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Comment by msie | Hacker News Reader

Sometimes I think this concept is depressing because it increases the pressure to "do something" with your life. When you are presented with the finiteness of your life you feel pressure to fill each moment/cell with something "meaningful" or "worthwhile". When someone is enjoying a hobby they will lose track of time yet that hobby may be frivolous in the eyes of someone else. Do they want something like this to track how much time they "wasted"? To me there is this paradox of losing your sense of time with something you are passionate about (building a model, doing some hobby programming) and yet in trying to track it for some purpose of maximal utility will kill the passion.

[Edit] This post on the same page is related: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38741982

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It is depressing. But most things are when it comes to achievements. I think I do not need any help from an app to tell me I have not done has much as I could have done. I have that going on already, looping on a while 1==1 fashion.

But if you get to decide what is “meaningful”, it’s just a reminder of the finiteness of life.

I’ve spent a bunch of this holiday sitting on the couch, relaxing or letting my mind wander or just enjoying being near a warm fire. I don’t think I’ll regret that at the end of my life (provided my life isn’t all sitting on a couch)

I’d argue if you feel pressured to do “meaningful” things that apparently don’t bring you joy, you’re just miscalibrated about meaning of your life?

I might agree, if I could ever figure out what is “meaningful” to me. I’m simultaneously incapable of sitting down and doing nothing (because I love pushing towards a goal) and also fully aware that goals are usually extrinsic and unfulfilling. Both deeply drawn towards big problems with a long march, and torn that by their very nature, I won’t get to undertake many (so choose wisely)

Seems like you've figured it out already. Pushing towards a challenging goal is exactly where meaning is to be found, even if it's difficult to enjoy in the moment. Growing through challenge and taking on the responsibility of life is where we seem to get more fulfilling results.

The common wisdom is that there is no meaning in work, which is the most common form of what I described, so I have to discount the possibility I’ve actually figured anything out.

This video from Adam Savage talks about this and his way of looking at it is really helpful.

https://youtu.be/nGx-DHjrXAY

it is depressing to some, others in a different stage of life might experience gratitude, others hope and clarity, etc. in all aspects of the human condition, there's probably a similar dynamic to the 5 stages of grieving.

tho I agree the popular notion is to > fill each moment/cell with something "meaningful" or "worthwhile".

and I would add, there is pressure to achieve something "unique"

It can also be encouraging.

It's important to think about the things you have done and accomplished in life (happiness is more meaningful if you focus on celebrating what you have rather than chasing= what you don't have), and if you use this as an exercise to remind yourself of what you have accomplished/done, it might be helpful.

It could also be motivating. Perhaps you see all the things you've done and you're proud of and it encourages you to set out and do more things. Or the things you haven't done enough of, but are within your control to do more of in the future.

I quite like this kind of view on my past.

Think instead of how many Christmases you have left, how many summers, how many new houses and cars and how many Olympics and World Cups and GTA sequels. Then, maybe divide by half.

> it increases the pressure to "do something" with your life

We increase that pressure.

> that hobby may be frivolous in the eyes of someone else.

So what? That's missing the entire point of <hobby>.

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