Anyone else feel like ~99% of their life was kind of wasted?
In the last year or so I started to see so many people of my age that have done truly incredible things and still doing more.
For the vast majority of my life my only goals were gettimg academic satisfaction and doing unproductive stuff in the free time to get temporary pleasure. No end goal whatsoever.
I kind of don't know what I've been doing in the last 17 years while someone gets a patent on solar systems, other invents a new recyclable plastic, and another found a successful startup. I mean, they all find what they're supposed to be doing with their lives and excel in them.
I feel overwhelmed for trying to pace up with these kind of people. Yet I don't like the way the things are and I can't do anything but envy those people.
Anyone with experience in this regard? How did you deal with this? Did you eventually "pace up" with these people or was it too late or an unattainable goal?
Edit: Whoops, I didn't expect so many replies! Thanks, I'll look into them all
Without getting super philosophical, what do you believe the goal of life is?
It's very easy to look at people that are allegedly achieving more than us and believe that there is something wrong with us or that we can do more, etc. This type of comparisons invite introspection and can be helpful sometimes to motivate oneself, but most of the times they are a road to depression.
Here is how I look at it: if I died tomorrow would I be okay with who I am? Of course I want to do more, grow, make an impact, etc, but ultimately IMHO life is about whatever you want it to be. There is no ultimate goal, there is no recipe, we ultimately all die.
Enjoy life right now. Don't worry too much about what other people are doing and create your own meaning.
I think my life goal is getting myself satisfied. Just getting more achievements to boost ego, and feeling pride etc.
Idk that's just how life looks like to me. I don't even seem to care about much else
how do you get yourself satisfied? you figure that out and you basically figured out what you want to do in life.
more prestige, more money, more external validation etc.
anything that sounds cool enough from outside. or anything that I can point at as "look, i spent x years here and here is how i spent my time with"
eg. founding a startup as a highscholer is a good example. or doing some serious research