Don't compete

Today, a Saturday, I was pushing myself to read a book in the park that I've been recommended multiple times, "your money or your life". It's something about balancing your life/work/money better, or so I've heard. All the examples in the beginning were about the work stress and not having time nor money. I'm a Spaniard with a fair balanced mentality IMHO, so the intro already resonated very little with me.

Yet I was there, forcing myself to read a book that I thought would help me produce/optimize my money or time. I tried to continue, but then a little bird started to chase another one on the ground near me, and my eyes started wandering, following them and the beauty around me. I realized of the absurdity of trying to read a book I didn't feel like reading, for a problem I don't feel I have, which took my eyes away from enjoying the beauty of the park. Which seems to be the point of the book anyway (and this article).

This is not a critique of the book, I'm sure it's useful for many people, but for me it felt the opposite of what I was trying to achieve in the first place. It felt like trying to be more productive, while all I needed was sit back and enjoy the beauty around me. So I put it down and let my mind follow those playful birds.

Most of - if not all people around me who truly "money made it" have paid a tremendous price in health, family or addictions. For myself - I'm very relaxed and not very stressed. What I would say to someone who actually listens is - relax - be strategic - manage your shit tight and think before putting significant effort into something - I mean really think.

Just like a good poker game - I fold my cards 80-85% of the times - sometime I bluff and other times I hope for a bit of luck.

This approach has worked wonders.

Think.

> If everyone did what what they find most fulfilling, our net happiness will rise

And no one would literally pick up the garbage.

This utopic silliness always assumes someone, who is never you, will somehow want to do the things you don’t want to do that are generally necessary to make your life whatever it is, wherever you are.

It’s too bad - I think there’s a great point in here about not competing with the stupid stuff you see on social media. Everyone would be better off if they ignored the influencers instead of trying to live up to them.

Somehow agree with it, but... how do you do so when you're in survival mode?

How does the whole premise of "If everyone did what what they find most fulfilling, our net happiness will rise." work if not everyone gets to choose, that is, had enough to just exist (home, food, health)?

> Read great books, watch interesting movies, dance to the music, use latest gadgets, and eat good food.

Does this assume I’m already a billionaire?

I think all the people struggling to eat/survive would ask "tell me again where I can go to just chill with a coffee and work in my garden".

This is really ignoring that the human drive to success also includes subjugation, billionaire success is dependent on subjugation of the masses, and thus the need to for the masses to fight back.

Now we can fight back, by doing nothing, just chilling. But it is not comfortable like presented here.

Love this. I believe you should ask yourself, what would I do if money and status wasn’t a thing. We get programmed from a young age that succeeding in life is to become a multimillionaire or super star in something. This is not a good message for young ppl struggling to find self worth…

It's a good post, and I read the linked post under "greatness will still occur without being aimed for" and that was good also. However, as a skeptic, it's my duty to consider the case where things aren't so convenient and rosy. What if in fact greatness won't occur without being aimed for? I notice (in the other post) you make an exception for the moon landing, so we can assume no moon landing. Perhaps we might incrementally and naturally develop toward a moon landing anyway, one day, without making ambitious plans at any point: or perhaps not.

Does this all mean that "our net happiness will rise"? That depends on the nature of happiness. You tie it to "things you find fulfilling", but consider: people have values, and morals, and are happy doing what they think is right. I would rather say that our happiness would be different in nature - or that happiness already is different in nature for those who reject competition. This leaves unanswered the question of whether rejecting competition, as a value, is right or not. I tend to agree that everybody could take it easy and society wouldn't collapse, so fear of that collapse can't be an argument for competition. I don't agree (although the systems-based paranoia is attractive) that society seeks to use individuals for its benefit by pressuring them to compete. Rather I think they compete because they like it, bizarrely, and don't want to take it easy.

Perhaps it's simply the allure of the prize (or selflessly, the allure of great things being caused to happen) that makes them want to reach far ahead of themselves. It is their own business, anyway, and I don't think I or you can be a back seat driver for these competitive types and steer them into gentler pursuits against their will. The suggestion that maybe they'd prosper by being less ambitious is a good one. But I seem to remember another Steve Jobs quote (if we think he was a wonderful visionary, which I'm skeptical about) along the lines of "come with me and change the world".