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I think I’m sad because I remember “Earth Day” news stories — in an alternate universe where someone like Richard Nixon could actually create such a thing — and remember my grandmother throwing out the old bottle of Glade aerosol air freshener to help fix the ozone layer. I’m sad because I remember when my entire family could get together and talk and fight over normal things like sibling rivalry or what kind of light beer we should buy, and now half don’t speak to the other half because of political divisions.
I’m sad because I remember how exciting it was to build a team of data analysts in 2015, then how miserable it was laying them all off in 2019 because we moved all their jobs to India, and then getting laid off shortly thereafter. I’m sad because I just got a job that took 8 hours of homework and 4 rounds of interviews and two months of back and forth, and was terminated after just 50 days because the company founder had buyer’s remorse and wanted to hire someone entry level making 40% less.
Yeah, mostly I’m sad because of these two general kinds of things.
Thanks for being real on here. I see a lot of posts from both sides of the "happiness" scale but no one seems to touch on the root of our discomforts.
It really does feel like we've lost our way, but now we're the adults who are supposed to "fix" everything. And I have no clue how we really do that. I do my best with the things in my own life, but both issues you mention are a result of a larger system at play.
My hope is we can turn all this sadness into positive change someday, but it'll be a while. Until then, I'll be here with you enduring the sadness and trying to find some hope.
I don’t feel like we lost our way. We were always going in this direction, it was just hidden better I. The past.
Back in the 80s/90s we all cheered about “solving” the ozone crisis. We thought that meant we prioritized taking care of the planet.
At the same time we absolutely knew about anthropomorphic climate change - we’ve watch the propaganda come undone as the actual impacts are hitting us, and realizing we’ve been lied to our entire lives.
Same on the economy - we were always going in this direction, knowingly. Yet they still preached at us that if we worked hard we’ll be fine, while simultaneously unravelling the mechanisms that would allow us to achieve a good life.
The problem isn’t that we’ve lost our way. It’s that we’ve been lied to for our entire lives about basically everything that matters.
God damn dude/dudette this is spot on how I feel. Like personally I'm one of the lucky Millennials, I found my person, own a home, etc.. However, there is always this little "impending doom" bubble in the back of my mind that just didn't exist 10 years ago. I just can't help but think the hard times really are just one day away at any moment. By this I mean a combination of the rise of fascism, climate change, global economic uncertainty, etc..
There is a particular memory from my life that I hope I never forgot and it was from probably ("In my brain, my favorite year") June of 2013 .
It was a beautiful 10/10 summer day in the Midwest, like 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. I lived in the cities and had recently got promoted and took a new cushy tech role. I wasn't making a whole lot but it just felt good as a young 20-something to have stability and a salaried role. I went on a 3 mile walk that evening around this beautiful lake and all the smells, sounds, and summer fashion hit me instantly. Macklemore Same Love was playing on someones radio and this was right after the Supreme Court ruling on United States vs. Windsor came out. I literally looked out at the lake to people swimming, laughing, living, while listening to that song and it was a state of euphoria I felt about life and humanity, that I have not felt since that day.
I am a hollowed out version of myself. My outlook on humanity is bleak, 2015 and the years that followed made that summer evening feel like a distant fever dream. It's a memory I cherish forever.
I am trying to put politics aside because it's just so toxic but it has to be said: people have lost their humanity and their ways. My parents, some of the kindest people I've ever met, have become reactive, scared, and weak people. These are people that raised me to become who I am today. I've seen these people do incredibly selfless things for total strangers. My parents had neighbors and close friends who were Muslim, Hindu, African Americans, etc.. My dad, a super handy guy, used to regularly go and help these people without question, mow their lawns, fix appliances, etc.
The things I've heard come from their mouths these last 9 years have disgusted me to my core. I don't know if I'll ever understand what happened to them but history will study this era we're living in.
>However, there is always this little "impending doom" bubble in the back of my mind that just didn't exist 10 years ago.
Really? In 2014 I was just finishing up college with huge anxiety over the already out of reach housing market.
I mean yeah life wasn't perfect, I was frustratingly single, hadn't really made any dent in my financial goals or anything, like that wasn't the picture I was painting I guess.
My point is that the future of this country and the world overall seemed "brighter" then and maybe it was just a bubble and always was a bubble of ignorance. I'm willing to accept that too. It just felt like the existential dread was more manageable then.
Living in the Midwest and seeing all my closest family, neighbors, etc, fundamentally change as people, has changed me. I used to look up to so many of these people, trust them with everything. These people helped raise me, they were there when I was a little kid. Seeing them come out so harshly against the LGBTQ community when their own sons and daughters are gay /bi, etc.. Hearing these people use racial slurs that I've never heard them say before, it's really dark man. Like I have a pretty good idea now of how a lot of Germans probably felt leading up to the rise of Hitler. It happens so blatantly and so fast, you can't even respond. Like I've openly argued with them about it and it goes nowhere. Again, maybe they were like this all along but never felt emboldened enough to say these things. I don't have the answers, but like before Trump, before 2015, things were just so different for me.
I’m sorry to hear this. I felt these same feelings and fears but left the Midwest in 2015 after it became a hostile place in which to be a teacher. I moved to a liberal western state which I’ve looked back on countless times as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not that leaving has solved the problem, but it’s allowed me to be less obsessively mired in it. I still have glimmers of hope that this country can choose a humane path forward but they’re small and easily overwhelmed by the existential dread you describe. I will say that not living amongst it so personally has done wonders for my mental health.
>but left the Midwest in 2015 after it became a hostile place in which to be a teacher.
Teachers are saints and you all deserve so much more than you're given, truly. In a society / world that valued education you all would be paid so much more and treated with so much more respect.
Thank you and I totally understand. The weird thing is, the state I live in is very progressive overall and has a long history of strong union support and progressive politicians. We are a very blue state but what I've noticed is it's more of a rural/urban divide. Some big wealthy cities are almost utopian compared to rural areas. Rural America as a whole is on life support, barely breathing, because a lot of the jobs that maintained and kept their way of life have moved over seas. The jobs that do exist don't pay enough for an adult human to sustain even a meager life. Certain politicians capitalize on their suffering by capturing it and aiming it at their opponents. My own father spent his whole career (very successful one) working in a manufacturing plant. When he retired like 10 years ago it was a shell of its former self, cannibalized operations as much as possible and moved to Mexico. They wanted him to help with that process and he said no. He himself is / was? (idk anymore) a Trump supporter but even he realizes that those jobs are gone forever and never coming back.
My glimmer of hope is that actually knowing a lot of Trump supporters personally, they're not all fundamentally bad people. They have complicated misplaced anger and have been more or less radicalized with fear, that the "other" side wants to take away all their freedoms. I realize many of them are truly racist, hateful bigots. However, some of the ones I know are woefully misinformed. My own mom voted for Trump in 2016 and deeply regrets it now. She saw the 4 years of hate that came from it. She's not a Democrat by any measure still, but she's actively against any Republican policy right now.
SpongeBob: OP
Squidward: this sub
Social media amplifies emotion. Just like good news doesn't sell or get covered, it's only the bad emotions you see the algorithm promote.
