Does being a pessimist cloud one's vision?

chrisandanne

Gangstabird wrote: »

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I don't think I am. I have been predicting this for about 5 years and my friends tired of me quite quickly. I kept saying 'it's not sustainable', they kept telling me to shut up LoL.

But, the recession has not quite hit as hard as I am finding friends who used to go out a lot, cut it down for a month, and are now going out again.

Again, I could be way off course here, but this recession will not hit until after Christmas in my opinion.

The housing market cannot recover until the banks start lending to people who really shouldn't be buying houses...In my opinion they are not going to be doing this for a long time to come.

A recession does not really 'hit' it 'builds' over a period of time, what we are seeing at the moment is just the start...people in business and in houses will try for as long as they can to keep going.

Recessions don't affect everyone the same, if your friends are earning the same wage and have the same outgoings or are even paying out a bit more for petrol or food from a comfortable disposable income they may not feel any real pinch....the crunch comes when you lose your job or your outgoings start to exceed your income.

The Christmas bit I agree with, people who are not used to not having everything they want, whether they have the money for it or not, will spend even more of what they haven't got on stuff they don't need. A x

Conrad

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

I have never worried about money either. There is so much more to life than just money.

I need enough money to provide a comfortable lifestyle without having to work, so I can truly start living. Money is merely a conduit to freedom, insteacd of the pointless meaningless activity we call work.

I want to be researching into how life began, how I got here, and where my atoms will disperse to when they disasemble, not working which in most cases is pointless.

In fact I strongly consider people that enjoy working to completely misunderstand the majesty of existence, unless they are adding to the understanding of what it means to be alive - gene scientists for example.

I know a guy who is worth many millions that sits in a stuffy office running a haulage firm. He says he loves it.
Now he will live for lets say 30,000 days (age 82), and that 10,000 of those are asleep.
He has about 20,00 days therefore to fully experience this amazing prescious thing we call life.
He will be dead for trillions of years, just a dim quite ripple in the well of time.

All he is really is a collection of memories, thats all we all are. What is the point of a collection of memories 90% of which involve sitting in an office fiddling about with a haulage firm? What meaning has that?

Instead he could retire and live a truly fulfilling life.

I want time to find out what it means to be alive and fully experience all life has to offer. Money allows this.

m00m00

money allowed me to take a career break to do a DPhil in Philosophy, which enables me (and not many others I suspect) to actually have a clue what conrad is waffling about (it's existentialism 101)

Gangstabird

I agree, the bank only lent me 2.5 times my earnings in 2002. Admittedly I bought a house that had problems as in it hadn't been touched for 50 years.

I COULD HAVE got a mortgage for 260k. That is more than 5 times my earnings and a few more. It was offered. It would have been unsustainable.

ManAtHome

If you don't like your job... change it!

Spending less than a quarter of time at work (which I enjoy anyway) still leaves plenty of time for the "life and universe" stuff. Maybe only the pessimists see work as "a pain" - the optimists generally get on with it and/or take jobs they actaully enjoy doing?

And to get back to the original thread - quite possible to be generally optimistic, but pessimistic about certain things or events. Maybe the people who are optimistic about everything are the greatest contributors to our "boom and bust" economy..?

lostinrates

Conrad wrote: »

I need enough money to provide a comfortable lifestyle without having to work, so I can truly start living. Money is merely a conduit to freedom, insteacd of the pointless meaningless activity we call work.
...............
In fact I strongly consider people that enjoy working to completely misunderstand the majesty of existence, unless they are adding to the understanding of what it means to be alive .

You know, I really, really miss working. I miss the challenge, I miss the buzz..most of all I miss using my mind. If I had the choice I would work till the day I died, but probably part time...so I could get a good balance. I also think even if you don't need to work, the connection with people who do is a sort of protection against insularism.

My dad is like the guy you describe...he's always going to retire 'next year'. I think he'll die working. He has worked since 14 at quite simply has no hobbies or outside interests and a complete failure to delegate. I genuinely think his life would be quite empty without his job.:eek:

Jonbvn

Conrad wrote: »

I need enough money to provide a comfortable lifestyle without having to work, so I can truly start living. Money is merely a conduit to freedom, instead of the pointless meaningless activity we call work.

A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth. (GBS).

Having worked all over the world since 1985, I have come to realise that I rely on work for more than income. In some ways, it defines me as a person. However, I do realise that other people in perhaps more mundane jobs may only see work as a means to an end.

carolt

Possibly, Conrad, you need to find a more fulfilling job than working as a mortgage adviser? (Though, that said, given the amount of time you spend on here, it's clearly a hobby as well as a job....)

I, for better or (financially) worse, simply cannot bring myself to do a job I hate or find dull, day after day. I looked at various 'sensible' graduate jobs on graduating with an excellent degree from top university..and realised I just wouldn't be able to hack it; I'd have the urge to giggle at inappropriate moments far too often. And I just don't care about money enough to make it worthwhile.

Seriously, if life is only what you experience when you're not at work, I'd say you were in the wrong job.

BTLNEWbie_3

carolt wrote: »

And I just don't care about money enough to make it worthwhile.

:rotfl: :rotfl:

But you still want things given to you on a plate.
What a waste excellant education (contributed by us tax payers) and you cant be bothered to work, little bit lazy then?

carolt

BTLNEWbie wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl:

But you still want things given to you on a plate.
What a waste excellant education (contributed by us tax payers) and you cant be bothered to work, little bit lazy then?

I think you misunderstood - I do work, thank you, damn hard, but in area I enjoy - education. Not very well paid, but I can laugh whenever I want. And somewhat more useful and constructive than your line of 'work' ie scrounging.

That said, I don't supposed you managed much of an education, so what else could you do?