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Maybe those are your priorities, but I don't think you should apply them to everyone else and then accuse them of not taking time to think it through if they don't share your priorities. Of the things you listed, only two are really concrete (wife, kids) and some people don't have those things, sometimes by choice. "Great life" could mean different things to different people and I'm not sure what "contribution to society" entails. Charitable works, volunteering? Again, this could mean all sorts of things; some people see raising good kids as contributing to society, while others might consider their work important to society (for example, medical research, clean energy, advancements in computer science, etc.) If I spend at least 8 hours of every weekday working, that's an enormous portion of my life. So, going back to the death bed scenario, you better bet I don't want to be like "well, I spent a huge portion of my life sleeping, and another huge portion working a mediocre job, but the rest was pretty good." I'd rather be able to say that I had a rewarding and challenging career that gave me satisfaction (above and beyond just money for survival and comfort). Many people value wife/kids and see their job as just a paycheck and there's nothing wrong with that. But some people look for different things, and yes, that can include one's career and professional life. And some people are a mix of the two. To assume that it's just about money is to project your own view on everyone else. |