I'm currently in my mid 20's. My childhood and adolescence and even college sucked donkey balls because of the specific circumstances I was in. Through all that mess though, I was always pretty upbeat about my life because I knew (not trying to blow my own horn here) that I was smart and ambitious, and so although not certainly, there was a good possibility that the best shit was ahead for me. The funny thing is that now that my life is definitely on the upswing and moving in the right direction, my optimism has dropped off considerably compared to when I was 17 and trying to simply stay above water. At 17, life was a completely unknowable, limitless ocean of possibilities. I wasn't sure if I was going to end up a special forces operative, pilot, doctor, or homeless bum, haha. Now that I'm in my mid 20's, I know that although I may end up as a billionnaire-hey, it could happen-I also know I definitely will never be a commando or a a professional pilot or any of a million things that were possible outcomes when I was 17. That narrowing of possibilities is kinda depressing.
And I'm not even old yet. I've yet to notice any signs of physical decline, although they will inevitably manifest themselves soon. So I'm left wondering, how valuable is youth compared to everything else? Assuming I was stuck in a dead end job with no possibility of advancement, my satisfaction with my life would of course decline with each passing year. So I try to ask myself, by how much do I need to improve my lot in life each year so that at the end of that year, I'm more satisfied by the things I have achieved than I am regretful of the 1 fewer year of life that I now have. This is of course an impossible question to answer, just a musing, really.
If a man was happy and optimistic at 20, and by the age of 40 had accomplished all that he could have hoped for at 20, and more, would he be as happy as his 20 year old self? Or would he gladly give it all up just to be 20 again, with no certainty that he could replicate his success again? What do you guys think? How valuable is just the sheer fact of being young when compared to the money, power, and accomplishment that usually accrue with age? It would be especially awesome to hear the perspective of some of the experienced cats here who have been there, done that. This forum definitely has a bunch of those. Anyway, interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this.
And I'm not even old yet. I've yet to notice any signs of physical decline, although they will inevitably manifest themselves soon. So I'm left wondering, how valuable is youth compared to everything else? Assuming I was stuck in a dead end job with no possibility of advancement, my satisfaction with my life would of course decline with each passing year. So I try to ask myself, by how much do I need to improve my lot in life each year so that at the end of that year, I'm more satisfied by the things I have achieved than I am regretful of the 1 fewer year of life that I now have. This is of course an impossible question to answer, just a musing, really.
If a man was happy and optimistic at 20, and by the age of 40 had accomplished all that he could have hoped for at 20, and more, would he be as happy as his 20 year old self? Or would he gladly give it all up just to be 20 again, with no certainty that he could replicate his success again? What do you guys think? How valuable is just the sheer fact of being young when compared to the money, power, and accomplishment that usually accrue with age? It would be especially awesome to hear the perspective of some of the experienced cats here who have been there, done that. This forum definitely has a bunch of those. Anyway, interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this.
