What is this post about? Somebody who finally is able to prioritize his life? Having standards is great but this is a stupid philosophy for life... Alternatives and compromise are important in many decisions, and your maximum level of interest may not always be the best factor to weigh your options.
I wouldn't be so fast to dismiss it as a 'stupid philosophy for life'.
It's one thing when you have people depending on you, a family to feed, a house to upkeep, etc. But if you're just in college or grad school, or for any other reason aren't being depended on, then this might be a good way to decide what you want in your life.
I certainly found that since I recently started thinking about this, it's improved my life.
For instance, I was recently trying to pick a martial art to start learning, and after seeing a few Wushu schools, I saw my Capoeira school. While the Wushu schools seemed, 'ehhh, pretty good I guess', the Capoeira school was an instant 'Hell yeah!' - so now I'm doing Capoeira and having a beyond great time. I had the same experience with finding a job last summer, and, similarly, greatly enjoyed it when I found one.
In summary: sure, this might not be the best way to live if you have significant responsibilities to others, but if you are trying to enjoy your life and are living freely this may be a great philosophy to adopt.
I guess I just can't get past the fact that you can easily make an unwise decision this way by overlooking practicality. You see a couple options you're not very interested in, and then one you are very interested in, and you pick it without hesitation?
I know i'd like to learn Tae-Kwon Do, but I also know my primary motivation for learning a martial art (beside the art itself) is to get in shape physically. From what I understand Muay Thai is a much better cardio workout. Tae-Kwon Do might be more fun but it wouldn't benefit me as much as the Muay Thai (not to mention kickboxing is probably more useful in a real fight).
So to reiterate my original statement: I think you can end up making the wrong decision if it's based purely upon excitement in an idea and not practical information which may be less exciting. I acknowledge your point that it may make your life more fun, but as i've learned growing up, doing things that aren't fun are often more important.
I definitely agree with a lot of the things you're pointing out, so I'm guessing the real truth (if there can be one) is the usual: everything is good in moderation.
Doing things that aren't fun is often important (well, how else would we deal with things like taxes, or marketing for tech startups, or etc etc); equally, if you live based only on what is important (rather than letting yourself do what sounds fun), you might not have a very pleasant or rewarding lifestyle.
It's really too bad we can't come up with a lifestyle philosophy in under 144 characters, since we have to compromise all the time. (Although I guess that could be one: "Everything in moderation" is only 24 characters.)
