doodle wrote:
Have you explained to your girlfriend the concept of the hedonic treadmill?
Boy, that sure sounds romantic.
Imagine how many times she's heard about human self-ownership and NAP.
We can't watch the news together, or any show involving police, government agents you name it.
Anyway my point is I work a job I don't really enjoy at all because it's a decent trade. My expenses are double because I am with a girl who grew up with a silver spoon (she does work a few days a week).
I would probably work it still even if i were single and living spartan (which I prefer) because I enjoy buying stocks and other assets. I like the feeling of having options and increasing them. Earning enough to get by would feel very nerve racking to me.
I never have money stress at all like almost all my family and friends do. I've never had it since the day I got my first job and I never intend to.
doodle wrote:
Have you explained to your girlfriend the concept of the hedonic treadmill?
Boy, that sure sounds romantic.
Are rationality and romanticism mutually exclusive?
I don't think so. You've got to find the right lady partner though.
I'm 34 and just realized in the last couple years what to screen for. If they say the word "soulmate" or consider themselves a "princess" run away.
The thread is in serious danger of derailment.
I love lots of different things, but I haven't figured out how to create value doing them anywhere near as much as my company has figured out how to use my labor to create value.
I would certainly take an income reduction to pursue something really enjoyable. Part of the problem is finding the time to figure that out. Cruising internet forums doesn't help much
ns3 wrote:
Might retire sooner or later but at least I have a date in mind to help me get through the boredom. And I would have to say that boredom is probably the only reason I'm thinking about retiring at age 68. I had planned on going until 70 because my wife is much younger but I'm no longer convinced that I will be able to stick it out.
You better have a plan to deal with the boredom of retirement. Because you've got only about a year of retirement before it kicks in. IMO, the real problem isn't in working; its in continuing to work the wrong job. Retirement is a passe concept.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
doodle wrote:
Its insanity to me that this is the case for so many people (myself included) when our fundamental needs of food, clothing, and shelter can be met with minimal effort by our amazingly advanced society...why are the majority of people stuck wasting their days away doing meaningless and boring jobs? After we have food and a place to sleep the true toils of life are done and we should be engaged in things which bring us pleasure....
The human brain isn't wired for endless hedonism. I think maybe your own situation is reflecting too strongly on your assumptions.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
ns3 wrote:
Might retire sooner or later but at least I have a date in mind to help me get through the boredom. And I would have to say that boredom is probably the only reason I'm thinking about retiring at age 68. I had planned on going until 70 because my wife is much younger but I'm no longer convinced that I will be able to stick it out.
You better have a plan to deal with the boredom of retirement. Because you've got only about a year of retirement before it kicks in. IMO, the real problem isn't in working; its in continuing to work the wrong job. Retirement is a passe concept.
I disagree. There are healthier and more enriching ways to fight boredom than to submit to daily tasks assigned by a corporate boss. The fact that many people are so unaccustomed to self-direction that they struggle with it emotionally is to me a sign that they (me included) could use a refresher course in being human.
Corporate careerism is a passé concept. Self reliance is quite counter-culture these days.
MachineGhost wrote:
You better have a plan to deal with the boredom of retirement. Because you've got only about a year of retirement before it kicks in. IMO, the real problem isn't in working; its in continuing to work the wrong job. Retirement is a passe concept.
I used to think that way until just lately, not having a clue about what I will do with myself when I retire. But I've been reading a lot of retirement forums lately, including over on BH, and I hear very few people expressing any regrets about retiring - even those who retired much younger than me (and that's most of them). Many say they feel much healthier due to a more active lifestyle and a better diet.
I still have no idea how I'll keep busy but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I'm very fortunate in that I've been able to earn a reasonable living doing something that I actually like, namely programming. Unfortunately, the work environment is not always conducive to enjoyment, but at least the actual task to be done is generally interesting and enjoyable.
As for the comment Kshartle made about princesses and soulmates, yes, those are big red flags. Just reading a few threads on the "talk about marriage" board about the results of such entitlement can be enough to convince any man that they have to be VERY CAREFUL about getting involved with a woman who talks that way.
