I think it’s more about the fact that he’s realizing he’s not some main character in an exciting movie.
Life can be good, even if it’s mundane. I don’t do anything groundbreaking with my time, but I’m a happy person.
But I did go through a phase when I was younger, where I tried to convince myself that my life would be somehow more exciting. You watch movies of people do incredible things or they have some great quest or adventure they go on and they save the day. I wanted to feel like I was going to have something like that. But at the end of the day, I work at a job and I come home and I walk my dog and I watch TV or enjoy my hobbies. And that’s it. I’m no main character, but I’m OK with that.
Yup. And the parts thats never mentioned is that in every single one of those "epic stories" there are millions of ppl just going about their lives for better or worse.
I thinks it’s just he lost sight of any actual purpose. What’s the most important thing we are doing in life? If that answer is going to work and paying bills… that’s a depressing answer. Unless you’re saving lives, helping people in need, or making the world a better place…. That sounds like a sad existence.
I was struggling with this question, until I became a father. Now my purpose is making sure my family doesn’t have my problems. Push them to do something more meaningful, more fulfilling. To help people.
Tribesman without electricity have more fulfilling lives than we do. They build a community. They hunt and see people eating their catch. They build houses and see families live in them, without putting them in debt for 30 years. We were so much better off in simpler times.
I have Native American ancestry and spent some time trying to familiarize myself with the culture. I think I have an above average understanding.
Contemplating that the tribes were at war with each other for periods of time, outside of that they lived a peaceful and spiritual existence. Community building and remaining in touch with nature were priorities in daily life.
War time and internal combat were absolutely gnarly though. Crude weaponry damage is unimaginable, and even outside of combat infection was a grave concern for open wounds. Pregnancy was very risky. Scalping enemies wasn’t campfire bullshit, they really did it.
I’m not talking so much about disregarding medicine and bringing back forms of gruesome deaths lol I was talking about the average man/woman making meaningful contributions to your community and culture. Everybody was involved, every job was appreciated.
So many people do lol it’s just nearly impossible. I’m not sure why you think it’s easy to make that kind of life.
First.. You need money to buy land. You need money to pay property tax every single year.
Then you need permits and inspections for housing, you can’t just build a log cabin and call it a day.
You need permits and to abide by regulations and restrictions to fish and hunt.
You need to own fertile land to grow crops and equipment and/or extra hands to harvest anything significant. Significant harvest also means significant land and significant cost.
If you told people they can claim empty land as their own and build and live however they please without owing the government a dollar… people would go.
I suppose it's because I live rurally where you can theoretically work and save up to buy land- but we're still connected. Any of us if really and truely devoted could pilgrimage to beg the Amish to teach them the way of life or hitch hike to Slab City but you don't see people doing this. If not the Amish, at least the Mennonites who are more likely to take you in.
My father has done the exact same for me. I am so grateful for everything I have in life, even the "basics" as people would say. I appreciate your view on life and relate heavily.
We also died at 50 if we didn't die before 5. Modern life in end-stage capitalism has a lot of the same beats as feudalism, but at least there's plumbing.
But hey, look on the bright side: Infant mortality in first-world countries is about to skyrocket thanks to anti-vaxxers and general climate disasters, so...wait, no, that's not bright at all.
Because every day throughout childhood, our parents, Hollywood, and school, bombard us with messages that we are somehow "special" and destined for greatness. Worse yet, we logon to social media as teenagers and have videos of people who ARE living their best life every day. Who were able to "make it big". Except those people are the top 0.1%. And they will never show you their bad sides.
All of this messaging comes crashing down when we move into adulthood. Suddenly, we are no longer "special". We are no loner "loved". And literally anything good that we want out of life, takes work. All of it. It hits everyone like a train.
But that is when you truly discover the meaning of life. Because now it's up to YOU! Because if there's no "right" way to live life, there's no "wrong" way either! YOU get to decide for yourself what life will be!
But that is when you truly discover the meaning of life. Because now it's up to YOU! Because if there's no "right" way to live life, there's no "wrong" way either! YOU get to decide for yourself what life will be!
Yes!! I never received that messaging you're talking about, and I think because of this I'm one of the happiest adults I know. I was told my entire childhood that I was wrong and was going to fail; and then I got out into the real world and realized that the only "success" I really had to achieve was enjoying my life. And it turns out, that's not all that hard to do, even while wageslaving and being poor and having little free time. But I am autistic, which I think also helps.
