Post #3651940

2026-07-05 20:11 UTC

I love it when people have a sense of sufficiency - a level of what is enough money, status etc above which they focus on their ideological commitments and are perfectly fine with sacrificing money + status. I mean sth like “I want to have a PhD/permanent contract/salary above x”, not “be a unicorn CEO/own a yacht/be a millionaire”. For some people I know their thresholds, for others I think I can guess. And I find these people really inspiring once they are lucky enough to get above.

Replies (2)

@alineblankertz@indieweb.social 2026-07-05 20:16

Ideally we would always live up to our ideals and deal with the consequences in terms of individual sacrifice by building better networks of mutual aid and solidarity. In the meantime, it is great if we dare to hold values dear, but also acknowledge that we sometimes make nasty compromises AND understand at what point we are less willing to compromise. (And maybe I am also fed up by always being told people do not walk their talk because of certain risks - even or esp very privileged people.)

Open ##3651963
@davidculley@hachyderm.io 2026-07-06 08:22

@alineblankertz@indieweb.social Someone once said, "Once you're rich, focus on making more time." I won't name the person because he showed himself to be a disgusting fascist. But interested people can read philosophers like Krishnamurti, Osho, etc. for yourself, you don't need a podcaster/YouTuber interpreting them for you. Once you no longer need to worry about how you pay your bills or feed your children, you should figure out what it is that you want from life. Why are you alive? What is it that you want out of life, other than money? Becoming "rich" is a means to an end, not the end itself, and many people don't know their personal "end". They might even be *afraid* to search for it because it involves asking deep questions. If they never figure out what their "end", their non-financial desire is, they just continue the path they're on: chasing the next salary raise, trying to flesh out their business so that they can sell it. In that sense, after you have enough, making more money is just procrastination from asking the "real questions". People who never stop making more money are cowards. Too scared to live life on their own terms. "Once you're rich, focus on making more time." In Germany, a salary of 70,000 EUR can already mean you're "rich". That number is easily achievable for any software developer with 3 or more years of experience. Maybe instead of chasing that 80,000 EUR position, ask your boss to reduce your 40 hour workweek to a 32 hour workweek. You can always make more money, but you cannot make the day have more than 24 hours. Time that is passed by is gone forever. And someday you'll regret having spent it all on work and making money.

Open ##3651965