Goldin Boy
Alpha Male
   
Posts: 1,350
Joined: Jan 2012
Reputation: 16
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RE: am I being selfish or what?
(01-09-2012 09:27 PM)americanInEurope Wrote: Most of the dudes on this website are single professionals like me, so lemme get your opinion.
There's been a reoccurring argument with people in my life lately. It's been whether or not I'm selfish for being 29 and not having a family or kids. No one but myself to spend my money on. Being able to go on long trips overseas without a care in the world, no one to look out for but myself, no one to slow me down. It's a enormous amount of freedom that I appreciate so much, that I'd die for, that without it I'd feel suffocated and sad. But i the end will I end up old and alone? Will my family be right in the end, and I'll die a selfish old man with nothing but memories of traveling to far away places visiting other people and their families instead of my own, and memories of fucking hot but shallow girls who will not remember me in 40 years? It's something to think about. In fact I think about it all the time, so much that I moved back to the states out of fear that they might be right.
Even though about 80% of people I see that are married with kids are miserable, it is true that I don't know what I'm talking about as I've never experienced the love that having a child brings, or the fulfillment of having a loving wife to care for. There have been girls in my life that I've loved and have thought about marrying, but the price you pay for marriage and a kid (as most women I've met will not stay in a marriage without kids) is way too high for me. It's pretty much game over for my old life: long trips and selfish weekends in boxers and video games, hair-brain schemes I come up with every year that requires me to invest all my money and not work for 4 months a year, finally start a band like I've been dreaming about, spend a year writing a book/screenplay, etc. Game fucking Over. I don't think I can live with that. And I guess that makes me a selfish asshole lol. At least according to society.
Yes you are selfish. But why is looking out for your self interest so wrong? Why does everyone, family, friends, media, wanna push guys into something that routinely fail 50% of the time?
I've never been married but I've never been shot either. I read about getting shot, seen it happen and know from first-hand stories that it's unpleasant. Never once did I think: "I'll shoot myself but it won't hurt b/c I'm using a different gun then the other guys did.", if you get my analogy.
Re: Dying old and alone: If she divorces you for the pool boy, its the same result but you'll have less money.
(08-18-2016 12:05 PM)dicknixon72 Wrote: ...and nothing quite surprises me anymore. If I looked out my showroom window and saw a fully-nude woman force-fucking an alligator with a strap-on while snorting xanex on the roof of her rental car with her three children locked inside with the windows rolled up, I wouldn't be entirely amazed.
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| 01-12-2012 12:28 AM |
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Pilgrim37
Alpha Male
   
Posts: 1,093
Joined: May 2010
Reputation: 2
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RE: am I being selfish or what?
(01-10-2012 02:45 PM)Timoteo Wrote: The accusation of being selfish is in itself selfish. Ayn Rand touched on this in "The Virtue of Selfishness," in that in almost every action, there is self-interest. Your parents are being selfish in wanting you to marry and settle down because they want grandchildren. Women want you to settle down because if you're young and successful, they want access to what you can give them (house, babies, etc.). And if the relationship fails, she walks away with the bulk of what you have. Other men that have taken the plunge look at you and are envious - they can never again have that life, so they want to drag you into their misery. All of these various people have their own motives and self-interest in wanting to see you married. People will employ the fatalistic "you'll be old and alone at the end of your life" argument to scare you into fulfilling THEIR needs, and not your own. Only you can decide what makes you happy. Not everyone is cut out for family life. I think it's more selfish to enter into a lifestyle that will make YOU miserable, and as a consequence make OTHERS miserable also.
Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose. Of course, women will tell you THAT'S selfish, because "when your kid/kids are such and such age, you'll be such and such age and too old to do blah, blah, blah." You can worry about that when and if you choose. Live your life as YOU see fit bro. Who's gonna help you with all those regrets when you're older?
"Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose"
I'm sorry but life isn't that simple....if you choose? ...It takes two to Tango I think,and by that stage he might have passed on some nice girls for the sake of "freedom".
If you meet someone whether it's now or somewhere down the line and they do it for you ,it would be stupid to avoid progressing with it, to co habit ,marriage,kids ,the whole shebang,just cause you feel you'd be missing out .
If it happens and you're smart enough to recognise it when it does I would say Go for It.
Nobody knows how things'll work out in their life,but better to have loved and lost than not at all...
Because not at all would be pretty sad,and there's a lot of guys walking on lonely street,cause they were holding out for that "something" or "perfect situation" which never happened to them.
(This post was last modified: 01-12-2012 07:41 PM by Pilgrim37.)
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| 01-12-2012 07:39 PM |
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TheAntiWhiteKnight138
Banned
Posts: 96
Joined: Oct 2011
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RE: am I being selfish or what?
(01-12-2012 07:39 PM)Pilgrim37 Wrote: "Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose"
I'm sorry but life isn't that simple....if you choose? ...It takes two to Tango I think,and by that stage he might have passed on some nice girls for the sake of "freedom".
If you meet someone whether it's now or somewhere down the line and they do it for you ,it would be stupid to avoid progressing with it, to co habit ,marriage,kids ,the whole shebang,just cause you feel you'd be missing out .
If it happens and you're smart enough to recognise it when it does I would say Go for It.
Nobody knows how things'll work out in their life,but better to have loved and lost than not at all...
Because not at all would be pretty sad,and there's a lot of guys walking on lonely street,cause they were holding out for that "something" or "perfect situation" which never happened to them.
Respectfully disagree, I think you're missing the point of this thread. I'm sure 90% of men who get hitched feel like they met "the one" you speak of. Interview them 10 yrs down the line and see if that perspective has changed at all (that is, if they're honest)
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| 01-12-2012 09:10 PM |
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Only One Man
Wingman
  
