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They way I think about it is you can work a dead end job for 80 hours per week making $8 an hour to make enough to survive and not have any free time to sociali
by dhughes 13y ago
They way I think about it is you can work a dead end job for 80 hours per week making $8 an hour to make enough to survive and not have any free time to socialize, go to the gym or be with family. Or study for and try to get a decent job you like that pays half decent so you don't have to become a human eraser and wear yourself down doing the work of others. Having many skills to fall back on is great but trying to learn everything losing focus and never finishing anything isn't much help.
Or realize you need to focus and find a career that you like and is wanted by employers. I recall years ago they mentioned "The fear" and it is a great example of suddenly realizing shit I better start getting good at this life thing, now!
Time is shorter than you think your health can suddenly rapidly fail, saving for retirement is a constant worry. Time is so short it's as if nothing you do can be done soon enough. Realizing that early in life is fantastic. A big part of life I think is having mentors who are examples to follow it's good to have a person who you can think "What would Bob do?" as an internal guide.
It's easy to say all that but hard to do, I haven't mastered that yet.
- msutherl 13y agoI've found this fear to be my greatest motivator, but it has also lead me down false paths. Truth is, your dichotomy is a fiction. There are plenty of people who live fulfilling lives without ever having consciously focused on learning skills and meeting qualifications wanted by employers. However, nobody gets anywhere by being lazy – one then needs to find another motivator. One I have in mind is: repulsion toward injustices in the world. Rather than fearing drudgery, you can hold yourself personally accountable for evils and optimize for effecting change. Of course this is also a fiction. An individual is most likely incapable of effecting significant change in the world. All motivations are irrational, but you still must have one. If you haven't found one, keep looking. Watch documentaries, travel, read books. You will find things to care about.
- dhughes 13y agoI shouldn't say or at least didn't mean a lot of money is the only way to be happy, yes finding something you love to do and your family is able to live a good life is the goal. Education is a great character builder I often see educated people in stressful situations far more calm than someone who worked all their lives wit no education other than high school. It's not a science it doesn't apply every time but education gives you options, if you lose your job at a sawmill where you worked since age 16 you're going to be stressed. Sooner or later we all figure this out but it's better to discover that at age 18 than 49.