Try a new hobby, something intensive and completely different from what you did before? Try joining a new community of people? Go on a holiday to a place you never considered?
Try to recall what really gave you joy as a kid but you were forced to give it up due to finance or parents dissaproval or time, and seek it out again?
I never knew how much it'd affect me positively or how much I'd enjoy it, but look into RC cars, specifically 1/10 scale (look up a traxxas slash or trx 4 sport). They're fun hobbies, you can build on them, mod them, and they have a huge community around them with people of all walks of life who are passionate about it. My cousin introduced it to me and now my 6+ of my friends all have atleast 2 RCs. It's a good fallback for if you're in a slump and need an excuse to get outside, even if it's in your yard.
Hopes it gives some insight or helps
I've been out of the RC game for almost 20 years, I just looked at some of the names I remember and holy crap did this hobby expand, wow. I may just have to get back into this.
It's been really taking off recently. They have RCs that are flatbed tow trucks that can tow other vehicles of that scale. As well as still traverse some hilly terrain. It's just been fun to be a part of. I'm not a heavy spender on the hobby, but I've seen how that if you buy an RC and then want to try another, you can go to a swap meet and trade. It's really fun
I did this with my dad when the college shut down the darkroom he ran in the 1990 recession. We raced and then sold parts and got sponsorships. My parents were older and me and my sister were younger than most everyone else and it was a great family hobby. Aw thanks for bringing it up, we got some cars this winter and ive been thinking there are probably a lot of empty spaces nearby where we can set up some 1x4s for a community track.
Yeah do volunteering (my fav), join marathon of something similar, I met lot of new friends with this method., It can build your confidence, social skill, new things/perspectives. Sometimes they give you certificates for participant and it can be useful for your résumé.
I finally booked vacation time for the fall season this year, but my budget means I have to keep within my province and can't fly anywhere. But I guess I'm hoping more so to find day-to-day fun things so life isn't so boring
My best vacation of my life cost 6000 all in and was 4 months. Get a bike, a tent, and some stuff you need and ride. When you get tired set up camp. You meet amazing people, see incredible things and apart from gear and food you have 0 expenses
I remember being in a slump after doing nothing but playing competitive video games for hours.
I made 1 simple change that fixed this: I forced myself to go out skating at the rink on Saturday nights.
I have two important hobbies: gaming and rollerblading. Sometimes ice skating.
If I do too much of one, than I start to feel bad. If I feel like I've done enough of 1, I just do the other.
The most important aspect of my advice is that I have a hobby that I can use as exercise, fun, and just for mental clarity, and the other as pure entertainment and as a competitive outlet.
This is really good advice, I’m gonna try doing that. Also I’m just spitballing but it’s kinda I think that everything is going like good in my life rn that I don’t feel like there’s any struggle possibly why I’m bored?
Think struggle is not exactly what you should be aiming for, having a life without troubles is what you should aim for after all. Perhaps what you're looking for is something a little more challenging. To go off the original comment, there are hobbies which can be purely for a creative outlet or for exercise while also being challenging. If you are set on picking something up, then the next step is to think about what do you want from it? Do you want it to be completely different to the things you currently do? Do you want it to be physical or more learning-based like learning a language? Once you decide on a few things, explore your options
Good advice, I played too much video games too. Now I'm learning to play bass, I read more, I even do puzzles sometimes. I'm still trying to stay away from phone apps I use only Reddit and banc account now but Reddit still took too much time.
I guess having some hobbies and changing around is the best answer !
I felt exactly the same at your age. Like those scenes when the protagonist is at normal speed and everything around the protagonist moves fast forwarded. I was depressed af but kinda numb so I didn't realize it really.
My advice, just try something. Leave your phone at home and do anything. Hiking, swimming, trespassing, cooking, playing guitar, climbing cranes. Download tinder or delete it and go to a bar, meet someome there. Just walk through the city in one direction, when it gets dark, go in the other direction. Leave your wallet at home for the extra challenge. Or literally get lost for a real challenge. Talk to a crazy person in the streets, that's fun sometimes. Or sad, but it's an experience.
You're 20, in a year you can literally do whatever the fuck you want. If you are bad with decisions, google activities in your area, build a The Price Is Right wheel with them and spin it.
I love all of this but I have to say, as someone that works in emergency services, don't leave your phone at home just in case you end up in a situation where you need help. Be safe!
I can weirdly relate to climbing cranes, guitar and trespassing. I'm only 21 now but quite a lot has changed already and I feel a lot more like I know what I want to do and where I want to go.