And before anyone can classify me, I'm not a misogynist. Men can be just as difficult to get along with as women, but I'm not interested in a romantic involvement with a man, so that's not as crucial to me.
ns3 wrote:
I used to think that way until just lately, not having a clue about what I will do with myself when I retire. But I've been reading a lot of retirement forums lately, including over on BH, and I hear very few people expressing any regrets about retiring - even those who retired much younger than me (and that's most of them). Many say they feel much healthier due to a more active lifestyle and a better diet.
I still have no idea how I'll keep busy but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I should clarify. I advocate "Semi-Retirement". Which basically means stop being a cog in the corporate machine enriching others, nor wasting away drinking beer on the couch watching TV or puttering around playing golf. So there's still working, its just of your own choosing. The modern human brain is not designed to be hedonistic. Traditional retirement kills a lot of people.
Am I to understand the core problem with "Disney Princesses" or those women looking for a "soulmate" is they've got high expectations of what a man is supposed to spend on and perform for them? So its metaphysics here vs the more materialistic concerns of golddiggers?
Last edited by MachineGhost on Tue May 27, 2014 6:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
MachineGhost wrote:The human brain isn't wired for endless hedonism.
Speak for yourself
MachineGhost wrote:I should clarify. I advocate "Semi-Retirement". Which basically means stop being a cog in the corporate machine enriching others, nor wasting away drinking beer on the couch watching TV or puttering around playing golf. So there's still working, its just of your own choosing. The modern human brain is not designed to be hedonistic. Traditional retirement kills a lot of people.
Semi-Retirement is a good way to put what I consider to be a very desirable outcome.
It is the settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute. The United States, while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none"James Madison
MachineGhost wrote:
I should clarify. I advocate "Semi-Retirement". Which basically means stop being a cog in the corporate machine enriching others, nor wasting away drinking beer on the couch watching TV or puttering around playing golf. So there's still working, its just of your own choosing.
I have a short attention span and I'm very challenge-oriented, so when I approached graduation from college (20+ years ago) I decided to ditch a future career in advertising and marketing and instead apprentice to become a dog trainer. It seemed much closer to "doing what you love" than working in an office.
It's been a financially rewarding career and has allowed me to control my own destiny. However, it came with a huge price in basically being a human tape recorder, repeating the same lessons to individuals day after day. Training the dogs is no longer a challenge for me, either.
I started a mail order/internet business in the dog training niche to get away from being a human tape recorder, but after 10+ years, that's starting to sunset so I'm back in the day-to-day dog training business model with the intention of building it up to the point where I can hire others to run the day-to-day operations of the company-- in order to free myself to focus on... the advertising and marketing. LOL.
"Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is. "
Coffee wrote:
I have a short attention span and I'm very challenge-oriented, so when I approached graduation from college (20+ years ago) I decided to ditch a future career in advertising and marketing and instead apprentice to become a dog trainer. It seemed much closer to "doing what you love" than working in an office.
It's been a financially rewarding career and has allowed me to control my own destiny. However, it came with a huge price in basically being a human tape recorder, repeating the same lessons to individuals day after day. Training the dogs is no longer a challenge for me, either.
I started a mail order/internet business in the dog training niche to get away from being a human tape recorder, but after 10+ years, that's starting to sunset so I'm back in the day-to-day dog training business model with the intention of building it up to the point where I can hire others to run the day-to-day operations of the company-- in order to free myself to focus on... the advertising and marketing. LOL.
MachineGhost wrote:
Am I to understand the core problem with "Disney Princesses" or those women looking for a "soulmate" is they've got high expectations of what a man is supposed to spend on and perform for them? So its metaphysics here vs the more materialistic concerns of golddiggers?
Those are two different problems. The Disney princess problem is materialism and all that implies. That's bad enough, but the soulmate problem is actually worse because it implies that once the "soulmate feeling" isn't there, then obviously you weren't the REAL soulmate, so she needs to go find the real one. This can lead to all sorts of awful results.
And of course you can find both of those problems in one woman, if you are unlucky enough.
Fortunately, I don't have either of those problems, but I've certainly run across them in real life.