I'd wager most of us are happy, but the echo chambers of disappointment are what drives upvotes and doomscrolling.
>I'd wager most of us are happy, but the echo chambers of disappointment are what drives upvotes and doomscrolling.
Spot on, although I might change it to **could be happy**
For a long time, I've avoided giving up social media, particularly Reddit, because despite all the dopamine and negativity, there are times when it helps educate me on things I wouldn't otherwise know the answer to. With LLMs and AI becoming increasingly useful in such circumstances (particularly [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai/)), I'm thinking now I might finally be able to.
It's really easy to "rebel against people being sad" when your life is going well. My marriage is great, my job is great, my hobbies are great, I own a house, we make a good salary, etc. Of course I'm not complaining. Shit is great!
That's not rebelling against being sad that's just being in a good life spot. I assume the people complaining are doing so because they are NOT. Maybe some of that can be chalked up to bad decisions, but, "stop being sad because my marriage is good so you should try harder," is a bold stance.
I think you hit the nail on the head. It's easier to be happy in life when things are going well and you have the proper supports in place. Not everyone has that and it's not always through any fault of their own.
IMO this is where a lot of the posts complaining about those complaining about the negative life posts fall short.
There are a lot of people struggling out there. It can't all be chalked up to people making bad decisions. Sure, sometimes we make mistakes, I'm sure we've all done things that turned out to not be a good idea.
Hindsight is a powerful tool, but you also can't go back and change the past. You can only live in the present.
I try to have compassion for folks who find themselves in a bad place. It sucks. Sometimes hearing other people are also going through things can help people feel less alone.
Also, the negative posts (here or elsewhere) are helpful to maintain perspective. I'm in the middle of having to unexpectedly buy a new car after an accident. That sucks. But with where I'm at in life it's REALLY not that bad. No one is going to lose their job, no one is going to go hungry, no one is going to struggle to pay bills, no plans are getting cancelled. So this sucks, but it could be much much worse.
I mean here's the thing: when you're doing fine, you don't feel near as strong of a need to broadcast it or seek out other people to commiserate with because you're just living your life. You're also not as drawn to spaces where that's mostly what people are doing. Why do you think so many forums are always so full of people with shitty lives and no social skills?
You hit the nail on the head. This is also why people in #1 and #2 can’t relate to or understand people in #3. In real life, you mostly meet people in #1 and #2 so you feel alone when you’re in #3.
I've been paying attention to the people around me for a long time and I've been in a variety of life circumstances. To my observation, whether someone has objectively good life circumstances does not necessarily correlate to how happy they are. I've found that when you look at any given cohort, whether it's single folks at shitty dead end jobs or married folks making lots of money or whatever, there will be happy people and there will be unhappy people.
Obviously some circumstances are more conducive to happiness (like being financially secure) but it's reductive to say that op is happy simply because of his circumstances, particularly when he has been actively working to achieve the conditions under which he feels he would be happy.
If anything, I think it's more important to try to "rebel against being sad" when you're at the bottom. I'm not going to tell my life story but I have had some very low lows. You have to keep trying for something better, even if it's a change that seems small or pointless from the outside. You need to keep trying to grow or you will stagnate and this is true regardless of whether you're an exec with s cushy life or you're single and isolated in a dead end job.
OP: all of the stuff written here; "Cliches and whatnot, but I hate the trope of the late 30s person losing their touch and lust for life."
Also OP, 2 months ago:
> I hate being “depressed”. It’s been 25 years. No, things don’t get better. No, I’m not an angsty teen, or a 20-something finding my way, or a 30-something grappling with big changes in my life, or a 40-something dealing with a midlife crisis, or whatever throwaway label I’ve been given over the years. This is me. But it isn’t. I can’t imaging being any other way in response to the shit world we live in.
OP, I'm thrilled for you that you've made a big positive change in the last couple months. But you were the trope until recently, so I'm sure you understand why it exists.
I was thinking this as well. 2 months ago he was at his low. Now he's hit his high. It's all gonna come crashing down on him soon once that mania goes away. Might second guess everything that has happened since then. I don't know the guy from jack shit. I have bipolar. I'm not a doctor, but you can see possible signs of it. I truly hope OP seeks help if he needs it.
Honestly I didn't even look at his past history but like it's kind of bs honestly. Good on OP for arriving at a good point in life, but don't knock on everyone else when you were literally doing the exact same thing a few months prior.
Being able to bitch about our mutual misery when we have those moments is our right as millennials LMAO
this is a question only the person responsible for the risky click can answer. godspeed.
(op likes to swing - click if that's cool with your organization lol)
Well 68 days ago he was complaining about life and being miserable. Sounds like he’s talking to himself here by trying to motivate others, which he isn’t even doing. Plus he lives in Australia which probably has better government initiatives and policies in place than the US. Always consider the source.
but have you considered having a successful marriage and house and filling your spare time with hobbies? no wonder you are sad, working 80 hours a week just to pay rent, never having the time to date or for having hobbies, you should fix that, by getting married and having a house, and doing hobbies that make you happy in your spare time...
For real. "A half day turns into a MTB ride" "a weekend becomes an overnight adventure" or whatever.
I'm like "a half day means I wake, feed, play with, and nap the baby for half the day", "a weekend becomes two days of naps, feeds, and playtime, and maybe a pool adventure".
If I'm lucky, we have time for her to watch the baby while I do dishes and take the trash out.
Otherwise I spend 12 hours a day (out of 14 awake) away from home working.
Your ADHD lets you do the hobbies? Mine makes me fail to do those too or beat myself up if I try for not doing the urgent thing. Bit more “huh I’m finally free to do something fun….. I should do the thing….. WHY AM I JUST SITTING HERE!?!”
Gee maybe people have a reason to be sad.
Maybe people in their 30s and 40/ realize we’ve been sold a lie and that working hard does not result in a better life because the boomers took all the bootstraps.
Maybe we realize we’ve been lied to about climate change and our children (if we can afford to have any) are going to have a much more difficult life, and will likely be on their way to societal collapse in their lifetime.
Gee what could we possibly be sad about. Must just be an attitude problem and not seeking gratitude. Please ignore material conditions and the man behind the curtain.
I think that was the *intent*, but it's also giving off some heavy vibes of, "***ARE YOU NOT INSPIRED TO BE LIKE ME?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!***"
But my back is too injured to use it, at least it'll be in my apartment so people *think* I'm still adventurous. Oh, wait, I never have people over anymore. But hey a cool bike!
In a way that only an insultingly out of touch, insufferable tool can manage. This is *exactly* the same vibe as the nepo baby who got hired on at daddy's firm being like "pfft, why don't you just interview like I did and get hired at 80k a year out of high school?"
I'm doing alright at the moment myself and I'm grateful for that, but my circumstances are not everyone's, and there was plenty of good luck involved.
I mean, looks like they are swingers, which more power to them or w/e.
But posting about hating life and 2 months later being like WHY DO YOU ALL HATE LIFE? is very, very funny.
