5 ms·

Ah yes, one more thing to have existential dread about. Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. If you don't want to do something, and you have no

Ah yes, one more thing to have existential dread about. Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. If you don't want to do something, and you have no good reason to do it (friends, family, etc.), don't. As the article states, you only have so much time. Stop trying to figure out how to optimize it, and live it.

dangus 4y ago
I like to use this phrase: it is okay to just enjoy existing. You don't have to hike up a mountain, see the world, turn off that TV show you like, or even skip out on unhealthy stuff like going to the bar or eating that piece of cake you shouldn't have (in moderation) to live an enjoyable, fulfilling life. If what you're doing right now is enjoyable, that's enough.
- someguydave 4y ago
  In Colorado many mountains are super crowded and no longer peaceful respites.
  - mckirk 4y ago
- SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
  Yeah, we're not here for any purpose, so just do what makes you and those around you happy. Combine that with a reasonable amount of what'll keep you around longer so you can continue to enjoy things and you're doing just fine.
  - dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
    > Yeah, we're not here for any purpose We're not? How'd you figure that one out with 100% certainty?
    - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
      Of course I don't know that with 100% certainty, but because I have no evidence of any purpose and I assume that things aren't true until proven otherwise. At best said purpose is optional or it would require equal opportunity to come upon the explanation from every person who has and who will be in existence. If said purpose is hidden without even a hint that you're supposed to find it I consider that malicious obfuscation.
      - dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
        > I assume that things aren't true until proven otherwise Except for your own statements of fact, of course.
        SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        When I have two options that either something exists or something doesn't and I have no strong evidence I assume it doesn't. Do you have evidence? If you have faith or belief that's fine, but I need a reason to change mine from the default option.
        dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
        > something exists or something doesn't and I have no strong evidence I assume it doesn't Sure, and Louis Pasteur was initially a crank for claiming that invisible micro-organisms were causing infection and disease. Absence of perception does not rationally conclude something is therefore absent. > I need a reason to change mine from the default option. The default option is faith/belief. You don't have "strong evidence" each day that the sky will be the same color, the sun will come up, your dining room chair will still hold your weight, your best friend still loves and cares for you, and that your car will likely start. A large majority of your life behavior cruises along quite happily on faith/belief. Or do you start every day re-checking all the proofs of the physical world before you can do anything?
        4y ago
- molsongolden 4y ago
  “Sometimes you need to be a human being, not a human doing.”
- swader999 4y ago
  Is it enjoyable or are you just stuck inside a dopamine loop?
Swizec 4y ago
> Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. What about time spent on social media like hacker news that I subjectively feel was wasted? Usually thanks to a combination of being tired and feeling like I can’t muster anything else. But literally staring at a blank wall for 5 minutes would be more restful (some call that meditation) It is very easy these days to be always busy without making progress towards anything other than keeping busy. And just like junk food, it rarely feels like the best choice in retrospect. Very easy to make in the moment without even enjoying it all that much while it’s happening
- soco 4y ago
  Why do you feel like you have to progress towards something? You enjoy time on HN yet comes this guilt telling you it was wasted - because a certain school of thought regards anything not "progressing" as waste. Some say that started with capitalism, others say it started from the protestants, but you're definitely not the first or only one living with this guilt of "wasting". Because any pleasure is waste, according to that school of thought.
  - waynesonfire 4y ago
    that sounds all good but your analysis is incomplete unless you address this little idea called addiction.
  - wollsmoth 4y ago
    I feel like time on hn is actually less wasted than time on other social media platforms. TikTok being the big one. Time flies and suddenly it's late and there are a dozen 10s song clips stuck in my head. oof.
  - Swizec 4y ago
    > You enjoy time on HN That’s what I was trying to convey. I don’t enjoy time on HN as much as I would enjoy other activities that happen to have a slightly higher activation energy. For example: I would almost certainly enjoy grabbing dinner with a friend more than I enjoy HN. But opening HN is waaaaay easier than calling up a friend. So that’s what happens instead.
april_22 4y ago
I really like the idea of optimistic nihilism in regards to mortality and how we should spent our time while we are here. I can highly recommend reading about it: https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism
doix 4y ago
> Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. If you don't want to do something, and you have no good reason to do it (friends, family, etc.), don't. Yes! I try to optimize for doing as little things I don't enjoy as possible. If I feel like spending 10 hours watching some Netflix show all weekend, I consider that a perfectly good use of my time. On the other hand, things like cleaning/cooking/shopping, I consider them a waste of time and try to spend as little time doing them as humanly possible.
slothtrop 4y ago
> Stop trying to figure out how to optimize it, and live it. Argument could then be made that we are living it regardless of what we do. Including optimizing. I take the point about being stuck in analysis-mode and self-doubt, though I think the fear it addresses is less-so FOMO and more-so living with or without needless suffering or drudgery. Paradoxically I think a bit of suffering is part of living well, e.g. suffering for a passion-project, or cause. A certain strange book that deals with desire had made waves this past year in navel-gaze-y rationalist-adjacent circles, I think this overlaps. The author posits that we don't have real desires. Instead we make up surrogate reasons and social permission structures to get things done. And if we have desires, they're surrogate desires anyway. It's called "Sadly, Porn" - with the allusion being we're living a pornographic life. Personally I think it's fun and interesting, but I've seen reactions ranging between "banal", "amazing", "disturbing", "pomo nonsense" I think this is why habit-creation is so powerful. We all have habits, whether they are good or bad - they lower cognitive overload so you can act without rationalizing everything. The way a habit can relate to desire can be completely abstract, but if we follow through they can be fruitful.
Konohamaru 4y ago
Middle ground approach: doing a little is better than doing nothing. Instead of focusing on being a perfect manager of time, ask yourself "is there one little thing I can do to use my time more effectively?" Spending just 100 words writing a novel might be for you. You might even leave behind something.

