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I've been poor and rich, insanely busy and idle. Wealth removes the day to day stress, and that goes a long way. But it doesn't bring happiness itself. Same w

I've been poor and rich, insanely busy and idle. Wealth removes the day to day stress, and that goes a long way. But it doesn't bring happiness itself. Same with work. Idleness is fun for a short while, then awful. We all know too much work is awful. Feeling like you have a purpose is the most important thing. I think the formula for happiness is something like: avoid poverty but recognize there are rapidly diminishing returns on wealth, don't be idle but work on something purposeful, if you cannot find purpose in work find it elsewhere. Oh and take care of your body!

barcoder 5y ago
Totally agree with taking care of the body. It's damn hard, but pays dividends as you age.
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vbezhenar 5y ago
To each his own. I spent 1.5 years without job (I had enough reserves). It was awesome. I could play games, I could code some random stuff just for fun, I could read books for hours, I could jump in the car and spend few weeks in some village, enjoying fresh air and woods. It's not sustainable for me, so I got back to day work, but I absolutely loved this feeling when I have zero obligations, zero stress, I could do anything (or not doing anything) without any repercussions. But I completely agree, that having money to be able to live few years without additional income is absolutely important for living stress-less life. Now my goal is to earn enough money to be free from work obligations for the rest of my life. That's how life should be. And it's a pity that one should spend half of his life just to get to that point. And for most people that's not even possible.
- nkingsy 5y ago
  You mentioned all the not idle things in replying to a comment warning against idleness. I didn’t hear “I sat on the couch and ate ice cream for days and it was great”. For me, the key to enjoying extended slack time is planning and putting in some effort. So basically not remaining idle for long.

barcoder 5y ago

Totally agree with taking care of the body. It's damn hard, but pays dividends as you age.

deleted 5y ago

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vbezhenar 5y ago

To each his own. I spent 1.5 years without job (I had enough reserves). It was awesome. I could play games, I could code some random stuff just for fun, I could read books for hours, I could jump in the car and spend few weeks in some village, enjoying fresh air and woods. It's not sustainable for me, so I got back to day work, but I absolutely loved this feeling when I have zero obligations, zero stress, I could do anything (or not doing anything) without any repercussions. But I completely agree, that having money to be able to live few years without additional income is absolutely important for living stress-less life. Now my goal is to earn enough money to be free from work obligations for the rest of my life. That's how life should be. And it's a pity that one should spend half of his life just to get to that point. And for most people that's not even possible.

nkingsy 5y ago
You mentioned all the not idle things in replying to a comment warning against idleness. I didn’t hear “I sat on the couch and ate ice cream for days and it was great”. For me, the key to enjoying extended slack time is planning and putting in some effort. So basically not remaining idle for long.