1- I struggle with this myself. I went through a bad period a few years ago where I wasn't making hardly any money and at the same time I was being sued and was spending a ton of money on a lawyer. And I remember during that time wishing that I had been more frugal and cautious back when I was making a lot of money, and that if I ever was lucky enough to dig myself out of the hole and get back to a position where I was making a lot of money that I wouldn't make the same mistake. And so I here I am out of the whole and most of those promises I made when times were tough have been completely forgotten. Though when I read my journal from when times were bad it does help. And when times were bad, reading my journal from when times were good gave me hope as well. Which is to say preserving the memory from all points in our life helps us in crafting a more complete person. One who can be frugal without being unwise, and one who can be confident without being narcissistic.
2- I'll have to send the story to you, but my grandfather went through a time like this, when he literally was down to nothing. It's a complicated story, but in an attempt to simplify it without making it into a cliche, he dug himself out of it by not losing his self-confidence and being able to project that confidence that everything was going to turn out okay to those around him. Including his boss.
RE 1: Wow. Thank you for sharing that THAT happened: Making not-a-lot-of-money while grappling with a lawsuit. I hope the wisdom you gained on that (unenviable) journey has made you a resource for others in ways you can see right now.
> "Though when I read my journal from when times were bad it does help. And when times were bad, reading my journal from when times were good gave me hope as well. Which is to say preserving the memory from all points in our life helps us in crafting a more complete person. One who can be frugal without being unwise, and one who can be confident without being narcissistic."
Awesome thought--thank you! My "time capsules" are mostly: A. Lists I've made, (Best are the lists of frustrations. LOVE reading those after a few years have passed!) and B. Old online forum posts where I shared stuff from everyday life. (I regularly have moments of surprise--"Wow; I forgot that happened!"--when I come across them.) Some sort of diary could be a real help. (When I "call up" a memory of an earlier time, I usually get a vague, pea-soup fog "sense of how it was"--having specific stories would be better! Also more powerful for others to connect with!)
RE 2:
> "he dug himself out of it by not losing his self-confidence and being able to project that confidence that everything was going to turn out okay to those around him. Including his boss."
Neat! That's similar to the model I have for how to "get things to actually work" when going through a crisis situation.
Interesting insights. The distinction between having enough and over abundance is so often in relation to comparison to those around you. It’s almost so tightly woven together it’s mind numbing. Need to think on this some more…
On the one hand, I'm thinking of the meme of the prepper who's supposedly hoping for an apocalypse so his efforts will finally be worth it. Usually, it'll never happen - or when it does, it might not be as bad as they thought. I knew some semi-preppers who were talking about a coming economic collapse - and the 2008 Great Recession proved their forecast partly correct, but the economic system survived and most of their prepping was useless.
On the other hand, for people who tend toward the opposite extreme and might forget the hard times, I'm reminded of the Jewish Feast of Booths (aka Feast of Tabernacles). The tradition dating back to the Law of Moses is to sleep in temporary shelters for a few nights in memory of their ancestors not having permanent homes. Similarly to a smaller extent, Jews even eat unleavened bread at Passover in memory of their ancestors not having time for the bread to rise. Perhaps customs like these might be helpful?
It's quite a zig zag isn't it. Reminds me of the stoic idea to practice losing everything - at least mentally - Epictetus' quote about when you see your daughter in the morning, imagine that today she might be killed and it will change how you see her.
1- I struggle with this myself. I went through a bad period a few years ago where I wasn't making hardly any money and at the same time I was being sued and was spending a ton of money on a lawyer. And I remember during that time wishing that I had been more frugal and cautious back when I was making a lot of money, and that if I ever was lucky enough to dig myself out of the hole and get back to a position where I was making a lot of money that I wouldn't make the same mistake. And so I here I am out of the whole and most of those promises I made when times were tough have been completely forgotten. Though when I read my journal from when times were bad it does help. And when times were bad, reading my journal from when times were good gave me hope as well. Which is to say preserving the memory from all points in our life helps us in crafting a more complete person. One who can be frugal without being unwise, and one who can be confident without being narcissistic.
2- I'll have to send the story to you, but my grandfather went through a time like this, when he literally was down to nothing. It's a complicated story, but in an attempt to simplify it without making it into a cliche, he dug himself out of it by not losing his self-confidence and being able to project that confidence that everything was going to turn out okay to those around him. Including his boss.
RE 1: Wow. Thank you for sharing that THAT happened: Making not-a-lot-of-money while grappling with a lawsuit. I hope the wisdom you gained on that (unenviable) journey has made you a resource for others in ways you can see right now.
> "Though when I read my journal from when times were bad it does help. And when times were bad, reading my journal from when times were good gave me hope as well. Which is to say preserving the memory from all points in our life helps us in crafting a more complete person. One who can be frugal without being unwise, and one who can be confident without being narcissistic."
Awesome thought--thank you! My "time capsules" are mostly: A. Lists I've made, (Best are the lists of frustrations. LOVE reading those after a few years have passed!) and B. Old online forum posts where I shared stuff from everyday life. (I regularly have moments of surprise--"Wow; I forgot that happened!"--when I come across them.) Some sort of diary could be a real help. (When I "call up" a memory of an earlier time, I usually get a vague, pea-soup fog "sense of how it was"--having specific stories would be better! Also more powerful for others to connect with!)
RE 2:
> "he dug himself out of it by not losing his self-confidence and being able to project that confidence that everything was going to turn out okay to those around him. Including his boss."
Neat! That's similar to the model I have for how to "get things to actually work" when going through a crisis situation.
Interesting insights. The distinction between having enough and over abundance is so often in relation to comparison to those around you. It’s almost so tightly woven together it’s mind numbing. Need to think on this some more…
You paint an interesting picture.
On the one hand, I'm thinking of the meme of the prepper who's supposedly hoping for an apocalypse so his efforts will finally be worth it. Usually, it'll never happen - or when it does, it might not be as bad as they thought. I knew some semi-preppers who were talking about a coming economic collapse - and the 2008 Great Recession proved their forecast partly correct, but the economic system survived and most of their prepping was useless.
On the other hand, for people who tend toward the opposite extreme and might forget the hard times, I'm reminded of the Jewish Feast of Booths (aka Feast of Tabernacles). The tradition dating back to the Law of Moses is to sleep in temporary shelters for a few nights in memory of their ancestors not having permanent homes. Similarly to a smaller extent, Jews even eat unleavened bread at Passover in memory of their ancestors not having time for the bread to rise. Perhaps customs like these might be helpful?
It's quite a zig zag isn't it. Reminds me of the stoic idea to practice losing everything - at least mentally - Epictetus' quote about when you see your daughter in the morning, imagine that today she might be killed and it will change how you see her.