident) this resonates so strongly. There are elements of my life that I'm deeply unhappy about but I'm working on changing them. These changes won't overnight but what scares me more than anything is that it won't happen quick enough. I've seen the end game and it isn't scheduled months in advance or decades away in our future... ...it might be that you kiss your pregnant wife goodbye in the morning and simply disappear.

keeptrying 17y ago
Help someone out on a constant basis and then whatever your doing is meaningful ... www.ffe.org

Tichy 17y ago

The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track. What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the pile of other papers (bills, other plans and what not). Maybe daily checks would be the thing - just write a new plan every day, with adjustments from the daily experience?

megamark16 17y ago
This might sound lame but for me it's Twitter. I'm back on Weight Watchers try to drop the 20 pounds I put over the holidays and new year, so I'm tweeting my weigh ins every Friday. I slipped up a little yesterday; everybody at work brought in their superbowl leftovers. But you can bet that I'm back on today, because I'd really like to have something positive to tweet about Friday, and "the whole world" is watching :-) I'm doing the same thing with one of my side projects (or trying to anyway). I'm tweeting about little updates, every step closer to a closed beta, and I plan on continuing to tweet about the ups and downs as they come. I have enough followers who I greatly respect that I'd feel pretty silly if I didn't follow through.
- Tichy 17y ago
  Doesn't sound lame at all. I've actually tried Twitter, too. But I have created a separate account to tweet about my progress in programming - what I have learned today, what I am currently working on, stuff like that. Unfortunately I let that slide, too, but I want to take it up again. Of course with the separate account I don't have the social pressure, which might be essential.
- Sukotto 17y ago
  Yeah... me to (sans the Twitter) Set up joes goals [1] with a positive "I weighed myself today" and a negative "I broke my No S diet [2] today" (can have multiple ticks against that last one). The little chart that joesgoals makes for me is oddly compelling. [1] http://joesgoals.com/ http://joesgoals.com/ [2] http://www.nosdiet.com/ http://www.nosdiet.com/

blackswan 17y ago

Have less; do more.

F_J_H 17y ago

Reminds me of "Instantes" by Jorge Luis Borges: If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations, contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments. Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now. I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me. But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying.

simplegeek 17y ago
Upvote isn't enough, I've to say this: "Beautiful writing".
- jeffcoat 17y ago
  You have excellent taste; go now and grab a copy of Borges's _Ficciones_ for more. http://books.google.com/books?id=4dPBlkL1dkIC http://books.google.com/books?id=4dPBlkL1dkIC
  - simplegeek 17y ago
    Thank you, my friend. I was about to ask for a book recommendation. Ah, HNer's you're awesome ;) If you've any more recommendations please feel free to share. Thanks.
    - hernan7 17y ago

rmanocha 17y ago

Reminds me of "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. That was one of the most inspiring talks I've ever heard. Check it out if you haven't yet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

ashishbharthi 17y ago
I got the exact same thought. I still remember seeing above YouTube link on google homepage and clicked on it. I missed my dinner, my wife kept calling me, but I just got sucked into Randy's talk. It definitely changed me and how I look at my life. I think this is another powerful message. Thanks for sharing this.
ArturSoler 17y ago
Oh, man, I wondered before watching it if it was worth the 1 hour 16 minutes it's long. Now I've watched it and I know it would have been worth even if it lasted 100 hours. Thank you very much for letting me know about it.

keeptrying 17y ago

People have pointed out in this discussion that its hard to actually live a meaningful life. Especially in the US it can be hard to learn how to lead one. I've been delving into Buddhism over the last 5 months because of a family situation of mine that I have had to deal with and I think to be able to live a meaningful life all you have to do is help someone else who: 1. Really needs your help. 2. Can do nothing (by the nature of his/her predicament) for you in return at this very moment. 3. needs help on a continual basis. Ie, a long term commitment which then implies that you going to work everyday is helping someone else. That would be living a meaningful life. I think thats why having kids is living a meaningful life. My recommendation: Put an underprivileged kid in India through college who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it. http://www.ffe.org http://www.ffe.org (100% of your money is given to the children as the administration fees are paid for by a separate fund). It takes a long time to get to this thinking though. I mean think about it: If you had only $2000 in your bank, the only way you could give $2000 to charity is to be able to either give up all your dreams/aspirations or at least put them on hold. That is very hard to do ...

koningrobot 17y ago
To have a kid is to create such a person who really needs your help, can do nothing in return, and needs help on a continual basis. This is a horrible thing to do! Not to mention that those created will most likely do the same thing in turn, reinforcing the vicious cycle. You don't quite seem to be advising people to lead a meaningful life by having kids, but it's close. Your recommendation to help people in need who are already born, though, is sound.

jacoblyles 17y ago

This is not to be confused with "never work towards a long term goal" or "never invest in the future", which is the primary criticism I have of the "live for the day" moral. It's rational to say "forget about 10 years from now" if you have two years to live. It's not rational if you're expecting to live 50 or 60 more years, even if there is some standard deviation to your expectation.

mortenjorck 17y ago

I'm incredibly, ecstatically glad my only wake-up call has been a general "hey, do you realize you're going to get old?" rather than something life-threatening. But it has caused me to make this resolution: Never pass the time. If you want to waste some time, make the conscious decision to. Enjoy the restfulness of doing nothing for awhile. But never be bored. There is always something worth doing, even if it's just driving to the library and checking out a book. There's so very much in this world to learn, to experience, to explore, and whether you're hopping on a jet to go find it yourself or just basking in the richly-woven words of a great book about it, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a look. The world is too interesting, the universe is too interesting, humans are too interesting to waste your time with throwaway things. I can't tell you what those throwaway things are for you, but you know them. They're not important. Use your time for the things that are.

sidsavara 17y ago

Surprised that HN likes this. I wrote a post on this topic too: http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-golden-ticket http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-gold... Since people enjoyed this video, here's the HN link - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797

Mz 17y ago

I didn't really learn to live until I spent a year at death's door. Since there is no cure for my disorder, even getting well doesn't remove the "death sentence" I am living under. I find it is a gift and very freeing.