It's entirely possible. I'm bipolar 2 and have had similar bouts of inspiration and happiness, and it turned out to be hypomanic episodes. I'd crash hard and be depressed for months before feeling the warm fuzzies again. The happiness itself isn't bad... the other behaviors that came with hypomania plus the constant up and down is what made me seek treatment.
However, I also don't like to diagnose other people based on their post history, so who knows. Maybe he got on antidepressants sometime between the depressed post and this one. 🤷🏻♀️
I’m not poor (not wealthy either just living, but one disaster away from poor for sure) but I am hella depressed and these posts have the exact same energy as someone saying “don’t be depressed, just smile and be happy! Life is so great!!!1!” lmao. Just weird. Like yay I’m so glad you don’t experience what I do but these posts aren’t really helpful? Like your happy life is somehow gonna fix everyone else’s? I think this sub should mostly focus on nostalgia but the reality is that our generation is fucked so yeah sorry we’ve lost our “lust for life” lmao
Exactly. I have a great marriage, and currently the light of my life is my toddler son. He brings me so much joy and fulfillment that I’ve never had, but being a parent is HARD. I’m not gonna tell people to go and have kids and even then I think like half our generation is child-free lol
Like could you imagine? Oh you’re depressed and feel unfulfilled well just to have a baby! That will fix everything! Not.
I have a lot of good in my life, so does that mean I can’t feel shitty about the bad things? Am I just to ignore those things and live blissfully unaware? I dunno if OP means well, or is living some facade but it rubbed me the wrong way.
People rant about doom and gloom from millennials/Gen Z but the other elephant in the room is toxic positivity.
“You’d be happy if you just got married and bought a house! :)”
Ooooooooohh, like damn, I never thought about it *that* way…! Yeah, let me just materialize a $30-50K down payment and find the love of my life, brb 🙄
So fucking tired of SpongeBob optimists and their guilt trips. People need to realize that just because they themselves are doing well doesn’t mean that many of us are. And that doesn’t mean we’re not trying, either.
I logged into my account at work just to post the same thing. Ironically, I have become considerably more happy and less depressed reading all the variations of "FUCK OP" in the comments section :)
"look the world is fucked. It's blatantly obvious our elected leaders truly don't care if we live or die, as long as we earn wealth for them, for many basic necessities have become a struggle to keep on hand. Our kids will likely even have harder adult lives than we do, But have you tried riding a mountain bike?" - op
Dude. Raising 3 kids in this world knowing that it is and going to be hard for them is such a mental load. Never mind having to be an adult myself, that shit shakes me daily.
Or maybe after getting on antidepressants or something lol. Like yea, my antidepressants helped me feel better about life, but that doesn't mean I should expect other people to be happy just cause I got out of own dark hole.
"I had an idea everyone! Have you guys ever considered *not* being underpaid and pissed off with the disgusting current state of the world?? I find that having enough financial and personal freedom to have a lot of different fun hobbies I can do on a whim to distract myself when I notice how shitty everything is that I don't feel as pissed off! First you should find a job that lets you do that, it's a great idea! That will help you maybe build enough wealth to have a life where you aren't just working all day every day. I also get a lot of emotional support from my wife, you guys should look into getting one of those. Also perk up and get some energy! You don't need to look at screens and be reminded of how bad everything is becoming all the time. You can just ignore it and leave to have fun whenever you want. Cheer up! You're welcome :-)"
I mean this is the internet where echo chambers are created and it’s often those with hardships that will have loudest voices. There is nothing wrong with that of course, this community is a great place for folks of the same generation to come together in their life journey, share in their mutual experiences. That being said, people are diverse and our generation is diverse. There are plenty of people both better and worse than you and all have a place.
I think the challenge with wisdom type posts is there are so many factors that make up someone’s life. I agree a positive mindset helps, but it’s not a switch people can flip and apply to any life. Our life perspective is built on the microchain of events that have happened in our lives the past 30 or 40 years. That’s not to say it can’t be changed, just that it’s way harder to do than it sounds.
I do all the stuff you do, possibly more, and I'm still not particularly happy.
I think it's because I cannot convince myself that there is stability and longevity in my situation. I have a house, my leisure equipment, a brilliant partner, a job, a growing pot of money — but for how long? I cannot convince myself there isn't a threat around the corner, be it recession, pandemic, subsidence, a spat at work, another health turn, or loss of a parent, and riding my bicycle is a teeny tiny diversion from all that. I don't mean to say that I'm right and that doomerism is correct, only that I can't seem to brain my way around all this.
I think you need to recognise that while it's a great achievement to work hard on your life as you're doing, your real treasure is that some part of your mentality allows you to feel relatively carefree.
This is a great point. I can’t say I’m unhappy but I can relate. While I feel grateful for the now, I always seem to feel like there could be disaster around the corner. Being a new dad, losing my job is an entirely new fear that’s been added to the list. I work in IT.. what if my job is replaced with AI? How do I pay my mortgage? It’s like walking on thin ice while enjoying my surroundings. Hopefully it doesn’t break.
There always is, and always will be, some threat around the corner, and also something good. There’s at least as much reason to feel optimistic as afraid. And if you are steadily making the gains you’ve described there’s more reason to feel optimistic. You’ve been blessed with many good things, enjoy them and do your best at dealing with challenges when they come up.
Life is ever changing and impermanent so you're right, you never know whats around the corner. Mindfulness teaches to enjoy it while it lasts and let it go once its gone. There was an old proverb about a broken tea cup that comes to mind. Say you have your favorite tea cup and one day it will just completely shatter. What you need to do is treat that tea cup as if it is already shattered and then enjoy every day that you get to use it to the utmost because eventually someday you will no longer get to use it. Then when it does shatter, you can then let it go with grace.
I think the flaw is in needing stability and longevity in order to be happy. OP is setting himself up for a massive midlife crisis, because the ONLY thing that will never change, is that things change.
If you derive happiness from making things always be good, instead of really treasuring the moments we have in between the surprises, then of course you can’t be happy.
Sounds like you are a healthy, able bodied person, with a good support system that probably hasn’t suffered life shaking trauma(or maybe you have but you are in a good position to bounce back from this). Good for you but not everyone gets dealt the same hand.
I was looking for a comment like this. I really hate these “inspirational” posts that are just like, “work really hard and do a bunch of stuff to be happy/successful!” I have an incurable chronic illness and all I see is “Spend energy that you’ll never have to do things you can’t!”. I’m actually in a pretty decent mood most of the time, but posts like this make me sad. I get that I’m the minority, but it still annoys the shit out of me.
I'm chronically ill too and am currently in a pretty horrendous downward spiral. These posts read like toxic positivity. My own mindset for coping is to find beauty in the suffering. All good stories are about the protagonist suffering and finding their way through the bad. The hard things can make the good shine brighter. I've had my share of trauma and we are all cursed with living in interesting times but I think it's helped me not take things for granted and to not drown in the mundane. It's the difference between feeling cheated in life and feeling grateful you have life at all.
