Jokes aside... This is my personal philosophy & probably won't align with everyone's. As someone who started science quite young, I realized quite early that beyond societal issues, literally nothing is "meaningful"... If Earth itself will be gone in a few billion years, might as well practice some optimistic nihilism and do some stuff with whatever life I have. There's still stuff to do even if society doesn't prioritize ppl like me
@yuunikki please schedule an appointment with a therapist because you are demonstrating signs of depression in your post/comment history. The internet is not qualified to be your therapist.
In regards to focus and typing speed, laptops seem to do it best for me. My laptop is usually in sleep, and my desktop off, so it’s much faster to bring it from sleep and do what I need to do. A laptop, too, was my first computer, so I feel fairly comfortable with the experience unless I really need a mouse. Desktops are insanely comfortable, though, and I guess primarily that’s what I’d use, but thankfully I can do about equal things on both outside of gaming, so it’s mainly about how I’m feeling at the time.
I’ve been having that feel too as well as with immediate future choices. I finally might be able to buy a house, but I’m in Florida. So do I put money, time, and effort into a house that’ll be under water when I get done paying it off (assuming it isn’t destroyed by a hurricane), or do I seriously start looking at moving jobs/states to even have a chance at having a house that will be there in 15 to 20 years? Renting seems like an even worse option since this last year has proven they can just charge 50-100% more and get away with it. And once the house thing gets “solved”, now I have to wonder if we ever get our shit together and stop destroying everything in and including the world so the house thing even matters. Idk. This is just a paragraph meant to vent. I don’t have an answer for you, because any sane person almost has this gnawing constantly in their heads. Personally, I’ve just made goals that have been bettering myself and my surroundings as well as the people around me. As for why? I’m not religious, so at this point I figure if I do my best, I can one day die happy knowing I at least tried to do something.
The point is your gained wisdom through experience. That’s what the old people always tried to tell us.
Are you going to solve any of those problems? No. Are you going to be able to join some organization or movement that solves them? Probably no. Will you be able to affect any change that the world will take notice of? Probably not.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a part of it. Not everything that has value makes meaningful changes on the world. There was a French artist, Marcel Duchamps, who once exhibited a urinal. This was clearly not an attempt to move art in any direction, or change public perception, he was kinda just being an asshole. But it had that effect anyway. People still get pissy about it, in the form of, “Is it art?” conversations. Is it? Doesn’t matter. It was a low effort one-off idea that has lasted for decades.
Life isn’t actually a race to see how much you can achieve. And if it was that, then it wouldn’t be measured by money. It wouldn’t be measured by “legacy,” the way we use that word for rich people and sports stars. If it really was a contest, then it would be based on how much good you can manage in the face of constant depressive onslaught.
The world has never seemed like it has a point to most people. But they try their best, and they make meaningful impact on the lives of others, often without intention or even knowledge of having done so .
One of my most influential people has no idea that he did anything. He’s around somewhere, although I haven’t seen him for 20 years. All he did was treat me like a person when I was a dumb teenager (not to say all teenagers are dumb, but I was). It really wasn’t much. But I hadn’t been treated that way before, so to me it’s influential because it was something he did that he didn’t have to do.
That guy is not going to be lying on his deathbed thinking, “At least I was a good influence on scared of planes.” For all I know, he doesn’t remember me. Doesn’t matter. He spread some good into the world. That’s your job. That’s your point.
Just be a better you tomorrow than you are today, as many days as you can manage. Know that no one does that every day. And you’ll live a meaningful life that maybe has influence. Your legacy is you.
OP I would read the above comment a couple times and anytime you’re feeling down. Especially the part about just being a positive influence on those around you, that’s all most of us can hope for. Be the light in the darkness, as they say.
In addition to these methods of finding some peace within, I’d also say that the world is not as bad as it sometimes seems. It’s difficult because “bad news” generates more outrage and clicks. And as you said the world is indeed run by money, so we get it shoved in our faces a lot. But there is always good too. By my estimate, I’d say about 2/3 of people just want to live a life of peace and fellowship with their neighbors, friends, and family. The other third kinda suck. But hey, they scream the loudest and seek out positions where they can abuse power, so we end up hearing about them and being influenced by them more.
The world has problems, no doubt. Climate change is real and it’s going to affect our lives for a number of generations, but it probably won’t be the end of humanity. We’ll adapt, and with any luck the technology that is being worked on today will save us from the worst of it. Species going extinct is sad, but it’s also a normal part of evolution and has happened for millions of years without our help. Our ignorance and negligence has exacerbated the problem and is directly responsible for the extinction of many species, I get it, that sucks. But we’ve also rescued many from the brink of extinction. Most folks aren’t evil, we’re just a little dumb, and greedy.
War, poverty, corruption, again big setbacks to humanity, but, whether it makes you feel any better or not, these things are consistent throughout all of human history. Remember, 1/3 of people kinda suck. However there’s an argument to be made that none of these issues are as bad today as they have been in the past. I think of all of the above as our room for improvement as a species, something to be hopeful for.
It’s important to be mindful of our shortcomings, but don’t beat yourself up by focusing on them all the time. Instead, consider all the good that we’ve accomplished. Medicine, civil rights, scientific discoveries, technology, art in its many forms, advancements for the disabled, we’re coming up on robotic limbs and hands controlled by your mind, that is simply incredible. In nearly every way the quality of life today vastly exceeds what it did even just 150 years ago, and the average person today lives better than kings of yesterday. Air conditioning? Cold, clean drinking water? A hot shower??! If I were shoved back in time and couldn’t ever take a hot shower… well I’d be very very upset.
TLDR; Yea, sometimes we suck pretty hard. But there are people doing good in the world every single day, and we have come a long way already from our worst habits and living conditions. It’s entirely fair to be optimistic about and fight for the future you want to see.
Well said. I would also add that for me, stopping my consumption of news has dramatically increased my happiness. The news outlets only spread negative fear mongering bs. Most of it you can't change. I stopped consuming negative media and its helped a ton.
Indeed, be the change you want to see in the world.
That aside, life does become more bearable when you build up your skillet, make more money, and are able to mesh into the bullshit with a bit more ease, which in turn helps to afford more fun which helps tune out the bullshit. Unfortunately, the assholes have made the game about money, so the sooner one comes to grips with that and starts playing into it a bit, life becomes a little more manageable. It sucks, but it is what it is.
Anything that would be improved by paint is on the table at a thought.
Likely way to powerful in a combat sense. You could tag enemy combatiants on a battlefield in dayglo orange or turn the whole landscape into that zebra ship paint they used in ww2. Hell, you could just turn everything bright white during the day and black at night except the enemy. Would be a nightmare.
I’ve had this exact same thought for so much of my life and it’s always made me feel a little better. We all get there eventually, no need to rush it, may as well just find out what comes next.
You’re right. I’d suggest changing your last question slightly: why bother worrying anymore? If you can acknowledge these problems, recognise you’re powerless, and instead focus on your own personal happiness and wellbeing, you might find a bit more purpose and a little less doom and gloom in your life.
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