"Don't you dare waste your fucking time"

Reminds me of "Instantes" by Jorge Luis Borges:<p>If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations, contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments.<p>Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now.<p>I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me.<p>But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying.

A darker story: I was out of state, at a friend's house party, a few years ago and the discussion got non-superficial late in the night, as it sometimes does. His friends were talking about a friend who was not there.<p>Some time prior, this woman had an argument with her mother that escalated into all-out shouting, petty criticisms, damning accusations, anger. The last thing she yelled to her mother was "F<i></i>* y<i></i>!!"<p>The next morning her mother died suddenly. At the party, her friends were discussing how she regrets to the utmost of her life - that unfortunate and final send off. How she would give anything to undo what cannot be undone. How hard it is for this woman to try to forgive herself (the most important person of all to forgive).<p>I know it's a cliche but this is a true story. You may not see someone you love again - so don't part in anger. Don't curse out your parents or your significant other.

I apologize if I come across as snarky, it is not my intent, but I don't like being told what I should do. There's no 'right' way to go about using your time, and wasting it is completely subjective. If I'm about to die and all I want to do is watch TV, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't have to provide value, I don't have to travel, I don't have to take risks, I don't have to watch sunsets, I don't have to do anything, if I don't want to.<p>Her message is good, and I found it very moving like many of you, but I can't agree that 'doing' something is always the best thing for everyone. Do what you want, as long as you aren't hurting anyone else's ability to do what they want.

Reminds me of "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. That was one of the most inspiring talks I've ever heard. Check it out if you haven't yet - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo</a>

This is not to be confused with "never work towards a long term goal" or "never invest in the future", which is the primary criticism I have of the "live for the day" moral.<p>It's rational to say "forget about 10 years from now" if you have two years to live. It's not rational if you're expecting to live 50 or 60 more years, even if there is some standard deviation to your expectation.

The problem is, despite all good intentions (which famously pave the road to hell), I am still not sure how to live a meaningful life. It is easy to make decisions on the spot, but really hard to stick to something over the long time. I don't have any working system for staying on track.<p>What do you use to manage your life? I have at times put down my goals on paper, but those sheets of paper just got lost under the pile of other papers (bills, other plans and what not). Maybe daily checks would be the thing - just write a new plan every day, with adjustments from the daily experience?

People have pointed out in this discussion that its hard to actually live a meaningful life. Especially in the US it can be hard to learn how to lead one.<p>I've been delving into Buddhism over the last 5 months because of a family situation of mine that I have had to deal with and I think to be able to live a meaningful life all you have to do is help someone else who: 1. Really needs your help. 2. Can do nothing (by the nature of his/her predicament) for you in return at this very moment. 3. needs help on a continual basis. Ie, a long term commitment which then implies that you going to work everyday is helping someone else. That would be living a meaningful life.<p>I think thats why having kids is living a meaningful life.<p>My recommendation: Put an underprivileged kid in India through college who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it. <a href="http://www.ffe.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.ffe.org</a> (100% of your money is given to the children as the administration fees are paid for by a separate fund).<p>It takes a long time to get to this thinking though. I mean think about it: If you had only $2000 in your bank, the only way you could give $2000 to charity is to be able to either give up all your dreams/aspirations or at least put them on hold. That is very hard to do ...

Wow that made me cry like a baby. That was intensely powerful on many levels. Thanks for sharing.

But... but.. I have to go to school! And write essays no one will ever want to read, essays that don't even aspire to be something interesting!

I'm incredibly, ecstatically glad my only wake-up call has been a general "hey, do you realize you're going to get old?" rather than something life-threatening. But it has caused me to make this resolution:<p>Never pass the time.<p>If you want to waste some time, make the conscious decision to. Enjoy the restfulness of doing nothing for awhile. But never be <i>bored.</i> There is <i>always</i> something worth doing, even if it's just driving to the library and checking out a book. There's so very much in this world to learn, to experience, to explore, and whether you're hopping on a jet to go find it yourself or just basking in the richly-woven words of a great book about it, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a look. The world is too interesting, the universe is too interesting, humans are too interesting to waste your time with throwaway things. I can't tell you what those throwaway things are for you, but you know them. They're not important. Use your time for the things that are.

Have less; do more.

What would you do if you found out, right now, that you have exactly 2 years left to live? Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly two years, and then you'll die in your sleep.<p>What would you do with those 2 years?<p>PS: "I'll train myself not to sleep" is not a good answer.

As one of those that has lived (through a car accident) this resonates so strongly. There are elements of my life that I'm deeply unhappy about but I'm working on changing them.<p>These changes won't overnight but what scares me more than anything is that it won't happen quick enough. I've seen the end game and it isn't scheduled months in advance or decades away in our future...<p>...it might be that you kiss your pregnant wife goodbye in the morning and simply disappear.

Surprised that HN likes this. I wrote a post on this topic too:<p><a href="http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-golden-ticket" rel="nofollow">http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/today-is-your-gold...</a><p>Since people enjoyed this video, here's the HN link - <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112797</a>

I didn't really learn to live until I spent a year at death's door. Since there is no cure for my disorder, even getting well doesn't remove the "death sentence" I am living under. I find it is a gift and very freeing.

I wish I hadn't wasted my time clicking on that.