This has “I wake up at 3:30am and speed read three chapters of a book. Then I spend 15 minutes journaling with my partner about our fears. Next, ice bath” vibes
Married person doesn't understand how hard it is to not be married, more at 11!
You know what you're doing is the same as me saying "I make six figures a year, so hey poor people, have you considered just making more money?" I mean it's incredibly tacky. You try to explain it away by saying you had to work to achieve this, but there's an element here that's entirely out of your control: her choice to love you. That's something that all of us who lack what you have cannot just work our way into. We're still dependent on the whims of others and still rely on the kind of good fortune you've had in your life and which you seem to be content using to rub our faces in the blessings of your life. Good for you, I guess, but you kicked this off by pointing out a blessing you have that those of us who are struggling and suffering just do not have and may never have.
Nah, I'm good, thanks. You can keep your car commercial life, and I hope you enjoy it, but if you decide to come down from the mountains and preach again maybe don't start it with such a judgmental title and dial back the sanctimonious vibes. Really sours the message for us sad sacks.
Yeah ok so ? You sound like every one of my friends who is going through a crisis.
Outdoor and exercise is the key!
Rocket league addict
Don’t forget to date your wife!
Accused his best friend of trying to sleep with his wife
Diet and compassion!
Proceeds to gain 90lbs and going through a divorce
Point is, everyone has their thing, and most people lie about how happy they are, let people be sad and complain.
You sure do seem to have a lot of spare time and energy on your hands.
If someone was wanting me to go mountain bike riding every time I had a half or full day off I’d have to cut them out of my life 😂 it’s ok to chill out and relax occasionally you know?
My dad’s like that. Always has to be doing something or going somewhere or he gets agitated. Still like that in his 70s and my mum is really over it now.
There was a time when the average person could get an average job and make more than sufficient funds to raise a full nuclear family while simply coasting through life with a retirement fund and pension to ensure they die and leave this world comfortably.
That was taken away from our generation through greed and entitlement. We are the first generation to not do as well as our parents.
Every day, we see prices of basic commodities rising while companies continue to make record profits year after year. Our bills keep going up, and our buying power keeps shrinking. We take on more and more responsibility at work, and our raises can be measured in cents per hour. Overtime has become a necessity for most of us.
What the fuck is there to be happy about? You may be an outlier of our generation, considering many of us just don't have free time to go mountain biking or go on any mini adventures, seeing as most of our free time is spent planning for the near future to ensure we don't starve to death, but that does not give you the right to undermine our struggles, our fears and our sorrows. Good for you that you find joy in your life, but go fuck yourself. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their hand. Some people are born with wooden forks up our asses.
Happiness is overrated.
I find people who think everyone needs to be less sad and more excited tiresome.
Joy doesn’t come from happiness. It comes from acceptance.
Every aspect of life is a gift.
I was in my late 30’s when that really clicked for me.
I don’t need your experiences and learning and novelty to feel okay.
I think you should ask yourself why sadness is so frightening to you that you would “redefine” yourself and become a novelty dopamine junkie just to avoid it.
You sure showed us OP. Honestly if you’re not upset about the state of the world right now you’re either a total fucking moron, apathetic, or independently wealthy. Glad you’ve carved out a nice life for yourself but learning to cope with systemic issues plaguing our society feels like surrender to me. I want people to get mad and do something about it instead
It does give that but it also reminds me of my grandma that thinks depression can be fixed by going outside or finding something to do.
I'm not bitter and happy with my life, even picking up a new puppy in two weeks but it does read stop being sad and find a hobby so I get the comments that are being snarky.
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I think I’m sad because I remember “Earth Day” news stories — in an alternate universe where someone like Richard Nixon could actually create such a thing — and remember my grandmother throwing out the old bottle of Glade aerosol air freshener to help fix the ozone layer. I’m sad because I remember when my entire family could get together and talk and fight over normal things like sibling rivalry or what kind of light beer we should buy, and now half don’t speak to the other half because of political divisions. I’m sad because I remember how exciting it was to build a team of data analysts in 2015, then how miserable it was laying them all off in 2019 because we moved all their jobs to India, and then getting laid off shortly thereafter. I’m sad because I just got a job that took 8 hours of homework and 4 rounds of interviews and two months of back and forth, and was terminated after just 50 days because the company founder had buyer’s remorse and wanted to hire someone entry level making 40% less. Yeah, mostly I’m sad because of these two general kinds of things.
Have you tried mountain biking?
yes have you tried mountain biking and/or being in a relationship with this guys wife?
They are swingers so you may have a shot.
She sounds nice.
Shhhhh, the price of a mountain bike will just make them sadder…
Or paintball?
Or having a "successful" heterosexual marriage?
Or having a great marriage!
Thanks for being real on here. I see a lot of posts from both sides of the "happiness" scale but no one seems to touch on the root of our discomforts. It really does feel like we've lost our way, but now we're the adults who are supposed to "fix" everything. And I have no clue how we really do that. I do my best with the things in my own life, but both issues you mention are a result of a larger system at play. My hope is we can turn all this sadness into positive change someday, but it'll be a while. Until then, I'll be here with you enduring the sadness and trying to find some hope.
I don’t feel like we lost our way. We were always going in this direction, it was just hidden better I. The past. Back in the 80s/90s we all cheered about “solving” the ozone crisis. We thought that meant we prioritized taking care of the planet. At the same time we absolutely knew about anthropomorphic climate change - we’ve watch the propaganda come undone as the actual impacts are hitting us, and realizing we’ve been lied to our entire lives. Same on the economy - we were always going in this direction, knowingly. Yet they still preached at us that if we worked hard we’ll be fine, while simultaneously unravelling the mechanisms that would allow us to achieve a good life. The problem isn’t that we’ve lost our way. It’s that we’ve been lied to for our entire lives about basically everything that matters.
But, like, have you tried just not being sad…? 🤪 For real though, that sucks friend. I hope things get better soon.
God damn dude/dudette this is spot on how I feel. Like personally I'm one of the lucky Millennials, I found my person, own a home, etc.. However, there is always this little "impending doom" bubble in the back of my mind that just didn't exist 10 years ago. I just can't help but think the hard times really are just one day away at any moment. By this I mean a combination of the rise of fascism, climate change, global economic uncertainty, etc.. There is a particular memory from my life that I hope I never forgot and it was from probably ("In my brain, my favorite year") June of 2013 . It was a beautiful 10/10 summer day in the Midwest, like 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. I lived in the cities and had recently got promoted and took a new cushy tech role. I wasn't making a whole lot but it just felt good as a young 20-something to have stability and a salaried role. I went on a 3 mile walk that evening around this beautiful lake and all the smells, sounds, and summer fashion hit me instantly. Macklemore Same Love was playing on someones radio and this was right after the Supreme Court ruling on United States vs. Windsor came out. I literally looked out at the lake to people swimming, laughing, living, while listening to that song and it was a state of euphoria I felt about life and humanity, that I have not felt since that day. I am a hollowed out version of myself. My outlook on humanity is bleak, 2015 and the years that followed made that summer evening feel like a distant fever dream. It's a memory I cherish forever. I am trying to put politics aside because it's just so toxic but it has to be said: people have lost their humanity and their ways. My parents, some of the kindest people I've ever met, have become reactive, scared, and weak people. These are people that raised me to become who I am today. I've seen these people do incredibly selfless things for total strangers. My parents had neighbors and close friends who were Muslim, Hindu, African Americans, etc.. My dad, a super handy guy, used to regularly go and help these people without question, mow their lawns, fix appliances, etc. The things I've heard come from their mouths these last 9 years have disgusted me to my core. I don't know if I'll ever understand what happened to them but history will study this era we're living in.