dangus 4y ago

I like to use this phrase: it is okay to just enjoy existing. You don't have to hike up a mountain, see the world, turn off that TV show you like, or even skip out on unhealthy stuff like going to the bar or eating that piece of cake you shouldn't have (in moderation) to live an enjoyable, fulfilling life. If what you're doing right now is enjoyable, that's enough.

someguydave 4y ago
In Colorado many mountains are super crowded and no longer peaceful respites.
- mckirk 4y ago
SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
Yeah, we're not here for any purpose, so just do what makes you and those around you happy. Combine that with a reasonable amount of what'll keep you around longer so you can continue to enjoy things and you're doing just fine.
- dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
  > Yeah, we're not here for any purpose We're not? How'd you figure that one out with 100% certainty?
  - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
    Of course I don't know that with 100% certainty, but because I have no evidence of any purpose and I assume that things aren't true until proven otherwise. At best said purpose is optional or it would require equal opportunity to come upon the explanation from every person who has and who will be in existence. If said purpose is hidden without even a hint that you're supposed to find it I consider that malicious obfuscation.
    - dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
      > I assume that things aren't true until proven otherwise Except for your own statements of fact, of course.
      - SketchySeaBeast 4y ago
        When I have two options that either something exists or something doesn't and I have no strong evidence I assume it doesn't. Do you have evidence? If you have faith or belief that's fine, but I need a reason to change mine from the default option.
        dQw4w9WgXcQ 4y ago
        > something exists or something doesn't and I have no strong evidence I assume it doesn't Sure, and Louis Pasteur was initially a crank for claiming that invisible micro-organisms were causing infection and disease. Absence of perception does not rationally conclude something is therefore absent. > I need a reason to change mine from the default option. The default option is faith/belief. You don't have "strong evidence" each day that the sky will be the same color, the sun will come up, your dining room chair will still hold your weight, your best friend still loves and cares for you, and that your car will likely start. A large majority of your life behavior cruises along quite happily on faith/belief. Or do you start every day re-checking all the proofs of the physical world before you can do anything?
        4y ago
molsongolden 4y ago
“Sometimes you need to be a human being, not a human doing.”
swader999 4y ago
Is it enjoyable or are you just stuck inside a dopamine loop?

Swizec 4y ago

> Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. What about time spent on social media like hacker news that I subjectively feel was wasted? Usually thanks to a combination of being tired and feeling like I can’t muster anything else. But literally staring at a blank wall for 5 minutes would be more restful (some call that meditation) It is very easy these days to be always busy without making progress towards anything other than keeping busy. And just like junk food, it rarely feels like the best choice in retrospect. Very easy to make in the moment without even enjoying it all that much while it’s happening

soco 4y ago
Why do you feel like you have to progress towards something? You enjoy time on HN yet comes this guilt telling you it was wasted - because a certain school of thought regards anything not "progressing" as waste. Some say that started with capitalism, others say it started from the protestants, but you're definitely not the first or only one living with this guilt of "wasting". Because any pleasure is waste, according to that school of thought.
- waynesonfire 4y ago
  that sounds all good but your analysis is incomplete unless you address this little idea called addiction.
- wollsmoth 4y ago
  I feel like time on hn is actually less wasted than time on other social media platforms. TikTok being the big one. Time flies and suddenly it's late and there are a dozen 10s song clips stuck in my head. oof.
- Swizec 4y ago
  > You enjoy time on HN That’s what I was trying to convey. I don’t enjoy time on HN as much as I would enjoy other activities that happen to have a slightly higher activation energy. For example: I would almost certainly enjoy grabbing dinner with a friend more than I enjoy HN. But opening HN is waaaaay easier than calling up a friend. So that’s what happens instead.

april_22 4y ago

I really like the idea of optimistic nihilism in regards to mortality and how we should spent our time while we are here. I can highly recommend reading about it: https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism

doix 4y ago

> Spend your time how you want. Time is never wasted. If you don't want to do something, and you have no good reason to do it (friends, family, etc.), don't. Yes! I try to optimize for doing as little things I don't enjoy as possible. If I feel like spending 10 hours watching some Netflix show all weekend, I consider that a perfectly good use of my time. On the other hand, things like cleaning/cooking/shopping, I consider them a waste of time and try to spend as little time doing them as humanly possible.

slothtrop 4y ago

> Stop trying to figure out how to optimize it, and live it. Argument could then be made that we are living it regardless of what we do. Including optimizing. I take the point about being stuck in analysis-mode and self-doubt, though I think the fear it addresses is less-so FOMO and more-so living with or without needless suffering or drudgery. Paradoxically I think a bit of suffering is part of living well, e.g. suffering for a passion-project, or cause. A certain strange book that deals with desire had made waves this past year in navel-gaze-y rationalist-adjacent circles, I think this overlaps. The author posits that we don't have real desires. Instead we make up surrogate reasons and social permission structures to get things done. And if we have desires, they're surrogate desires anyway. It's called "Sadly, Porn" - with the allusion being we're living a pornographic life. Personally I think it's fun and interesting, but I've seen reactions ranging between "banal", "amazing", "disturbing", "pomo nonsense" I think this is why habit-creation is so powerful. We all have habits, whether they are good or bad - they lower cognitive overload so you can act without rationalizing everything. The way a habit can relate to desire can be completely abstract, but if we follow through they can be fruitful.

Konohamaru 4y ago

Middle ground approach: doing a little is better than doing nothing. Instead of focusing on being a perfect manager of time, ask yourself "is there one little thing I can do to use my time more effectively?" Spending just 100 words writing a novel might be for you. You might even leave behind something.