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zombipwnr45 t1_isromva wrote

Reply to comment by thrustaway_ in The benefits of doing nothing | An overactive 'life drive' endlessly seeks expansion, inevitably leads to burnout, and drains us of the energy needed to truly progress. Finding the time to do nothing is essential to reassessing who we are and who we want to be. by IAI_Admin

Dang. I was JUST thinking that.

That is crazy to see that someone who also saw this post at this point in their life makes a comment that sounds like something I would be commenting in here. We’re about the same age, I think.

How do you fill your days dealing with the ying and yang of that kind of lifestyle? New hobbies? Reading? TV? Side hustles?

I deal with that constantly, accepting that nothing is okay, and then what? I don’t want to stare at a wall for extended periods, what’s beneficial, how well should I be using my time? Crazy.

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thrustaway_ t1_issh4xh wrote

Great minds think alike, hah. It's honestly a bit of a struggle to force myself to engage when I know deep down that the 'normalcy' of, say, the mid-10s is probably gone forever. That we're headed toward an existential abyss and I'm powerless to alter that trajectory.

At the same time, I also know passively doomscrolling social media is doing me no favors. Sometimes I just shut it all down, grab the dogs and go hiking on my work breaks, or just wander around DC aimlessly.

I want to get in to minor woodworking, like shadowboxes, small resin pours etc. And I want to finally learn to use one of my Arduinos to set up an automated irrigation system for gardening next spring.

Beyond that, it's a lot of what you mentioned - I've made a conscious effort to go watch classic films I always used to pretend I'd seen. I play a lot of simulators on PC, like Cities: Skylines, where I can make towns in which I'd want to live. I go through spells of obsessively playing Rocket League still, even though I've probably maxed out my abilities in Diamond I. Euro Truck Sim 2 and American Truck Sim are great for zenning out and just enjoying the ride.

Lastly, something I've been thinking a lot about, is getting back into music production. It was the only thing that really brought me joy when I was a teenager dealing w/depression, and I probably pumped out around 100 crude tracks between 16 and 19. But now I'm mid-30s, haven't produced anything in about 5 years and I can't explain why. It always gave me a sense of pride and wonderment to see a project through, send it off to my musician buddies and hear their positive feedback. Plus, if I do have kids, I want to be able to show them who I am, and not just leave it a mystery. Something tangible and personal, even if the music itself ages horribly. Hah. I think that's what I'll focus on next.

Cheers for the inspiration!

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zombipwnr45 t1_isuz1ym wrote

Haha holy smokes man, sounds like we were brothers born on opposite sides of the country😂.

The escape during the day to nature, I go for rides personally. I got into woodwork and other similar projects in the last little bit as well as arduinos and other mechatronic based hobbies too!

Films and artsy anime that friends have recommended was what I was filling time with. Spirited away and Cowboy Bepop and stuff like that that I still haven’t finished. Roller coaster tycoon has been good, I had the old remake on my phone for a while.

That’s hilarious that diamond is your ceiling too, my buddy and I have been trying to break into diamond 3 for months now.

I haven’t messed with FL Studio since high school though personally. Sorry, don’t mean to go on, just your first comment resonated so much with me, and now hearing that it sounds like we’re very similar people is even more funny.

If you ever want to chat or mess around in Rocket League DM me! I’d love to chat and see what else we have in common and haven’t tried. Maybe we can bounce new hobbies or ideas off of each other. 👍

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