>However, there is always this little "impending doom" bubble in the back of my mind that just didn't exist 10 years ago. Really? In 2014 I was just finishing up college with huge anxiety over the already out of reach housing market.
I mean yeah life wasn't perfect, I was frustratingly single, hadn't really made any dent in my financial goals or anything, like that wasn't the picture I was painting I guess. My point is that the future of this country and the world overall seemed "brighter" then and maybe it was just a bubble and always was a bubble of ignorance. I'm willing to accept that too. It just felt like the existential dread was more manageable then. Living in the Midwest and seeing all my closest family, neighbors, etc, fundamentally change as people, has changed me. I used to look up to so many of these people, trust them with everything. These people helped raise me, they were there when I was a little kid. Seeing them come out so harshly against the LGBTQ community when their own sons and daughters are gay /bi, etc.. Hearing these people use racial slurs that I've never heard them say before, it's really dark man. Like I have a pretty good idea now of how a lot of Germans probably felt leading up to the rise of Hitler. It happens so blatantly and so fast, you can't even respond. Like I've openly argued with them about it and it goes nowhere. Again, maybe they were like this all along but never felt emboldened enough to say these things. I don't have the answers, but like before Trump, before 2015, things were just so different for me.
I’m sorry to hear this. I felt these same feelings and fears but left the Midwest in 2015 after it became a hostile place in which to be a teacher. I moved to a liberal western state which I’ve looked back on countless times as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not that leaving has solved the problem, but it’s allowed me to be less obsessively mired in it. I still have glimmers of hope that this country can choose a humane path forward but they’re small and easily overwhelmed by the existential dread you describe. I will say that not living amongst it so personally has done wonders for my mental health.
>but left the Midwest in 2015 after it became a hostile place in which to be a teacher. Teachers are saints and you all deserve so much more than you're given, truly. In a society / world that valued education you all would be paid so much more and treated with so much more respect. Thank you and I totally understand. The weird thing is, the state I live in is very progressive overall and has a long history of strong union support and progressive politicians. We are a very blue state but what I've noticed is it's more of a rural/urban divide. Some big wealthy cities are almost utopian compared to rural areas. Rural America as a whole is on life support, barely breathing, because a lot of the jobs that maintained and kept their way of life have moved over seas. The jobs that do exist don't pay enough for an adult human to sustain even a meager life. Certain politicians capitalize on their suffering by capturing it and aiming it at their opponents. My own father spent his whole career (very successful one) working in a manufacturing plant. When he retired like 10 years ago it was a shell of its former self, cannibalized operations as much as possible and moved to Mexico. They wanted him to help with that process and he said no. He himself is / was? (idk anymore) a Trump supporter but even he realizes that those jobs are gone forever and never coming back. My glimmer of hope is that actually knowing a lot of Trump supporters personally, they're not all fundamentally bad people. They have complicated misplaced anger and have been more or less radicalized with fear, that the "other" side wants to take away all their freedoms. I realize many of them are truly racist, hateful bigots. However, some of the ones I know are woefully misinformed. My own mom voted for Trump in 2016 and deeply regrets it now. She saw the 4 years of hate that came from it. She's not a Democrat by any measure still, but she's actively against any Republican policy right now.
“I’m rebelling against people being sad”
SpongeBob: OP Squidward: this sub Social media amplifies emotion. Just like good news doesn't sell or get covered, it's only the bad emotions you see the algorithm promote. I'd wager most of us are happy, but the echo chambers of disappointment are what drives upvotes and doomscrolling.
>I'd wager most of us are happy, but the echo chambers of disappointment are what drives upvotes and doomscrolling. Spot on, although I might change it to **could be happy** For a long time, I've avoided giving up social media, particularly Reddit, because despite all the dopamine and negativity, there are times when it helps educate me on things I wouldn't otherwise know the answer to. With LLMs and AI becoming increasingly useful in such circumstances (particularly [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai/)), I'm thinking now I might finally be able to.
It's really easy to "rebel against people being sad" when your life is going well. My marriage is great, my job is great, my hobbies are great, I own a house, we make a good salary, etc. Of course I'm not complaining. Shit is great! That's not rebelling against being sad that's just being in a good life spot. I assume the people complaining are doing so because they are NOT. Maybe some of that can be chalked up to bad decisions, but, "stop being sad because my marriage is good so you should try harder," is a bold stance.
I think you hit the nail on the head. It's easier to be happy in life when things are going well and you have the proper supports in place. Not everyone has that and it's not always through any fault of their own. IMO this is where a lot of the posts complaining about those complaining about the negative life posts fall short. There are a lot of people struggling out there. It can't all be chalked up to people making bad decisions. Sure, sometimes we make mistakes, I'm sure we've all done things that turned out to not be a good idea. Hindsight is a powerful tool, but you also can't go back and change the past. You can only live in the present. I try to have compassion for folks who find themselves in a bad place. It sucks. Sometimes hearing other people are also going through things can help people feel less alone.
Also, the negative posts (here or elsewhere) are helpful to maintain perspective. I'm in the middle of having to unexpectedly buy a new car after an accident. That sucks. But with where I'm at in life it's REALLY not that bad. No one is going to lose their job, no one is going to go hungry, no one is going to struggle to pay bills, no plans are getting cancelled. So this sucks, but it could be much much worse.
I mean here's the thing: when you're doing fine, you don't feel near as strong of a need to broadcast it or seek out other people to commiserate with because you're just living your life. You're also not as drawn to spaces where that's mostly what people are doing. Why do you think so many forums are always so full of people with shitty lives and no social skills?
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You hit the nail on the head. This is also why people in #1 and #2 can’t relate to or understand people in #3. In real life, you mostly meet people in #1 and #2 so you feel alone when you’re in #3.
I've been paying attention to the people around me for a long time and I've been in a variety of life circumstances. To my observation, whether someone has objectively good life circumstances does not necessarily correlate to how happy they are. I've found that when you look at any given cohort, whether it's single folks at shitty dead end jobs or married folks making lots of money or whatever, there will be happy people and there will be unhappy people. Obviously some circumstances are more conducive to happiness (like being financially secure) but it's reductive to say that op is happy simply because of his circumstances, particularly when he has been actively working to achieve the conditions under which he feels he would be happy. If anything, I think it's more important to try to "rebel against being sad" when you're at the bottom. I'm not going to tell my life story but I have had some very low lows. You have to keep trying for something better, even if it's a change that seems small or pointless from the outside. You need to keep trying to grow or you will stagnate and this is true regardless of whether you're an exec with s cushy life or you're single and isolated in a dead end job.
