> If you’re smart, people say, you should work toward a good future, sacrificing fun and pleasure in the present.
Yeah, this is the conventional wisdom, but that doesn't make it right. Life is a tricky beast. You can do "all the right things" - and many of us do - and still have suboptimal outcomes.
Furthermore, thinking about the future is a luxury of leisure. That is, day to day, when the vast majority of your energy is focused on survival, the future is not a priority. It is literally the least of your worries. The future can't feed you, etc. Agreed, that's a cycle that is self-defeating. But breaking out of such a defensive shell is counter to how we're wired. Possible? Yes but extremely difficult under persistent pressure and immediate real life stress.
Even in the First World there are plenty living a defensive lifestyle. The future? That's someone else's.
Yeah, this is the conventional wisdom, but that doesn't make it right. Life is a tricky beast. You can do "all the right things" - and many of us do - and still have suboptimal outcomes.
Furthermore, thinking about the future is a luxury of leisure. That is, day to day, when the vast majority of your energy is focused on survival, the future is not a priority. It is literally the least of your worries. The future can't feed you, etc. Agreed, that's a cycle that is self-defeating. But breaking out of such a defensive shell is counter to how we're wired. Possible? Yes but extremely difficult under persistent pressure and immediate real life stress.
Even in the First World there are plenty living a defensive lifestyle. The future? That's someone else's.