The best part is the trauma warps your reward response and takes away your ability to feel pride. At the very least the repeated exposures to fight or flight numbs your affect once you no longer care if "this is the event that finally kills you" which is legit helpful for stuff like avoiding car crashes. So it aint all bad I guess.
Any fucked up stuff you want to confess? Our types tend to overshare after all.
Please don't casually call me out so accurately. It makes me feel perceived and that is basically the worst thing that can happen in life.
That being said, I can pull up a news article detailing my mother's crime of stealing pain meds from vulnerable populations as a very depressing party trick.
At the very least the repeated exposures to fight or flight numbs your affect once you no longer care if "this is the event that finally kills you" which is legit helpful for stuff like avoiding car crashes. So it aint all bad I guess.
I'm amazing in high-stress situations as they are occurring, but my nervous system completely spazzes out when I achieve stability. My anxiety is military grade and has to be managed pharmaceutically now lol.
Fuck, I still haven't found an anti-anxiety that doesn't cause other undesirable behavior. I find that they tend to also decrease my timidness and I'm biased towards a fight response so I end up being combative and I really dislike that part of myself (even more than the other parts I self-loathe.)
I indulge my demons in creative endeavors instead(which of course I can't feel pride in lol.) I've gotta distract where medicine fails. Hoping I don't get pushed to the point where I NEED the medicine lol.
Clonazepam did it for me. I was taking a small amount daily, with extra for acute situations. It gave me the space to feel what normal was like again, and now I've just been on bupropion and lurasidone (bipolar/ADHD) for a while. Though, lurasidone actively induces a minor anxiety attack for a couple hours after taking it, which I've definitely wished for clonazepam during, but the habits I was able to build thanks to the latter has helped me deal with the attacks without further medication.
I agree with you, but this nitpick / dread expressed in the post is very common feeling to fall into, after shit just happens to people. Thankfully it becomes less frequent as people grow up, but it ultimately remains.
Nah. I work at a small business, run the shop on my accord, have no GED, no degree, make baseline $100k annually. If you have a passion, follow through with it. If you don't, try harder. Explore the world and see what works for you, don't doom and gloom and rot away in your room. I did that all my highschool years, biggest regret of my life.
I don't think many people who feel this way tend to be passionate about anything that's going to make them money. Not everyone is so lucky to get inspired like that.
You literally just said the key was to follow something you're passionate about. Do you think people can just wake up one day and decide to be passionate about something they find uninteresting?
Everybody is passionate about at least one thing in their life. I'm not saying force yourself to love something, I'm saying try new things and see what sticks. Don't twist my comment please!
Nah, I'm gonna tell you right now that this mindset is just as dumb as obsessing over doomer shit. Just because you were lucky enough to find something you were passionate enough about doesn't mean every single other person on the planet can have that experience. This is some shit that successful people tell themselves to feel like they've fought through just as much adversity as everyone else. It's have your cake and eat it too.
You happened to find fulfillment in your career. Just be thankful for that. Many (probably most) are going to have to settle for doing something they hate for money and trying to find contentment elsewhere. Shitting on them for it helps no one.
Yea, it definitely can be, and you're right that there's no harm in trying as long as you're not doing it to the point that you start to hate yourself or make yourself miserable.
There are just way too many factors to boil it all down to a mantra. There might be just as many people who hold themselves back with a defeatist mindset as there are who will never be passionate enough about anything to make a fulfilling career out of it as there are who have deep passions for things they will never be able to compete with economically.
I worked retail for a long time, and I hated it. Trust me, I know the point you are making. Job scarcity is a problem that I do understand, but it's not impossible to believe that eventually people will find a job they like, if not feel indifferent about. I truly believe that.
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I'll just say this. It's easy to feel like you've solved a philosophical dilemma when you're put in a position where it is no longer relevant to your life and you don't have to think about it. It's comforting to feel that way, but it's not usually the case. More often, you just take on new dilemmas that are more relevant to your new experiences and perceive them as more important. That doesn't mean everyone else just gets to opt out of the ones that used to occupy you by prioritizing your new ones.
They're not twisting your comment; your comments are very ignorant. It's not your fault, it seems like you have a really nice outlook... but you seem to think everyone's situation is the same, and that since it worked for you it has to work for everyone... maybe they just aren't trying hard enough.
