3 ms·

I find it fascinating that most of the comments below are critical of the article. Sure, I also agree that delayed gratification pushed to the extreme (e.g. nev

I find it fascinating that most of the comments below are critical of the article. Sure, I also agree that delayed gratification pushed to the extreme (e.g. never spending ANY money and never enjoying oneself) is just as bad as playing the short term (spending it all right away), but I think the real focal point of the article is the accumulation concept. A lifetime's worth of actions will compound more and more until deciding to change one's habits and reverse the consequences of those actions will get more and more costly (in terms of money, time and effort). Personal example: I'm an aspiring hobbyist composer. Over the years, I've consistently tried to look for "quick" ways to learn composition, ignoring all the boring hard stuff. Relying on common patterns, guides and other "cheatsheets" to getting a good sounding tune. the result? I don't have any deep understanding of what I'm doing, nor can I really stretch myself beyond the cheat sheets and guides that I follow. Recently, I've been reversing course and starting from the basics and going into detail on the fundamentals of music theory. It's painful, it's boring, it's tedious, but I know that in the long term it will pay off a lot more. Just my 2 cents.

scarecrowbob 8y ago
I'm also a musician. I play about once a week, and never for a lot of folks. But it's amazing to me how much I've learned over the last 20 odd years just doing a little bit every day. If it helps, the more you know, the funner it gets, at least for me. It's gotten continuously less boring the more I figure out.
cortesoft 8y ago
I think the overall negativity is that the article is simplistic. Everything has opportunity costs. For every lament about "I should have worked more on this long term project instead of going out with friends", there is a "I wish I hadn't spent every moment working on a long term goal, and spent more time with my kids" The real answer is finding the balance. You are going to be unhappy if you neglect your short term goals just as much as if you neglect your long term ones. This is most important lesson I have learned as an adult. If you are always working for the future, you will never enjoy the present, because the future never actually arrives. If you ignore your future for your present, the future will be here before you know it. You need to build a sustainable pace - the now has to be enjoyable, because that is all you have, but the future has to be prepared for, because the future will be now before you know it.

scarecrowbob 8y ago

I'm also a musician. I play about once a week, and never for a lot of folks. But it's amazing to me how much I've learned over the last 20 odd years just doing a little bit every day. If it helps, the more you know, the funner it gets, at least for me. It's gotten continuously less boring the more I figure out.

cortesoft 8y ago

I think the overall negativity is that the article is simplistic. Everything has opportunity costs. For every lament about "I should have worked more on this long term project instead of going out with friends", there is a "I wish I hadn't spent every moment working on a long term goal, and spent more time with my kids" The real answer is finding the balance. You are going to be unhappy if you neglect your short term goals just as much as if you neglect your long term ones. This is most important lesson I have learned as an adult. If you are always working for the future, you will never enjoy the present, because the future never actually arrives. If you ignore your future for your present, the future will be here before you know it. You need to build a sustainable pace - the now has to be enjoyable, because that is all you have, but the future has to be prepared for, because the future will be now before you know it.