At the end of the day it's just indulgence, not actually using your potential to the fullest. Going through life simply for pleasure is the sure fire way to have no lasting impact.
If that's what you want to do, then great, but I get annoyed when mediocrity is touted as the greatest good.
What's the point of working hard to make the world better, if the only thing you're working hard for is to enable more hard work?
I want my children to work hard, to challenge themselves, and to do something valuable. I also want them to have a good time, and not become worker robots.
There's a place for everything. Retirement is the place for entertaining your own hobbies and interests, even if that means working on your boat and going out on the lake.
Fully agreed:
"But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself" - Camus
Not everyone wants that. Some people have had their run "making impact" and want nothing more than to spend time with their loved ones and enjoy their hobbies. I strongly doubt they'll be on their deathbeds thinking "I regret wasting all that time spent with family and doing things I love; I ought to have made a bigger impact at work instead"
Sure, in which case they shouldn't be complaining about not having impactful work.
I strongly doubt they'll be on their deathbeds thinking "I regret wasting all that time spent with family and doing things I love; I ought to have made a bigger impact at work instead"
This is a false narrative and not mutually exclusive with doing important work. Most people die suddenly without a community surrounding them, family or otherwise. I'm dubious about the number of people who have great end of life with a loving family surrounding them.
It seems like you're noting a weakness in your original argument as you set up the dichotomy. In reference to aspiring to life on a boat in retirement, you had said:
>> At the end of the day it's just indulgence, not actually using your potential to the fullest. Going through life simply for pleasure is the sure fire way to have no lasting impact.
Retirement seems like a good deal to me. It's not an inability to do things greater than yourself, it's the freedom to choose your pursuits without economic constraints (ideally).
Owning a boat, and sailing for pleasure sounds like a lovely hobby. I don't see anything wrong with aspiring to spend time that way.