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Wow. This speaks to me. What led you down thinking that it's ok to downgrade all aspects of social status and comforts? I know some friends that are routinely

Wow. This speaks to me. What led you down thinking that it's ok to downgrade all aspects of social status and comforts? I know some friends that are routinely starting from zero again and again. One of them is having some remorseful on not building anything lasting, like having kids or long term building on a single career

bumby 5y ago
I think a start is getting to a point where your well-being isn't primarily based on social status and comforts. Stoicism and Buddhism have a lot to say on this but much of it is counter to American cultural norms.
- pdimitar 5y ago
  You make "comforts" sound like a sin that we should not pursue but I am here to tell you that I'd be much healthier if I lived in a house by the beach and not in the middle of a noisy city with dirty air and barely any nature around. Would that include your definition of a "comfort"? Namely simply not wanting to live in a place that's slowly killing you? I think the "comforts" idea sounds cool at first -- hey, look at me, I gave up my earthly desires, I am enlightened! -- until you squint your eyes and recognize that most of us are living in conditions that, again, are literally slowly killing us. Wanting to avoid that is not "comfort". It should be a fundamental human right but what can you do, that's not the world we live in. Apologies if I projected. Not attacking you, just explained which neurons got triggered in my head.
  - bumby 5y ago
    >Apologies if I projected. Not attacking you, just explained which neurons got triggered in my head. No worries, and I probably didn’t take the time to explain my perspective better. I don’t think any comforts are “bad”, assuming they aren’t built upon oppressing someone else. And there’s nothing wrong in my view with pursuing them. But there’s a needle to thread between pursuing comforts and needing comforts to be happy. The hedonic treadmill really seems to limit the latter. There’s nothing wrong in pursuing good nutrition as an example, but I don’t want to be the person who can’t enjoy a good meal because I can’t ensure every ingredient is organic. The obsession with comforts can pull us out of the present because it’s rooted in subjective comparison. Avoiding discomfort as a primarily goal doesn’t seem particularly healthy to me. Avoiding intense exercise because it’s discomforting or avoiding tough choices regarding climate change because they are uncomfortable don’t seem to me as particularly enlightened.
    - pdimitar 5y ago
      > The hedonic treadmill really seems to limit the latter. We're in a full agreement. But I really do mean things that with time I started to consider basic needs. Hedonism I don't endorse in general -- or at least, as you said, not when it's at the expense of someone else. If you made your money fairly and without screwing over others then sure, splurge as much as you like.

bumby 5y ago

I think a start is getting to a point where your well-being isn't primarily based on social status and comforts. Stoicism and Buddhism have a lot to say on this but much of it is counter to American cultural norms.

pdimitar 5y ago
You make "comforts" sound like a sin that we should not pursue but I am here to tell you that I'd be much healthier if I lived in a house by the beach and not in the middle of a noisy city with dirty air and barely any nature around. Would that include your definition of a "comfort"? Namely simply not wanting to live in a place that's slowly killing you? I think the "comforts" idea sounds cool at first -- hey, look at me, I gave up my earthly desires, I am enlightened! -- until you squint your eyes and recognize that most of us are living in conditions that, again, are literally slowly killing us. Wanting to avoid that is not "comfort". It should be a fundamental human right but what can you do, that's not the world we live in. Apologies if I projected. Not attacking you, just explained which neurons got triggered in my head.
- bumby 5y ago
  >Apologies if I projected. Not attacking you, just explained which neurons got triggered in my head. No worries, and I probably didn’t take the time to explain my perspective better. I don’t think any comforts are “bad”, assuming they aren’t built upon oppressing someone else. And there’s nothing wrong in my view with pursuing them. But there’s a needle to thread between pursuing comforts and needing comforts to be happy. The hedonic treadmill really seems to limit the latter. There’s nothing wrong in pursuing good nutrition as an example, but I don’t want to be the person who can’t enjoy a good meal because I can’t ensure every ingredient is organic. The obsession with comforts can pull us out of the present because it’s rooted in subjective comparison. Avoiding discomfort as a primarily goal doesn’t seem particularly healthy to me. Avoiding intense exercise because it’s discomforting or avoiding tough choices regarding climate change because they are uncomfortable don’t seem to me as particularly enlightened.
  - pdimitar 5y ago
    > The hedonic treadmill really seems to limit the latter. We're in a full agreement. But I really do mean things that with time I started to consider basic needs. Hedonism I don't endorse in general -- or at least, as you said, not when it's at the expense of someone else. If you made your money fairly and without screwing over others then sure, splurge as much as you like.