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Thread: Governed by guilt

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I like that. Sunk costs. Definitely spiritually up there with "non-attachment"--the economic equivalent of "Let it Be." I'll have to meditate on it, and then go rip up the little piece of paper I have where I've accounted for the 6-figure list of lifetime sunk costs and burn it in my votives along with a little incense.
    An accountant might refer to that action as a “hard close”, where you can no longer adjust the accounts of prior periods.

    It’s all in my unsold manuscript, “The Unaudited Life is not Worth Living”.

  2. #12
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    One of the advantages of a career in a deeply spiritual profession like accounting and finance is that you internalize the concept of “sunk costs”.

    Past expenditures are irrelevant to present decisions, so no guilt or regret need attach.
    Never thought about accounting and finance as being a spiritual profession (tongue in cheek or otherwise) but numbers are not made of matter so cannot disagree. Sunk costs is a bit more of a challenge. i think.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Never thought about accounting and finance as being a spiritual profession (tongue in cheek or otherwise) but numbers are not made of matter so cannot disagree. Sunk costs is a bit more of a challenge. i think.
    Accounting and finance are full of important philosophical and spiritual concepts: the importance of balance, moral hazard, contingent liability, honest disclosure, action and consequence, value and worth, goodwill, present and future value, the inevitable amortization of assets. I could go on for days.

    It’s a model of human actions and aspirations that may well be the greatest gift of the Renaissance to mankind.

  4. #14
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sweetana3 View Post
    Once got almost 10 pounds of Lindt truffles that a grocery clerk has mistakenly marked over 90% off. (70 cents per pound). Did not even clean out the clearance section. Told another customer and her smile said it all.

    Husband allowed himself one piece each time he did his routine on the rower. He kept them in the basement and I stayed away from them. No more. It was just too good to pass up.
    Long before Lindt could be found easily in our local stores, we packed suitcases with Lindt bars when visiting Switzerland to bring home. The Swiss relatives would visit and open their own suitcases with the wonderful chocolate spilling out, house gifts for us.

    Now Lindt is easy to get, so they are not so special. But still the best chocolate.

  5. #15
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    An accountant might refer to that action as a “hard close”, where you can no longer adjust the accounts of prior periods.

    It’s all in my unsold manuscript, “The Unaudited Life is not Worth Living”.
    I will order 5 copies of that, pre-pub.

  6. #16
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Accounting and finance are full of important philosophical and spiritual concepts: the importance of balance, moral hazard, contingent liability, honest disclosure, action and consequence, value and worth, goodwill, present and future value, the inevitable amortization of assets. I could go on for days.

    It’s a model of human actions and aspirations that may well be the greatest gift of the Renaissance to mankind.
    oh my Gd, write it! You are whetting our interest!

  7. #17
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    I can't say that I ever really feel guilty about what I spend or what I eat. There have certainly been times I've felt regretful over imprudent use of financial resources, but that's not the same as feeling guilty.

  8. #18
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    I try not to feel guilt and other forms of self-flagellation, but I regularly succumb to regret.

  9. #19
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Please articulate the difference between guilt and regret.


    I’ll start: I have guilt when I’m responsible for something I didn’t want to happen, Causes negativity for others.


    I have regret when I wish I didn’t do something that cost an outcome affecting only me.???…???

    Someone else can do a better job than I did.

  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Guilt and regret are both forms of remorse, but guilt is your conscience telling you you shouldn't have done something, and regret is "guilt-lite". I think it's more driven by melancholy and thwarted desire.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

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