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Ask HN: What life goals have you given up over the years and why?

LinuxBender 3y ago
What life goals have you given up over the years and why? When I was a young child I wanted to be a truck driver because I spoke to them on the CB all day that was my internet and had a lot of fun. It sounded like a cool career to me at the time but then I found out what their lives were really like. Then when I was a teen I wanted to be a cop. I volunteered thousands of hours to the local PD. Then LAPD said one line that made me think long and hard about it. "We have new positions opening every day" and I knew I would have to start with them unless I could get the local PD to sponsor me and I knew what that phrase really meant, so I fell back on tech which was just a fun hobby for me. I'm glad I gave up on those things. [Edit] Oh yeah, and when I was a child I wanted to be a Jedi. It wasn't until the prequels much later in life that I found out I was missing the midichlorian's.
- uberman 3y ago
  What are these midichorians you speak of? I saw all three Star Wars movies, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and concluding with Return of the Jedi and there was never any mention of these mudichorians!
epberry 3y ago
I have essentially given up the idea of discovering something meaningful. During my first company I believed we were on the cusp of unlocking some new methods of video action recognition. Now I know that our approach was way off and that the great leaps would be made several years later by google et al. I still think I am acquiring skills which will help me form a company or build products with other people who might unlock a breakthrough but I doubt I will be the one to discover it.
surprisetalk 3y ago
Practicing musical instruments. I can still enjoy making music, but I've decided that I'm never going to be great at guitar or violin or piano. In a broader sense, I think letting go of dreams is extremely important for success. Create an "unbucket" list for the side quests that detract from the main quests: [1] https://taylor.town/unbucket-list https://taylor.town/unbucket-list
- wonderingyogi 3y ago
  > I think letting go of dreams is extremely important for success. Can you explain more?
  - surprisetalk 3y ago
    Warren Buffet is credited with developing a clever system: 1. write down 25 goals 2. circle the top 5 items 3. the remaining 20 goals are your “avoid-at-all-costs list” --- I'm currently starting a business, organizing a conference, growing my family, and tending my digital garden. In order to pursue these ambitious goals, I had to drop my secondary dreams. I've committed to giving up music practice (and many other things) so that I can be a better founder, organizer, parent, and artist. I will never be great at music, and that's okay.
    - turtleyacht 3y ago
      > starting a business, organizing a conference, growing my family, and tending my digital garden Kudos to you. If I make my goals SMART [1], maybe I can make solid progress. [1] Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound
    - wonderingyogi 3y ago
      Thank you. I listed about 10 things I want to accomplish and somethings I thought were higher up on the list, turns out weren't. It gave me pause to realize what I really wanted to accomplished in my life.

What life goals have you given up over the years and why? When I was a young child I wanted to be a truck driver because I spoke to them on the CB all day that was my internet and had a lot of fun. It sounded like a cool career to me at the time but then I found out what their lives were really like. Then when I was a teen I wanted to be a cop. I volunteered thousands of hours to the local PD. Then LAPD said one line that made me think long and hard about it. "We have new positions opening every day" and I knew I would have to start with them unless I could get the local PD to sponsor me and I knew what that phrase really meant, so I fell back on tech which was just a fun hobby for me. I'm glad I gave up on those things. [Edit] Oh yeah, and when I was a child I wanted to be a Jedi. It wasn't until the prequels much later in life that I found out I was missing the midichlorian's.

uberman 3y ago
What are these midichorians you speak of? I saw all three Star Wars movies, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and concluding with Return of the Jedi and there was never any mention of these mudichorians!

epberry 3y ago

I have essentially given up the idea of discovering something meaningful. During my first company I believed we were on the cusp of unlocking some new methods of video action recognition. Now I know that our approach was way off and that the great leaps would be made several years later by google et al. I still think I am acquiring skills which will help me form a company or build products with other people who might unlock a breakthrough but I doubt I will be the one to discover it.

surprisetalk 3y ago

Practicing musical instruments. I can still enjoy making music, but I've decided that I'm never going to be great at guitar or violin or piano. In a broader sense, I think letting go of dreams is extremely important for success. Create an "unbucket" list for the side quests that detract from the main quests: [1] https://taylor.town/unbucket-list https://taylor.town/unbucket-list

wonderingyogi 3y ago
> I think letting go of dreams is extremely important for success. Can you explain more?
- surprisetalk 3y ago
  Warren Buffet is credited with developing a clever system: 1. write down 25 goals 2. circle the top 5 items 3. the remaining 20 goals are your “avoid-at-all-costs list” --- I'm currently starting a business, organizing a conference, growing my family, and tending my digital garden. In order to pursue these ambitious goals, I had to drop my secondary dreams. I've committed to giving up music practice (and many other things) so that I can be a better founder, organizer, parent, and artist. I will never be great at music, and that's okay.
  - turtleyacht 3y ago
    > starting a business, organizing a conference, growing my family, and tending my digital garden Kudos to you. If I make my goals SMART [1], maybe I can make solid progress. [1] Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound
  - wonderingyogi 3y ago
    Thank you. I listed about 10 things I want to accomplish and somethings I thought were higher up on the list, turns out weren't. It gave me pause to realize what I really wanted to accomplished in my life.