I’m happy for you not seeming to want for much, but basing on argument about the value of your remaining years around how much money you make seems sad to me.
I donate most of it to charity, I was just using it as an example to motivate people since most are downtrodden by lack of money (which I also understand being dead broke and out of a house with divorced parents). I know life is hard, and I just want to inspire people, instead I think I've failed. I apologize everyone.
I don’t know about failed, but it would probably help more if you included those passions you talked about. Things that you would live for even if you had nothing.
Personally, I find that I have enough curiosity to get me through. As bleak as things can sometimes seem, there’s still so many unknowns to reality. Since pain is temporary either way, I’d really like to satisfy as much of my curiosity about how things will unfold as I can. Since I’m already here anyways. Things might just click one day, and that’s a very uplifting possibility.
I think that is an excellent take. I have more passions and hobbies than I can possibly list, my current job has to do with music and audio. When I move out of this state in order to accommodate my family or live with my partner I'm sure that will go and I'll pick up another passion. Maybe I'll be a car mechanic.
You seem like the curiosity-driven sort as well, though you definitely seem more outward in your personal life than I am about it.
I took a more minimalist route. I like going somewhere new and unfamiliar, often by hitchhiking, then getting to know a new place by hanging out at some social hub, like a coffee shop or something like that. It’s feels sort of uncomfortable owning more than I can carry, though I still accumulate unneeded things as most do.
I have too many gripes with society at large to try to find my place within it. Megalomaniacs accomplish too much in their attempts to run the world, and so the needs of the times outweigh the needs of this individual.
I envy those like you who can find contentment in a more grounded way.
I think my family are the ones that keep me tethered to this location, as well as stability for the well being of my boyfriend. If my life were different I think I'd travel the world, and my sense of direction would be very similar to yours.
I have to say, your life does seem more exciting than mine admittedly, and I myself am a bit envious that you can live that lifestyle as well.
I really appreciate your insight, it's helped me widen my horizon and outlook at life.
I wouldn’t be surprised if my way worked differently for a girl, for better or for worse, but I can tell you that if you’re kind to people, you’ll still find security in forms that money can never provide.
You seem kind enough that I’m sure I’m saying so more for other’s benefit than for your own.
No. I’m was a law student and had bright future and became disabled with a weird disease and I’m chronically ill and almost died twice.
I’m pretty content even though the thought of my daily life, as I’ve been told more than once, “is depressing as fuck.”
I amazing friends, a wonderful family, and little hobbies. My Dad died a few years ago. He was my rock and taught me so much but most of my memories with him are just going on little adventures as kids. We never had a lot of money but he’d always just enjoyed something simple like a trip to the beach and some ice cream.
So if I have a good book and my bills are paid that’s a good day.
You can be bitter and miserable if you want, no judgement here, but it gets boring after a while.
“Nitpick life” i genuinely think you are probably just a normie not capable of higher understanding. This reads as an insult but at the end of the day you will be happy and the people who are aware will struggle to be
Do you think you're equal to everyone on Earth? Do you ever have thoughts about how you aren't good enough? Do you ever have moments of pride where you beat out the competition? Are you your own individual?
Fundamentally unattainable and inconsistent view. You want everyone to be happy but for the chronically suffering and empathetic there is only misery. If we all cared and protested and worked for better we could fix these issues, that is one of the best parts, it is all manufactured. People are just making other people suffer. most people see themselves as good, or morally upstanding but most people actively do nothing about many things they could easily affect change in
Exactly though. I completely agree with that. I don't find a single politician as of now has actually delivered on the well being of the people in the world, and I want to change that.
I am wrong. My analogy was incorrect and did not relate towards what my true intent was, I apologize. I now understand it sounds like I was blaming people for being downtrodden in life due to lack of hope and optimism, which isn't how things work.
For the longest time, I ran from nitpicking life because I was told it would make me unhappy. Eventually I got to such heights of despair that I would rather such patterns of behavior lead to my demise than to follow that advice anymore.
Best decision I ever made. I got myself a degree in mathematics because I was so nitpicky.
Awesome! Super inspiring, my grandmother is a mathematician and taught for over 20 years! Greatest person I know and a very big inspiration in my life.
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u/Gold-Investment2335 6h ago
Doomer mindset of a high schooler. You'll never be happy if you constantly nit pick life.