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Comment by anal_reactor | Hacker News Reader

> I just don’t see why my life needs to be optimised for making money compared to engaging in interesting ideas and creating peace and happiness in the space around me.

This means your are rich, and you can afford the luxury of such mindset.

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> This means your are rich, and you can afford the luxury of such mindset.

The people I know that are focusing on "engaging in interesting ideas and creating peace and happiness in the space around [them]" are the "poorest" I know of.

They chose to have a part-time job (if they have one at all), they chose to live a simple life (from Western standards)... to do what they care about.

The only luxury they have is living in a society with enough solidarity to allow them to live this way.

I'm not rich and I have this mindset. I make far less than most people on HN do, less than industry average too, but I've been able to live an okay life regardless.

The goal was never to get rich as I realized early on that was improbable and I focused on other things.

I have met a lot of people who live in poverty. They're not all that interested in making money (although they are not necessarily averse but it's definitely never an all-consuming priority). By and large their focus is on human connection.

It's not the default human condition to be consumed by greed any more than it is any of the other deadly sins.

Exactly. People are trying to make ends meet. They aren't trying to optimize for money making for fun We're trying to eat today, and maybe someday retire, if we're lucky. It's harder than it used to be, so people are looking for strategies.

It's not some morally superior attitude to "engage in peace and happiness" blah blah you're just rich congrats

There is a very large gap between being "rich" and having to turn every moment into money so that you can eat beans and rice. The general point upthread is that for many/most people, not everything they do has to be a "side hustle."

(And there are probably quite a few people here who are pretty comfortable who still look at a lot of activities through the side hustle lens.)

People who are just trying ro make end meets with no hope of improvement do often adopt this thinking. It is that or alcoholism, drug use and gambling.

People need meaning in their life and work that mistreat you is not that.

I suppose I rather appreciate the lot of you who believe I am wealthy and therefore able to find happiness in life. I suppose I’ll have to disappoint you a bit and tell you that I am not wealthy and certainly not wealthy by most standards on HN. I simply accept that it’s my job to create my happiness. Nobody else will do it for me.

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