Posts: 660
Joined: Nov 2011
Reputation: 4
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RE: am I being selfish or what?
(01-12-2012 07:39 PM)Pilgrim37 Wrote: (01-10-2012 02:45 PM)Timoteo Wrote: The accusation of being selfish is in itself selfish. Ayn Rand touched on this in "The Virtue of Selfishness," in that in almost every action, there is self-interest. Your parents are being selfish in wanting you to marry and settle down because they want grandchildren. Women want you to settle down because if you're young and successful, they want access to what you can give them (house, babies, etc.). And if the relationship fails, she walks away with the bulk of what you have. Other men that have taken the plunge look at you and are envious - they can never again have that life, so they want to drag you into their misery. All of these various people have their own motives and self-interest in wanting to see you married. People will employ the fatalistic "you'll be old and alone at the end of your life" argument to scare you into fulfilling THEIR needs, and not your own. Only you can decide what makes you happy. Not everyone is cut out for family life. I think it's more selfish to enter into a lifestyle that will make YOU miserable, and as a consequence make OTHERS miserable also.
Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose. Of course, women will tell you THAT'S selfish, because "when your kid/kids are such and such age, you'll be such and such age and too old to do blah, blah, blah." You can worry about that when and if you choose. Live your life as YOU see fit bro. Who's gonna help you with all those regrets when you're older?
"Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose"
I'm sorry but life isn't that simple....if you choose? ...It takes two to Tango I think,and by that stage he might have passed on some nice girls for the sake of "freedom".
If you meet someone whether it's now or somewhere down the line and they do it for you ,it would be stupid to avoid progressing with it, to co habit ,marriage,kids ,the whole shebang,just cause you feel you'd be missing out .
If it happens and you're smart enough to recognise it when it does I would say Go for It.
Nobody knows how things'll work out in their life,but better to have loved and lost than not at all...
Because not at all would be pretty sad,and there's a lot of guys walking on lonely street,cause they were holding out for that "something" or "perfect situation" which never happened to them.
I would say instead that "It's better to have never loved than to have loved and lost half your shit and a big chunk of your future income for twenty years".
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| 01-12-2012 09:19 PM |
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Timoteo
International Playboy
     
Posts: 4,883
Joined: May 2011
Reputation: 39
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RE: am I being selfish or what?
(01-12-2012 07:39 PM)Pilgrim37 Wrote: (01-10-2012 02:45 PM)Timoteo Wrote: The accusation of being selfish is in itself selfish. Ayn Rand touched on this in "The Virtue of Selfishness," in that in almost every action, there is self-interest. Your parents are being selfish in wanting you to marry and settle down because they want grandchildren. Women want you to settle down because if you're young and successful, they want access to what you can give them (house, babies, etc.). And if the relationship fails, she walks away with the bulk of what you have. Other men that have taken the plunge look at you and are envious - they can never again have that life, so they want to drag you into their misery. All of these various people have their own motives and self-interest in wanting to see you married. People will employ the fatalistic "you'll be old and alone at the end of your life" argument to scare you into fulfilling THEIR needs, and not your own. Only you can decide what makes you happy. Not everyone is cut out for family life. I think it's more selfish to enter into a lifestyle that will make YOU miserable, and as a consequence make OTHERS miserable also.
Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose. Of course, women will tell you THAT'S selfish, because "when your kid/kids are such and such age, you'll be such and such age and too old to do blah, blah, blah." You can worry about that when and if you choose. Live your life as YOU see fit bro. Who's gonna help you with all those regrets when you're older?
"Honestly, when you're in your 40s or so, you can still do the family thing if you choose"
I'm sorry but life isn't that simple....if you choose? ...It takes two to Tango I think,and by that stage he might have passed on some nice girls for the sake of "freedom".
If you meet someone whether it's now or somewhere down the line and they do it for you ,it would be stupid to avoid progressing with it, to co habit ,marriage,kids ,the whole shebang,just cause you feel you'd be missing out .
If it happens and you're smart enough to recognise it when it does I would say Go for It.
Nobody knows how things'll work out in their life,but better to have loved and lost than not at all...
Because not at all would be pretty sad,and there's a lot of guys walking on lonely street,cause they were holding out for that "something" or "perfect situation" which never happened to them.
I see what you're saying, but you're crafting your response on obvious points. It ALWAYS takes two to tango, regardless of when you decide to enter into marriage. The problem is many men enter into it when they really aren't cut out for it. It isn't about "perfect" situations. I made no such reference in my post. It's about marrying because you truly WANT to, not because of pressure from others, or because you feel you're somehow SUPPOSED to. I don't think having pangs of regret later means you didn't make the right decision earlier. And a man CAN find love and marriage in his 40s. A 30 year old woman wouldn't necessarily find him old, and she's still of childbearing age. Or you could leave the country to find a young wife, from a culture where older men/younger women isn't considered extreme like it is in American culture. It might be "easier" to find a wife when you're younger, but that doesn't make it the right choice for you. Sure, you may have passed on some women along the way that would have been good partners, but if YOU aren't ready, you'll make that good woman miserable and she'll divorce you. There's the believe that a man that never settles down with one woman is somehow unfulfilled, or is leading a lonely, empty life. I don't agree with that.
"The best kind of pride is that which compels a man to do his best when no one is watching."
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| 01-12-2012 10:07 PM |
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