What Did I Experience When I Applied the “Greedy Algorithm” to My Life?
“I can’t say that I will tell you something that will completely change your life, but I will tell you something that will completely change your life.”
Do you know what the Greedy algorithm is? It is a very simple but very effective optimization method. Let me explain this algorithm to you very briefly.
“It is called a greedy algorithm to approach the search for an optimal solution without focusing on the next step and taking into account the existing conditions.”
So what happens when we add this algorithm used in software to our lives? Amazing stuff. In everyday life, we see people who are worried about the future everywhere. However, the number of people who are unhappy with their lives has also increased. Most people live in the future. Of course, there is anxiety and stress in this. Thinking about the future from the situation is one of the biggest causes of anxiety.
Let’s get to the topic, I was a person who thought a lot about my future in my life. I was taking every step for the next 5 years. But over time, I have observed that I spend my best times only with stress and distress. Why was I sacrificing 20 years of my youth for 20 years of happiness in the future?
Time passed, I finished tons of self-help books and psychology books. Finally, a friend of mine told me about the greedy algorithm. It was an algorithm he used in software, but I said why not apply it to my own life. It was very likely that I could not find an optimal value, but it was a tactic where I could always move forward and better.
Everything started like this, and then I changed my choices to short-term rather than long-term ones.
I can hear you saying don’t be silly, Valerio, but of course, I haven’t changed my main wishes and the things I want to be in the future.
I Started to Live in the Moment
If this algorithm tells me that I should choose the best option at that moment, naturally I started to choose the most profitable situation in every moment. Long plans disappeared. If I felt that I did not enjoy the conversation in an environment, I immediately started to leave the table.
I thought there was no point in being polite because I was killing my time for it. I wanted to see new places. This was the most effective method to break my laziness. We all use this algorithm in our lives without realizing it. We eat when we are hungry, etc. But making it enjoyable and being aware of it starts to bring a lot of pleasure.
Knowing That You Will Get Better With Every Step
When I think too much about the future, my anxiety attacks always find me. Now, there is a different situation. Because the more I did what I always thought would be profitable to myself, the better my jobs, my master’s degree, and everything else got better. For example, I am currently doing my master’s in another country. It was difficult for me to leave my country. I was afraid because it was growing in my eyes to start over in a country I did not know. A language and people I don’t know, in a place I don’t know. But I thought this master’s degree was very important to my future. Because of that, I directly evaluated that possibility and came to another country. I could have stayed in my home country and graduated from a worse university, and I would probably be more unhappy than I am now. I would always be closed to innovation.
In my process here, I learned a new language and even took a second name for myself. My life has become so beautiful because I was greedy. I moved without fear into a situation that I knew was better.
We are the most obstacles to ourselves in our lives. Thinking of other people, the attention of your lover, the worry of raising a child, satisfying your boss… the list goes on and on, but in the end, we eliminate the concept of making ourselves happy.
The important thing is to leave a happy past and a hopeful future after many years.
In the end, this greed brought me the medium. I thought about watching movies in the evenings or earning money, and as a result, I started writing on this platform. I earned $140 in my first month. There has also been a serious improvement in my writing ability. I’m proud of myself and it’s because I didn’t act greedy thinking about myself. Never do anything unethical. But to make people happy or to stay out of your comfort zone, don’t make yourself vainer.
Strive and win.
