I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by bognition on Thursday April 07, 2022 @07:57AM (#30943288)

Is it possible you’re setting your threshold for meaningful change to high?

I have friends that have made it their life’s work to get their city to install more bike lanes. They’ve been pushing for a decade and the city has installed a few lanes in particularly dangerous places. They have likely saved a bikers life.

I have friends that volunteer at a crisis center and all they do is talk with people who need help. They aren’t making big changes but are positively impacting the lives of people around them.

There are so many meaningful ways to improve the world around you that don’t require you to have millions of dollars or to go into politics.

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Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by snikeris on Thursday April 07, 2022 @09:32AM (#30944186)

Yeah I think this is a problem with modern life. Our ancestors knew only of their surroundings and their tribe. Helping someone near you was obviously meaningful.

Now the scale that our minds grapple with is infinite: We know we’re a tiny part of an infinite universe, our tribe is billions of people.

My solution is focus. Reduce the scale of your concern to where you can have an impact. You can certainly have an impact on the people around you. If that doesn’t seem worthwhile, try to figure out why the people you’re close to matter so little to you.

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Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by sethammons on Thursday April 07, 2022 @10:02AM (#30944551)

> You can certainly have an impact on the people around you. If that doesn’t seem worthwhile, try to figure out why the people you’re close to matter so little to you

That is very well said; I appreciated reading it

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Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by mulhoon on Thursday April 07, 2022 @09:53AM (#30944433)

> Reduce the scale of your concern to where you can have an impact.

Nice. That’s going in my quote collection.

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Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by seanw444 on Thursday April 07, 2022 @09:32AM (#30944184)

> that don’t require you to have millions of dollars or to go into politics.

These sound like the same thing to me.

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Re:I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also... by kqr on Thursday April 07, 2022 @02:43PM (#30948693)

And if you dislike that, you can work on solving that! It doesn't take grand gestures. Start by reducing the level of plutocracy where you work, for example. People will remember what that feels like and bring it over to their political opinions.

[ Parent | on HN ]