Ask HN: Finding meaning in what we do everyday | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Finding meaning in what we do everyday

23 pointspkrefta12 comments

I'm fairly successful remote software developer working in the industry for 15 yrs. I've recently realized that I'm doing one or the other thing over and over again without any deeper meaning. I deliver what am I asked to, keep up with new technologies, improve quality of my work. But I find those things a bit soulless. I live in outsourcing country so projects and startups come and go. But I'd love to do something more meaningful and write code that matters. Working on something more impactful would bring some sense into what I do every day.

And I'm struggling to fix this dilemma. I'm aware that this is not 1-day-change. Has anybody experienced feeling like this ? I'd to read your story. And I'll more than grateful for any suggestions/ideas how to overcome this situation.

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I read something in an article recently that feels relevant: "respect your 9-to-5." If I am a developer for 40 hours per week and then add more coding and learning on top of that without a deep drive and clear vision (and healthy structure), I will risk burn-out. I have found it more helpful to consider whether what I need is really more meaningful doings, verses taking time to grow spiritually. Around the world there are classes and meetups on topics like Buddhism, meditation and mindfulness that don't ask any standard supernatural religious beliefs or devotions of you. I got a lot of introductory information from Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

I also think coding for a living matters to you: you are important and coding provides your basic necessities. I know it's tempting for us to seek ways to code for a better world, but there are tons of devs worldwide already working at this. Hopefully some will comment here with good projects they need help with! But locally, offline, there are likely many things we can do with our time and our strength.

Your job is just that. A job. Find a hobby, find a community. Hold up your life on as many columns of meaning as you can, so that when one collapses, you do not go down with it. It will be a loss, but you will have plenty more things to live for, and over time the loss will fade.

When you really think about it most of the jobs people end up doing and honestly most things people do in general aren't really 'meaningful'. It's up to you to figure out a meaning to the things you do.

It doesn't need to be grandiose. I like the fact that I get to make things at work. The things I make take skill and craft to make and not everybody can do it. In my free time I enjoy making other things. They're all kind of frivolous but in the end anything other than the things necessary to exist could be considered frivolous.

In the end I found it was better to try and find a bit of meaning in otherwise meaningless things and appreciate that than search for some overarching grand meaningful thing to do.

I tried that....in the end it didn't end up mattering, my own wellbeing in life ended up suffering and I didn't really feel that fulfilled doing things that 'made a difference'. In the end everything comes down to perspective and not everybody needs to do something grand and amazing.

As long as you're doing your best to better yourself at various things in life. Whether it be skills or life in general I figure you're probably doing alright. Anyone can only really do the best they can at things. This may ending up being great and beneficial for lots of people or maybe only a few. But everything kind of makes a difference. Even little things.

Sorry this may have came off kind of discoherent and rambly but these are kind of my own thoughts i've had about such things over the years.

What you mean is: I have a real job and live a real life.

It is normal to do that. Even making rockets can be the same thing you told us, 15 years doing the same thing. Ask a NASA engineer what he has been doing his whole life.

How to make that meaningful? Well. Somebody needs that work done, you are the one doing it. Whether it is some evil company or not, you are doing it, you have worked your whole life in order to have the skills to do that kind of work.

You are doing well.

I had the same question a while ago and came up with that conclusion. I'm actually doing quite well. Maybe consider joining a company, moving abroad or focus on hobbies, I for instance started playing the guitar, look at your early days in life and see things you liked and never tried. Also stop watching the tech news and thinking that you have to do something bleeding edge and make a dent in the universe, it is all bullshit. People are just doing their job, you can be a hard working person in any context, not only as a CEO. If this is what you want.

I would just really like to emphasize this:

Also stop watching the tech news and thinking that you have to do something bleeding edge and make a dent in the universe, it is all bullshit. People are just doing their job, you can be a hard working person in any context, not only as a CEO. If this is what you want.

As Musk quoted Roosevelt in the podcast: "Comparison Is the Thief of Joy".

Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life I want to highlight.

It has 2 rules (instead of rules think as them as highlights. 1. One is about comparison. Why? Because now we are more connected than ever and it is easier to fall in that habit, instead the Author argues that you should use this habit to have a look at the day before, basically compete with one self. The other one is about telling the truth, I don't want to sound like an edgy 15 year old JP fan but this reminds me of Tim Ferris' quote about how a successful man can be measured by the amount of uncomfortable conversations he had in life. Also from a rationalist point of view sincerity is a virtue. I didn't said the number of rules from the book because even though the book starts with numbers (1) it is a good read book (worth the effort)

(1) this isn't an unhealthy book to read, quite the opposite the rule of N list of things applies to articles, JP has good wisdom for our lives in industrial society: http://www.paulgraham.com/nthings.html

Personally I've become pretty jaded at the entire tech industry. The majority of companies in the industry are not solving real problems :\ We're making the world mildly more convenient.

This is something I've been pondering alot myself.

To write code that matters you must define what matters to you. Once you know what matters to you, you must answer the question: how might software help? In many cases it may not help, that's okay too. Maybe there are other ways you can apply your skills, or other skills you can learn.

Whatsapp and Youtube are way more convenient then the previous alternatives in my opinion, and I think we will eventually have more widespread use of open source and decentralized versions of these to combat censorship issues.

Software is immensely helpful. But maybe your average bs b2b SaaS app that is merely devised to take money out of each others pockets is less meaningful and helpful to our world.

As remote guy too I notice that if you neglect human interaction and social aspect of every day work then it becomes boring quickly. You may miss work feedback loop, praise moments and new project deal outs. Although lucrative remote jobs put nice bread on my table, I try to fill my curiosity and social gap by doing some local in-office consulting gigs and side projects.

Go part-time remotly if possible and buy some time for more interesting things. Good luck.

Nurses, doctors, lawyers, soldiers, parents, psychiatrists, coaches, volunteers, etc. If serving others is meaningful.

Science, humanities, academia. If knowledge is meaningful.

Environment if the planet is meaningful.

Religion, theism, pantheism. If God is meaningful.

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