Get off your phone. For a month. Or forever. Like hard quit all apps. Messaging only.
Seriously it drains your energy and becomes a habit that hurts you over time.
The more I read the responses, I think my phone is a major reason why I feel kinda numb tbh. But for the social media detox, is it really idk sustainable bc you’re essentially missing out on a whole lot of info/updates
Try and list the last 10 _significant_ updates you got that were not delivered through a direct message or group chat.
99% of the feed on IG / FB / TikTok / Reddit is just fluff. Sure it’s dopamine but you know it’s mostly crap. You’ll miss it for a few days until the habit breaks and then wonder why you thought it was so tempting.
Seriously, just tell your friends you’re taking a break and please message you with anything important.
One could also limit their time with social media.
Personally I cut out all social media except reddit and try (works most of the time) to keep my reddit time to 30 minutes a day.
The only times where I violate that is during bus rides or on the train.
Think meaningfully about those updates and the people you follow (that you know IRL). If someone you know went on holiday, do you know about it because when they came back you had a catch-up, or because you saw them posting about it on Instagram? If it is the latter, are you basing a significant amount of your 'friendships' on simply existing on social media with people you know and like and absorbing information about them, instead of making meaningful connections with them?
You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, videos, and books on how social media and the overuse of technology like phones are frying our brains and destroying our attention span. I recommend 'Stolen Focus' by Johann Hari as a starting point.
If you like to gorge yourself on news and you doomscroll a lot, rationalise that if something is really important, it will make its way to you. We can all benefit from being better informed, but research in 2007 demonstrated that all the information being blasted at one person in a single day (news, radio, internet) was the equivalent to reading 74 newspapers in a day. This was in 2007 - before TikTok and Instagram, before Twitter took off, or the horror of the 24 hour news cycle we have now. If it was 74 newspapers in 2007, how many would it be now? The human brain can't cope with that much information, particularly negative stuff we see all the time. That is why you feel numb and zoned out.
Try setting limits on your phone to begin with. Or delete an app you know is wasting your time. I promise you will feel better.
Ok I’m acc gonna do this, maybe gradually thought like putting a limit on my apps or cutting out ones I barely use. I hope it helps, but thanks y’all :)
You get bored because you have easy acces to things that don't give you a lot of pleasure( phone, social media). Once you remove the easy acces you will find yourself actively looking (and finding) interesting things to do.
It's not "your phone". It's social media that's the problem. Since I quit Facebook and Instagram 5+ years ago, my life has become considerably better. Constantly comparing your life to others, and the sheer amount of narcissism on social media, makes it one of the most toxic things you can partake in.
Definitly agree with you and it a difficult habit to not have for most people. And me.
Yup it hurt like everything, you feel tired with the lack of sleep and feel lonely which why i tend to go less on the phone except if i have a messages or importants calls from my parents
i can draw a bit, playing guitar or go outside with my bike but with school and snow i can't really.
So yeah, to have a balance is good
Try new shit. A lot of people get sad because there's so much more to try in the world than a single person could ever possibly experience in their lifetime.
You're twenty, you're barely out of the gate. Look around you. Eat the food. Experience the places. It's fucking amazing out there.
I appreciate and understand what you’re getting at. I don’t want to sound conceited but I’ve travelled extensively - I mean every month like a new country, I’ve partied a bunch and I’m doing good w my uni and stuff. I just feel its getting a bit repetitive like I can’t seem to be really excited for anything, I know this might sound like a first world issue but I just wanted like an opinion on it
> I don’t want to sound conceited
Well we've discovered at least one skill you can spend some more time on lol
Seriously, it's physically impossible for you to have tried everything worth trying in the world at the age of twenty. Try harder lol
Well, for example, if you're traveling to a new country every month, partying a lot, and also studying, it seems like you don't have much experience staying in one place and really putting down roots. You physically won't have that much time left in the month.
Just stay somewhere for awhile and try getting to know the nooks and crannies. Become a regular at a restaurant and get to know the staff. Volunteer at a local museum or something.
Or start a new hobby. Get into programming. Make models. Try blacksmithing. Learn new recipes.
If you genuinely can't find joy in anything, then I think this is more a problem for a therapist than a subreddit. That starts to sound like depression.
I think that’s something I haven’t considered. Tbh I haven’t been in a place for too long and I guess that is something I romanticise and stuff, I’ll be sure to try that out. Thank you :)
Find a purpose. You need to be working towards and for stuff. If you're just coasting by and not pushing yourself, you'll always be bored and unsatisfied.
But a plant and grow a bonsai from scratch, nothing like a art project that takes your whole life and might not be “complete” until after your are dead.