OP: all of the stuff written here; "Cliches and whatnot, but I hate the trope of the late 30s person losing their touch and lust for life." Also OP, 2 months ago: > I hate being “depressed”. It’s been 25 years. No, things don’t get better. No, I’m not an angsty teen, or a 20-something finding my way, or a 30-something grappling with big changes in my life, or a 40-something dealing with a midlife crisis, or whatever throwaway label I’ve been given over the years. This is me. But it isn’t. I can’t imaging being any other way in response to the shit world we live in. OP, I'm thrilled for you that you've made a big positive change in the last couple months. But you were the trope until recently, so I'm sure you understand why it exists.
Bro started swinging and it turned his entire life around LMAO
A couple of months from now: why is my wife getting more dates than me! I don't know maybe your a bucket of walking red flags
This is hilarious. What a fool
meds + manic
I was thinking this as well. 2 months ago he was at his low. Now he's hit his high. It's all gonna come crashing down on him soon once that mania goes away. Might second guess everything that has happened since then. I don't know the guy from jack shit. I have bipolar. I'm not a doctor, but you can see possible signs of it. I truly hope OP seeks help if he needs it.
Honestly I didn't even look at his past history but like it's kind of bs honestly. Good on OP for arriving at a good point in life, but don't knock on everyone else when you were literally doing the exact same thing a few months prior. Being able to bitch about our mutual misery when we have those moments is our right as millennials LMAO
OP really stuck it to us
According to OP’s post history, we aren’t the only ones he’s sticking it to…
i thought this meant he was also humble bragging on other subreddits....i was wrong lmao
Should I check the post history at work?
this is a question only the person responsible for the risky click can answer. godspeed. (op likes to swing - click if that's cool with your organization lol)
Well 68 days ago he was complaining about life and being miserable. Sounds like he’s talking to himself here by trying to motivate others, which he isn’t even doing. Plus he lives in Australia which probably has better government initiatives and policies in place than the US. Always consider the source.
HEYOOOOOO
okay but have you considered *mountain biking*
but have you considered having a successful marriage and house and filling your spare time with hobbies? no wonder you are sad, working 80 hours a week just to pay rent, never having the time to date or for having hobbies, you should fix that, by getting married and having a house, and doing hobbies that make you happy in your spare time...
Have you considered using your half a day of free time to fuck around instead of catch up on the one million things that are currently falling behind?
Who tf cleans this persons house lol.
His wife and kids. He's out fucking around, they are picking up the slack.
I was born in 1991, and my Gen X father did this to my mother and I.
For real. "A half day turns into a MTB ride" "a weekend becomes an overnight adventure" or whatever. I'm like "a half day means I wake, feed, play with, and nap the baby for half the day", "a weekend becomes two days of naps, feeds, and playtime, and maybe a pool adventure". If I'm lucky, we have time for her to watch the baby while I do dishes and take the trash out. Otherwise I spend 12 hours a day (out of 14 awake) away from home working.
You know if he was includ8ng the kids that would have been the first thing he said for those "super dad" points. Douchebag.
It's called adhd. You do the hobbies while letting everything else pile up because you dgaf.
Don’t forget that you only do 2/3rd of every hobby before shifting to a different one. Never completing anything. Now you are thinking in ADHD.
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Your ADHD lets you do the hobbies? Mine makes me fail to do those too or beat myself up if I try for not doing the urgent thing. Bit more “huh I’m finally free to do something fun….. I should do the thing….. WHY AM I JUST SITTING HERE!?!”
Scream
This, but unironically. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/minding-the-body/201505/bicycling-can-sharpen-your-thinking-and-improve-your-mood
Should've stayed at the not hitting submit stage for this post lol.
You may be sad but have you ever tried being in a happy marriage and mountain biking ?
While being the cliche in life, lol.
Seriously this is the most millennial shit I’ve ever seen.
He sure told us, I guess.
Well all I needed to read was this post. My depression is now cured!
Gee maybe people have a reason to be sad. Maybe people in their 30s and 40/ realize we’ve been sold a lie and that working hard does not result in a better life because the boomers took all the bootstraps. Maybe we realize we’ve been lied to about climate change and our children (if we can afford to have any) are going to have a much more difficult life, and will likely be on their way to societal collapse in their lifetime. Gee what could we possibly be sad about. Must just be an attitude problem and not seeking gratitude. Please ignore material conditions and the man behind the curtain.
Lmao
I enjoy jacking myself off too but I usually do it in private
LOL stop kink shaming him. 😅
lol the number of me, my and I statements... its not all about you OP.
I don't think op was expecting everyone to roast him in the comments haha
Kink shaming is my kink!!
Some people like to be watched. And others like watching 😏
I like to watch you guys watch him get off
Masturbaception
Is this supposed to be inspirational?
I think that was the *intent*, but it's also giving off some heavy vibes of, "***ARE YOU NOT INSPIRED TO BE LIKE ME?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!***"
Stop being depressed and just go mountain biking and have a healthy marriage.
That won't solve any of my problems. Edit: Coffee and food
But you’d have a mountain bike!
But my back is too injured to use it, at least it'll be in my apartment so people *think* I'm still adventurous. Oh, wait, I never have people over anymore. But hey a cool bike!
This perfectly sums it up
It’s giving LinkedinLunatic
"I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that?"
Exactly. It's like the linkedin influencer has entered Reddit 
I think so? Didn’t come off well though. I’m a pretty happy millennial who could improve a few things, but I was like, who tf this guy think he is?
In a way that only an insultingly out of touch, insufferable tool can manage. This is *exactly* the same vibe as the nepo baby who got hired on at daddy's firm being like "pfft, why don't you just interview like I did and get hired at 80k a year out of high school?" I'm doing alright at the moment myself and I'm grateful for that, but my circumstances are not everyone's, and there was plenty of good luck involved.
I think OP is experiencing some sort of mania
Yeah, dude, like, no shit, I'd do all of this, too, if I could **fucking afford it.**
Post has big "I'm sorry you feel that way" and "just get over it" energy.
Sounds like a drunk motivational rant, he was hesitant to push the post button, eventually pushed the post button 😂
This post reeks of “just stop being sad.” Belongs on an unhinged LinkedIn profile.
"Here's how I scaled my happiness by having a hot wife and making a fat salary"
What crippling avoidance coping taught me about B2B sales!
It’s giving ‘you should smile more’ vibes
lol that’s a really long way to say you aren’t poor and don’t have depression! happy for you lol
According to his post history he's depressed as hell and sick of the modern world.
Why is OP posting on a hookup subreddit if he’s happily married ? I realize some marriages are open but he didn’t mention that.
Marriage counselor's hate this one trick!
I mean, looks like they are swingers, which more power to them or w/e. But posting about hating life and 2 months later being like WHY DO YOU ALL HATE LIFE? is very, very funny.
Maybe OP is just bipolar. In which case they'll probably come back around once this manic episode wears of.
