[Refefer]

Reminds me a little too much of the regrets of the dying[1]. Ingrained deep within our mammalian brains is the instinctual desire for community and personal intimacy. We'd do well to remember ourselves and what makes us happy before we're reflecting from our own death bed.

[1] http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html

[grecy]

A while back I found a website (or article?) that interviewed elderly people who where essentially on their deathbeds. What do you regret, what would you do differently, etc. etc.

Without fail, every single person said they wish they went to work less, and spent more time with their loved ones.

I personally, am not good at learning lessons from other people, usually I have to learn "the hard way". I hope I can learn this one from others.

[lmm]

> Without fail, every single person said they wish they went to work less, and spent more time with their loved ones.

I always wonder how much truth there is to that though? I mean, if you actually loved your job and preferred working to spending time with your family, wouldn't you still feel obliged to give that answer?

[notdonspaulding]

I don't think so. Someone saying this on their deathbed is not necessarily opining about how much they loved work vs. family in the moment. They're assigning a long-term absolute value on the amount of time they spent with each.

Say you spend 80 hours a week at a job you absolutely love, and 20 hours a week with a family you kind-of-get-along-with. At the end of your life, it might be that you decide "time spent at work" no matter how much you enjoyed it in the moment is just less fulfilling than "time spent at home" even when the day-to-day of home life is not as immediately gratifying.

[lmm]

Well put it this way: if you say you wish you'd spent more time with your family that's not going to upset anyone. If you say you wish you'd spent less time with them and more time doing something else, that's not very nice.