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Have you found what you want in life?

2 points by majiasheng ↗ HN
There are so many things out there. Are there anything in particular (whether it is physical or abstract) that you are willing to spend your life to obtain? Why?

I am in a situation where I want to learn everything I possibly could. But my greed leads me nowhere as I am constantly switching subjects. Sometimes, deciding what to learn kills most of my time.

5 comments

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[dead] loltyler1
I'm in a similar situation, but I think deciding what to learn is extremely important, so it's logical that this takes up most of the time.
lfrmgnd
Unless you're one of the few people who knows what they want from an early age, the only way you figure out what you want in life is to try a bunch of stuff and pay attention to how it goes. Eventually, you'll start piecing together the most enjoyable and important things for you. In all likelihood, many of those things will change over time, but some of them may stick.

For me, I found surfing at the age of 26. It's a crazy hard sport to pick up at a late age, but I sort of fell in love. Surfing replaced meditation, journaling, and other forms of exercise, and it gave me even more than any of those things could. It produced a level of zen and fulfillment that only two or three other activities do. I only figured that out by exploring like a mad man in my twenties, and I got lucky to stumble upon surfing.

It's the people who are too afraid to look and who get stuck in a comfortable path who don't ever figure out the real joys of their life.

majiasheng
This definitely gave me a firmer reason to continue exploring and learning more things. What I am doing differently from what you've said is that I am not paying adequate attention to what I am doing.

Thank you for your perspective.

chrisbennet
Most people want to be happy but they go about in a way that is tangential/orthogonal to that primary goal. For example; some pursue getting rich, being famous or retiring early thinking that will make them happy.

Instead pursuing that, find a job/work that makes you happy. You'll get more happiness "under the curve" than say, retiring early. Avoid any sort of "I'll suffer for years so I can be happy at some time in the future."

I only have 2-3 years left to live and I have very few regrets. I've always taken a moment to stop and smelled the flowers. (The smelling thing may be because I think I might been a golden retriever in my last life.)

majiasheng
Hey thanks for sharing Chris. I am with you on the idea of getting happiness from doing fulfilling work. Like you, I also appreciate flowers, other plants and beauty in things. Hope you enjoy every moment. Take care.