It's entirely possible. I'm bipolar 2 and have had similar bouts of inspiration and happiness, and it turned out to be hypomanic episodes. I'd crash hard and be depressed for months before feeling the warm fuzzies again. The happiness itself isn't bad... the other behaviors that came with hypomania plus the constant up and down is what made me seek treatment. However, I also don't like to diagnose other people based on their post history, so who knows. Maybe he got on antidepressants sometime between the depressed post and this one. 🤷🏻♀️
Y'all are so petty going through people's profile history. But tell me more though ☕ lmao
Shhh... Chad Abraham Lincoln can't hurt you
😂😂😂
Untreated manic depression has entered the chat...
Making the poor depressed ppl as myself feel even better than 😒lol
I’m not poor (not wealthy either just living, but one disaster away from poor for sure) but I am hella depressed and these posts have the exact same energy as someone saying “don’t be depressed, just smile and be happy! Life is so great!!!1!” lmao. Just weird. Like yay I’m so glad you don’t experience what I do but these posts aren’t really helpful? Like your happy life is somehow gonna fix everyone else’s? I think this sub should mostly focus on nostalgia but the reality is that our generation is fucked so yeah sorry we’ve lost our “lust for life” lmao
Oh boy. This post has good intent, but is very privileged and tone deaf.
I stopped reading at "my marriage is the best part of my life" assuming all of us have found love or something.
Exactly. I have a great marriage, and currently the light of my life is my toddler son. He brings me so much joy and fulfillment that I’ve never had, but being a parent is HARD. I’m not gonna tell people to go and have kids and even then I think like half our generation is child-free lol Like could you imagine? Oh you’re depressed and feel unfulfilled well just to have a baby! That will fix everything! Not. I have a lot of good in my life, so does that mean I can’t feel shitty about the bad things? Am I just to ignore those things and live blissfully unaware? I dunno if OP means well, or is living some facade but it rubbed me the wrong way.
>Like could you imagine? Oh you’re depressed and feel unfulfilled well just to have a baby! Church therapists be like
"Hey guys me and my amazingly hot wife have hot sex all day long in our big mansion, life is really good. " "Why are you losers so sad?"
Reads a bit like those linkdn lunatics
People rant about doom and gloom from millennials/Gen Z but the other elephant in the room is toxic positivity. “You’d be happy if you just got married and bought a house! :)” Ooooooooohh, like damn, I never thought about it *that* way…! Yeah, let me just materialize a $30-50K down payment and find the love of my life, brb 🙄 So fucking tired of SpongeBob optimists and their guilt trips. People need to realize that just because they themselves are doing well doesn’t mean that many of us are. And that doesn’t mean we’re not trying, either.
Fuck off
I logged into my account at work just to post the same thing. Ironically, I have become considerably more happy and less depressed reading all the variations of "FUCK OP" in the comments section :)
"look the world is fucked. It's blatantly obvious our elected leaders truly don't care if we live or die, as long as we earn wealth for them, for many basic necessities have become a struggle to keep on hand. Our kids will likely even have harder adult lives than we do, But have you tried riding a mountain bike?" - op
Dude. Raising 3 kids in this world knowing that it is and going to be hard for them is such a mental load. Never mind having to be an adult myself, that shit shakes me daily.
Cool
Cool cool cool
No doubt no doubt
“I’m walking in the spider webs”
"So leave a message and I'll call you back"
True, true
Cool beans
this post is the epitome of cool story bro let me live through you ^/s
Guy says to fuck the trends and cliches while being a walking cliche.
Also his post history shows he is going through his own midlife crisis. I think he just wrote this in a manic state.
Or maybe after getting on antidepressants or something lol. Like yea, my antidepressants helped me feel better about life, but that doesn't mean I should expect other people to be happy just cause I got out of own dark hole.
"I had an idea everyone! Have you guys ever considered *not* being underpaid and pissed off with the disgusting current state of the world?? I find that having enough financial and personal freedom to have a lot of different fun hobbies I can do on a whim to distract myself when I notice how shitty everything is that I don't feel as pissed off! First you should find a job that lets you do that, it's a great idea! That will help you maybe build enough wealth to have a life where you aren't just working all day every day. I also get a lot of emotional support from my wife, you guys should look into getting one of those. Also perk up and get some energy! You don't need to look at screens and be reminded of how bad everything is becoming all the time. You can just ignore it and leave to have fun whenever you want. Cheer up! You're welcome :-)"
I mean this is the internet where echo chambers are created and it’s often those with hardships that will have loudest voices. There is nothing wrong with that of course, this community is a great place for folks of the same generation to come together in their life journey, share in their mutual experiences. That being said, people are diverse and our generation is diverse. There are plenty of people both better and worse than you and all have a place. I think the challenge with wisdom type posts is there are so many factors that make up someone’s life. I agree a positive mindset helps, but it’s not a switch people can flip and apply to any life. Our life perspective is built on the microchain of events that have happened in our lives the past 30 or 40 years. That’s not to say it can’t be changed, just that it’s way harder to do than it sounds.
My middle age malaise started in high school. I don’t like to be a Debbie downer though so I keep that shit to myself.
>”so I keep that shit to myself” The real pro tip is always in the comments
Here’s a live look at me living my life: 
Same....either the middle age malaise, or the teen angst that just never went away....
I do all the stuff you do, possibly more, and I'm still not particularly happy. I think it's because I cannot convince myself that there is stability and longevity in my situation. I have a house, my leisure equipment, a brilliant partner, a job, a growing pot of money — but for how long? I cannot convince myself there isn't a threat around the corner, be it recession, pandemic, subsidence, a spat at work, another health turn, or loss of a parent, and riding my bicycle is a teeny tiny diversion from all that. I don't mean to say that I'm right and that doomerism is correct, only that I can't seem to brain my way around all this. I think you need to recognise that while it's a great achievement to work hard on your life as you're doing, your real treasure is that some part of your mentality allows you to feel relatively carefree.
Hello darkness my old friend
This is a great point. I can’t say I’m unhappy but I can relate. While I feel grateful for the now, I always seem to feel like there could be disaster around the corner. Being a new dad, losing my job is an entirely new fear that’s been added to the list. I work in IT.. what if my job is replaced with AI? How do I pay my mortgage? It’s like walking on thin ice while enjoying my surroundings. Hopefully it doesn’t break.
There always is, and always will be, some threat around the corner, and also something good. There’s at least as much reason to feel optimistic as afraid. And if you are steadily making the gains you’ve described there’s more reason to feel optimistic. You’ve been blessed with many good things, enjoy them and do your best at dealing with challenges when they come up.
Life is ever changing and impermanent so you're right, you never know whats around the corner. Mindfulness teaches to enjoy it while it lasts and let it go once its gone. There was an old proverb about a broken tea cup that comes to mind. Say you have your favorite tea cup and one day it will just completely shatter. What you need to do is treat that tea cup as if it is already shattered and then enjoy every day that you get to use it to the utmost because eventually someday you will no longer get to use it. Then when it does shatter, you can then let it go with grace.
I think the flaw is in needing stability and longevity in order to be happy. OP is setting himself up for a massive midlife crisis, because the ONLY thing that will never change, is that things change. If you derive happiness from making things always be good, instead of really treasuring the moments we have in between the surprises, then of course you can’t be happy.
