If you could talk to yourself 10 years ago, would you say “work harder” or “don’t work so hard”

[Zebra Cheeks]

One of the age old questions. It seems like there’s regrets on both sides. You hear so many people talk either very confidently about their decision to dedicate their life to “hard work”, and just as many about “taking free time and enjoying life”. If you could go talk to yourself 10 years ago, and influence the kind of life style you’ve lived, what would you say? Would you tell yourself to work harder? Would you tell yourself to do exactly what you’ve done? Would you tell yourself to enjoy life more?

 

[The Good The Bad The HBK]

You should say 'dont eat the white bag'

 

[Bornstarch]

You gotta work hard. Do it for yourself, not for the company. Prove to yourself that you're that kind of person, not a lazy fuck.

 

[Dogshare]

Work as hard as you need and as less as you need.

You need to work hard when needed, but a smart person will always try make more money with less effort, so just working hard is not something positive.

 

[gonads20]

I would say work "smarter" but if I had to choose I would say work harder.

 

[ufcfan4]

I truly believe that cliche that "nobody on their death bed says I should have spent more time at the office." While many people get some degree of a sense of purpose or even identity from work, the fact of the matter is that the best things in life for a lot of people happen outside of it. Work is important but it eats up time like virtually nothing else and time is one of those commodities that we never get an iota more of.

This might not directly answer the question but I think my advice would always be to assess what the right balance is for you and make sure that you don't commit yourself (long-term of course) to a career that does not fit your perception of the right balance. Even better of course is to find something that you can be successful at with less time invested. I think that's why passive income is so important.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

Don't work harder.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

For me it was definitely work harder. I’m only 30 but I’ve made tons of mistakes in my teens and 20’s.

I don’t think anyone regrets hard work unless it costs them their health or family

 

[Plutoburn]

Kind of torn because things turned out alright so I'm not sure if tempering with what happened would bring about better result. Even if communication is possible, doesn't mean your younger self will listen. Even if the younger self listened doesn't mean he'd apply the message. And even if he tried to worker harder or doesn't work harder, doesn't mean things will turn out for the better. So I am skeptical if this is a good thing.

 

[Ponchik]

Study hard so you don't have to work hard later.

 

[Daverisimo]

I would say, "find a different line of work'

 

[Barksnight]

Invest, dont waste it when it came easy.

 

[Jesus X]

I would work hard from 18-29 and worry about work life balance from 29 to my mid 30s. Because working hard in my 30s means spending more time at an ortho doctor and damaging my body and heart.

 

[thegreenblender]

I would work hard from 18-29 and worry about work life balance from 29 to my mid 30s. Because working hard in my 30s means spending more time at an ortho doctor and damaging my body and heart.

Exactly. The timeline is super important. Young? Get off your ass. Getting up there? Don't kill yourself quicker.

 

[DaleBoca]

Don’t worry, you’ll still have all of your hair.

 

[Sweater of AV]

 

[Speedy1]

I would just say don’t take the work so personally.

 

[empsim]

You gotta work hard. Do it for yourself, not for the company. Prove to yourself that you're that kind of person, not a lazy fuck.

Well in that case you should start your own business.

Work harder so that the company/boss makes more money while you get nothing is just silly.

 

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

Work smarter, there is need to kill yourself. Just do your fair share, but don't overly do it. That's if you get a fix off of working really hard.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Work harder. I’m happy where I am with my career now, but it has taken me longer to get here than it maybe should have. If I worked harder from 2013-2018 things could have been better sooner.