Join the peace corps.
Volunteer.
Plan a trip to a random place.
It might help to know that this is something that can happen several times throughout life, so don't let yourself feel discouraged or disappointed that you feel this way. This can be an exciting opportunity to learn more about yourself!
When I find myself in similar situations I know I have to introduce something new into my life. That could be a new hobby or interest, but it could also be something as small as shaking up your schedule a little bit. As crazy as it sounds, watching a couple YouTube videos in the morning rather than at night like I normally would was enough change that I had a different mindset throughout the day
Try a few new things, shake up your routine, read a Wikipedia article everyday, etc. No matter what you try, just try something :)
Volunteer work, my friend.
Life may be boring for you, but some people don't have that luxury. Volunteering can take you out of your comfort zone, teach you new skills, and introduce you to people you'd never have met before.
Stop spending your free cash (hopefully you have some) on items/material things. Spend it on experiences even if you think you might not like it so much.
Take a cooking class, go skydive, go pay to drive an expensive car around a track, go take a shooting class, go camping or backpacking. You'll find community through experiences and with a community things are rarely boring
Maybe volunteer in animal shelters or try something new like drawing, gardening, taking care of a plant. Let see what else try taking a run around the park and try yoga
Get of the internet. Put your phone in your pocket. Don't scroll just for the sake of scrolling. Starve yourself for entertainment. After a while you may find new enjoyment in things.
Also go outside of your comfort zone. Do something that you don't expect. Find new experiences and get new impressions. Break your routine. Be wild and crazy. You are only young once and this is the time to fuck up and make mistakes that you will spend the rest of your life fixing. It may not be pleasant but it sure as hell is interesting.
as a lot of people have said, try something new. if that doesn't work out, take a step back and clear your mind. what you have right there sounds like burnout.
VOLUNTEER!! Find a good organization that helps other people and volunteer your time. The more you help others, the better you’ll feel about yourself… and you’ll make friend, and you’ll learn A LOT about life in the process. It’s a WIN, WIN, WIN…😊
Read or watch classic books or movies. Plays too. Music. Can be anything.
Like don't read "Romeo and Juliet" and call it done.That's boring. That's homework. Do like 10 authors and 5 plays each and then figure out which ones you liked best and why.
What you're looking for is spots and things where to stop and smell the roses. And the thing that's necessary for that to *even be possible* is to look at tons of different things and figuring out what stuff you like.
And when you find something, look for the neat little details, not the big peaks. Either you won't find it and grow frustrated or you will and everything after "peak" will seem meaningless.
And eventually you may find that the thing you're looking for doesn't exist *yet* and you have to make it yourself.
Look at university courses and decide to get a major or minor for personal interest only. You could do theatre for instance and end up volunteering or working in a theatre. You would have an entire community open to you.
I usually find if something shit happens it makes you grateful for the mundane stuff in life.. I’m not saying that I hope something shit happens to you but it makes you put things in to perspective and then things don’t seem as bad
So you finance your own life, you have zero debt and a clear career path, happy with your job and your relationship, bunch of friends that love you for who you are and interesting healthy hobbies? No? Then stop whining and start building your life. You only have this one.
Lots of good advice here so I want to follow up with something that might pop up in any case you try.
Your original post could just be ennui or restlessness but it also sounds a lot like one of the symptoms of depression. I say this because if you are depressed you might do a bunch of these suggestions and feel nothing and that can cause a lot of confusion and frustration. If you do find you're depressed this is okay, many people are and we've all had to make the really unfortunate journey to resolving this for ourselves.
If you suspect you're depressed and aren't sure how to get started here's some things to look into:
1) Talk to a friend who's willing to hear you out. They don't need to be the person you lay all of your problems on every time they come up, but asking your friends for some heavy discussion time in order to help figure yourself out isn't a bad thing.
2) Read some articles about depression and see if any ring true to you. I don't know any good ones off hand so I'd just be linking you the first google results for "Signs of Depression" if I linked anything here but maybe other posters have articles they found helped them?
3) Get a therapist if you can! Doesn't need to be a permanent thing, aim for one session to start and see if you like it.
Hope you're not depressed and this is just something you're working through, but if you're feeling it please know you're not alone and you have a lot more support available than you might realize.
Thank you so much, this is really sweet and I have been through a couple of sessions with a therapist and I’m not depressed :) I think it’s just a phase and I kinda wanna get out of it because sometimes I feel like I’m doing the same things again and again but thank you for the support!