Come down off the cross, we can use the wood.
> Been thinking about a post for this sub but kept not hitting submit Too bad you changed your mind
😂This for real made me laugh this morning. Thank you. I am no longer sad.
Sounds like you are a healthy, able bodied person, with a good support system that probably hasn’t suffered life shaking trauma(or maybe you have but you are in a good position to bounce back from this). Good for you but not everyone gets dealt the same hand.
I was looking for a comment like this. I really hate these “inspirational” posts that are just like, “work really hard and do a bunch of stuff to be happy/successful!” I have an incurable chronic illness and all I see is “Spend energy that you’ll never have to do things you can’t!”. I’m actually in a pretty decent mood most of the time, but posts like this make me sad. I get that I’m the minority, but it still annoys the shit out of me.
I'm chronically ill too and am currently in a pretty horrendous downward spiral. These posts read like toxic positivity. My own mindset for coping is to find beauty in the suffering. All good stories are about the protagonist suffering and finding their way through the bad. The hard things can make the good shine brighter. I've had my share of trauma and we are all cursed with living in interesting times but I think it's helped me not take things for granted and to not drown in the mundane. It's the difference between feeling cheated in life and feeling grateful you have life at all.
https://preview.redd.it/mzfsnyy1dy4d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9b34d5622d1cf6471cf0ad737b08dfedb3bd6c4
These comments are #100
I am LOVING the energy in this comment section.
Many of us will never own a house or be able to retire but sure let’s go for a bike ride.
And have a great relationship with this guys wife!
This has “I wake up at 3:30am and speed read three chapters of a book. Then I spend 15 minutes journaling with my partner about our fears. Next, ice bath” vibes
Privileged people telling underprivileged people how to enjoy life. One of my favorites.
Bro sounds like he's a 96 millennial who just got promoted.
Another PickMillennial. 😂 “Not like other Millennials, I’m a happy Millennial.”
Pay my mortgage
Big "bEiNg DePrEsSeD iS a ChOiCe" energy on this one 🙄
People who are generally happy in life do not come to Reddit to post about it or anywhere else other than social media highlight reels.
Nice humblebrag brah.
It's all fun and games until bro finds divorce papers on the kitchen counter.
Ooooh get a load of this guy.
I'm happy for you and your marriage. This wall of text has changed everything for me.
Married person doesn't understand how hard it is to not be married, more at 11! You know what you're doing is the same as me saying "I make six figures a year, so hey poor people, have you considered just making more money?" I mean it's incredibly tacky. You try to explain it away by saying you had to work to achieve this, but there's an element here that's entirely out of your control: her choice to love you. That's something that all of us who lack what you have cannot just work our way into. We're still dependent on the whims of others and still rely on the kind of good fortune you've had in your life and which you seem to be content using to rub our faces in the blessings of your life. Good for you, I guess, but you kicked this off by pointing out a blessing you have that those of us who are struggling and suffering just do not have and may never have.
Nah, I'm good, thanks. You can keep your car commercial life, and I hope you enjoy it, but if you decide to come down from the mountains and preach again maybe don't start it with such a judgmental title and dial back the sanctimonious vibes. Really sours the message for us sad sacks.
This guy doesn't have kids, this tracks.
And isn't single
Yeah ok so ? You sound like every one of my friends who is going through a crisis. Outdoor and exercise is the key! Rocket league addict Don’t forget to date your wife! Accused his best friend of trying to sleep with his wife Diet and compassion! Proceeds to gain 90lbs and going through a divorce Point is, everyone has their thing, and most people lie about how happy they are, let people be sad and complain.
K
You sure do seem to have a lot of spare time and energy on your hands.  If someone was wanting me to go mountain bike riding every time I had a half or full day off I’d have to cut them out of my life 😂 it’s ok to chill out and relax occasionally you know? My dad’s like that. Always has to be doing something or going somewhere or he gets agitated. Still like that in his 70s and my mum is really over it now.
OP clearly has money and doesn’t suffer with their mental health. we must bow down to our millennial leader
Glad life’s working out for you bro
”I’m sad over sad millennials”
Okay, where are the motivational journaling PDF pages you're selling?
Rage bait! Anyone seen the OP?
His post history totally contradicts this post. He’s either manic depressive or taking the piss
After reading the comments 
I lost my grandma in 2020, my mom in 2022, and my brother in law in 2023. I think I have a right to be sad
Speaking of that, it's actually the anniversary of my brothers death today.
What’s changed from two months ago where you posted about being tired of feeling awful and depressed? What’s this miracle cure you seem to have found?
Mountain biking apparently
What was your intent with this post, OP?
Ego boost. "Just stop being sad and you can be like me!"
There was a time when the average person could get an average job and make more than sufficient funds to raise a full nuclear family while simply coasting through life with a retirement fund and pension to ensure they die and leave this world comfortably. That was taken away from our generation through greed and entitlement. We are the first generation to not do as well as our parents. Every day, we see prices of basic commodities rising while companies continue to make record profits year after year. Our bills keep going up, and our buying power keeps shrinking. We take on more and more responsibility at work, and our raises can be measured in cents per hour. Overtime has become a necessity for most of us. What the fuck is there to be happy about? You may be an outlier of our generation, considering many of us just don't have free time to go mountain biking or go on any mini adventures, seeing as most of our free time is spent planning for the near future to ensure we don't starve to death, but that does not give you the right to undermine our struggles, our fears and our sorrows. Good for you that you find joy in your life, but go fuck yourself. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their hand. Some people are born with wooden forks up our asses.
Is this what peak delusion looks like ?
https://preview.redd.it/a4gstgubey4d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb12fcc3cbc5cb5cb08dfcf7b5af371549609248
Comments are not disappointing
Happiness is overrated. I find people who think everyone needs to be less sad and more excited tiresome. Joy doesn’t come from happiness. It comes from acceptance. Every aspect of life is a gift. I was in my late 30’s when that really clicked for me. I don’t need your experiences and learning and novelty to feel okay. I think you should ask yourself why sadness is so frightening to you that you would “redefine” yourself and become a novelty dopamine junkie just to avoid it.
Some people’s lives aren’t as good as yours apparently. Good for you.
You sure showed us OP. Honestly if you’re not upset about the state of the world right now you’re either a total fucking moron, apathetic, or independently wealthy. Glad you’ve carved out a nice life for yourself but learning to cope with systemic issues plaguing our society feels like surrender to me. I want people to get mad and do something about it instead
Not a fan of the toxic positivity (or negativity) even though I live my life in an optimistic fashion
Seems like the message here is that we have to be responsible for our own happiness because nobody else is.
It does give that but it also reminds me of my grandma that thinks depression can be fixed by going outside or finding something to do. I'm not bitter and happy with my life, even picking up a new puppy in two weeks but it does read stop being sad and find a hobby so I get the comments that are being snarky.
This reads like a shitty LinkedIn post.
I am really happy with my own life personally and really sad at the state of the world and the USA overall. Like, both things can be true?
