The reason for my posting isn't as serious or as dramatic as many here, and I don't mean to seek anything but advice. Essentially I am bored with my life and I don't know what to do.
Ps the Toblerone logo has a bear in it.
In a couple of months I'll be 28. I work within the technology sector, on a graduate programme (I did a post grad slightly late). I earn a decent wage - 37k, made all the better by the cost of living here, and my career prospects are pretty decent, if I apply myself. I have a long term girlfriend of 6 years who earns less but is more settled in her career. I work a 9-5. My hobbies are, in a word, 'indoor', but despite this I'm reasonably healthy.
I've been doing this for a few years now, and after struggling post uni with all sorts of setbacks and tragedy, my very loving, very worrisome parents (or mum) are all very pleased and hopeful I continue as I do.
Notably, in the past 6 months I suffered the loss of a few family members. None of which were close to me, but for some reason this led me into what was a kind of, if not actual, existential crisis. I was on a heavy dose of everything and obsessed with death. I feared the non existence of it. I've worked my way out of that now, but one thing it's made me do is re assess my current life, it's made realise this is all very boring, and that perhaps I wasn't afraid of dying but of not living.
I don't care for the corporate ladder. I don't want to spend my life in an office, I don't care about earning more than I do. I want experiences, I want to learn, I want to contribute to something meaningful and rewarding. The problem is I just don't know what to do. Where to go? My Gf is very settled, she doesn't want to do anything crazy. She listens to me understandingly and can see sense in what I'm saying but at the end of the day all she wants to do is chill on the sofa. Big plans are for another time.
I love learning. I think that is my main stat, my strength. I'm good at learning, I have a broad knowledge but not a deep knowledge of anything. I'm technical. I like the idea of working remotely. But doing what?
I think what I'm going through is almost a universal thing people in more prigiledge societies go through, perhaps even particularly at my age. But I get the impression it's a worry that people either work out of, or eventually hide away.
>I think what I'm going through is almost a universal thing people in more prigiledge societies go through, perhaps even particularly at my age. But I get the impression it's a worry that people either work out of, or eventually hide away.
I think you've nailed it there honestly.
If you're realistic, what are the alternatives? You're always going to have to make money somehow, so unless you find a way to become completely financially independent you're never going to be able to escape that feeling that you're missing out on some other aspects of life by sacrificing your time to work, to the god of mamon.
I think this feeling is particularly acute for those of us who have grown up watching escapist TV shows and reading wonderful things about the outer world on the internet, seeing people's travelling photos on social media and the like. This is pure conjecture, but I suspect the existential angst was much less acute for the generations before us who largely grew up, settled, and died in their hometown; in essence because they would be less painfully aware what they were missing.
I was going to say to a lad in another thread but forgot about it- I think what truly gives people contentment in life is having something to work towards. Financially stable lad thought he was happy because he'd gotten himself a good job and started working out, but that's not really true- The thing that made him feel good was the feeling of progress. His savings account is almost directly analogous to watching an EXP bar slowly fill up, the "security" and "freedom" it offers really has little to do with it.
Throughout your life up until adulthood, settling in with your partner and ending up in that steady work week routine, you've always had a goal you're progressing to. Set yourself a new one.
>I want experiences, I want to learn, I want to contribute to something meaningful and rewarding. The problem is I just don't know what to do.
>I love learning. I think that is my main stat, my strength. I'm good at learning, I have a broad knowledge but not a deep knowledge of anything. I'm technical. I like the idea of working remotely. But doing what?
Just try something. It sounds daft and/or blindingly obvious, but figuring out what you want to do with your time is a process of trial and error. Get the course brochure for your local FE college, pick an evening class that sounds interesting and have a go. Whether you love it, hate it or just think it's kind of meh, you'll learn something about your interests and motivations that will help to guide you in a meaningful direction.
Well start going on some holidays. Not beach crap, but places that might seem interesting or a bit different, just Easyjet destinations if you want to keep the cost down.
>>29420 To elaborate from a still drunk but less bitchy perspective: the human mind has a tendency to grasp toward the future and chase flashy ephemera, ever seeking, ever grasping. It seems to me that a lot of people fall into the trap of perpetual grasping, when what they should really be doing is taking a step back and living in the eternity of the present moment (hippy-dippy language gradually making more sense the more you meditate). There's a nice Zen saying which goes something like this: "What, at this moment, is lacking?"
Try reading something from Eckhart Tolle or Michael Singer and see if their ideas make sense to you. I'm posting this while drunk so I'm far from a practicing preacher, but hopefully you can orient yourself toward a less superficial and materialistic direction.
