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With respect to your comment about time spent with your child, I was in a similar boat a couple of years ago: I was weighing the implications of taking a new j
by samch 9y ago
With respect to your comment about time spent with your child, I was in a similar boat a couple of years ago:
I was weighing the implications of taking a new job that came with a significant salary increase, but aslo had the massive downside of having to be in the office and away from my family most days / evenings (60hrs per 5-day workweek).
I vividly recall a conversation I had with my father who said something to the effect of, “You know, you’ll never hear somebody on their deathbed saying, ‘I wish I’d spent more time in the office.’ You do, however, hear many people lament that they didn’t spend enough time with their family.”
That resonated with me deeply, and I ultimately turned that opportunity away. I’m still not making what I would’ve made there, but the mornings and evenings I’ve spent with my children have been priceless.
- petters 9y agoOf course no one says that on their deathbed. Many people on their deathbeds have been retired for more than 20 years. People in their 20s often care about their career. People in their 80s often do not. Who's right? It's often a trade-off. The goal is not to be happy on your deathbed; it's to be happy throughout life.
- rev_bird 9y agoI think the idea is that if you're happy throughout life, you will be happy, or at least content, on your deathbed. The "deathbed life analysis" is the thought exercise some people use to evaluate the long-term utility of decisions that seem to have obvious short-term benefits.
- icc97 9y agoPeople in their 20s typically don't have kids
- petters 9y agoOK, fine. 30s and 40s, then.
- avh02 9y ago>“You know, you’ll never hear somebody on their deathbed saying, ‘I wish I’d spent more time in the office.’ I personally agree with this sentiment and am striving towards a better work life balance, but there is at least one person who has apparently said that: "I have only one regret... that I have not worked harder." - Henry Royce (of Rolls-Royce) - https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Royce https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Royce edit: yes yes, harder != longer
- kerrsclyde 9y agoRoyce was a renowned perfectionist & workaholic, working so hard that he skipped meals and made himself ill. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Royce#Development_of_Rolls-Royce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Royce#Development_of_Rol...] We could speculate that nothing was enough, he was never satisfied and never happy (despite all he achieved).