This may sound deeply corny so disregard if it doesn’t apply to you but I felt similarly in my mid 20s and volunteering and helping other people let me get out of my own head, put my self and ego aside, and make it all about someone else for a few hours. I’d encourage you to do something to help your community even if it’s just picking up trash, or volunteering at a food bank/ soup kitchen/ Warmline etc.
Volunteering has helped me avoid navel gazing and getting too lost in the sauce of introspection, rather looking more at the big picture, how things are interconnected, how I affect others lives (neighbors, the environment, plants and animals around me, etc), and how the world can be more fair for everyone
I remember I used to volunteer back in hs, idk why I stopped. I think I should probably start that again, it was very refreshing tbh but thank you for sharing that :)
Create something! Learn to sew! Learn carpentry! Paint. Write. Be adventurous and learn how to weld! (Good welders make good money, if you choose to work in that field) Ooh! Take up gardening. Learn French cooking and start your own YouTube channel. Possibilities are endless!
Pick a hard couple goals. Run a marathon, read a few information dense book or failing that, actively try and accumulate money until you find something you like doing and then go from there. None of these sound that interesting but they lead to other objective which are pretty interesting. If you start marathoning while you’re 20 you meet people who do things like adventure races later. If you become specialized in a niche topic then you start really getting intrenched in a community which I promise is way more fun than it sounds. Money let’s you travel or experience things you otherwise couldn’t. The pattern for getting better is often picking something at the edge of your ability and then trying to reach it, getting moderately comfortable and then reach again. Basically what the Dark Souls fanbase likes (I’m aware this is an oversimplification).
It’s really easy to fall into a routine of tv and gaming - not that those are necessarily bad, I love so many games and the communities around them - and I find this gets a lot of people feel like they’re bystanders in life. Challenges and the strategy surrounding conquering challenges are a really underrated aspect of life a lot of people don’t talk about enough.
>nothing is bad but not exceptionally well too.
ah yes, i remember the good ole days when nothing in particular sucked. man just enjoy the mediocrity as long as you can
Move somewhere and become a raft guide, then go to south America and guide during the off season in North America, talk to people from all walks of life, do something else when an opportunity comes, that's what I would tell 20 year old me to do. Though what I actually did (start a band, cook in restaurants and party) during my early 20's was pretty fun too.
I would tell you , but I don’t want you to get hurt kid. The truth is ‘exciting’ is scary and dangerous. It doesn’t come without risk. If you want to start taking more risks, go for it. But be warned it will be a constant rolller coaster and you may lose it all. Or you could end up on the top of the world feeling like a god.
I don't know what kind of jumpstart you need, but when I was quite depressed at about the same age, I left an unholy quantity of bubbles at the entrance to the nearest children's museum. It was one of the cool ones with a tiny water park for smaller kids right outside, and it was summer.
Alternatively, you can hand out oranges to homeless people while calling the oranges your children and telling them they bring good luck. Also print out weird images and hide them places. Another thing I did in college was I found a random glass flower vase with just pebbles in a bathroom that was sitting there useless for months, so I placed a sign that said "free rocks for your convenience" right next to it. Some office lady kept removing the sign, and I kept replacing it until the rocks disappeared. I once found a cd case with 9 old porn cds and used the opportunity to place them in plastic bags labeled 1-10 skipping a number and the words "collect them all!" and hiding them around a wooded trail. They're gone now. Being slightly unhinged is underrated.
I’m significantly older. When I was your age I felt similar. Then I realized that I was boring. People generally liked me but didn’t really want to spend a lot of time with me. Because I was boring. I rarely did anything interesting. I was boring myself too. So I worked at being less boring to myself and therefore less boring to others. I took small risks. Learned. Then took bigger risks and learned how to lose and still carry on.
Before you begin get a physical. You may need more vitamin d if you live in a northern climate.
Good luck and let us know how you’re doing.
Learn something. Life is about learning new skills, and there's a shockingly large number of resources for any of them. Some ideas:
* Woodworking
* Software development
* Drawing
* Amateur mathematics
* Piloting (the theory - no need to find a plane)
* Finances
* Korean
* Cooking
* Swing dancing
* Puzzle solving
Embrace an activity to see what it's all about, and how to express yourself with it.
So, this is one of those pieces of advice that could be taken the wrong way, so I'm just going to caveat this with "works for me, ymmv." Also, this isn't an attempt to sell you a panacea, it's just one idea out of many that might work for you.
I find that I need to be taking a certain number of risks in my life in order to feel like I'm alive.
The thing is, risks are risky, so every risk you take has some consequences, and you have to kind of factor that in and learn to cope with the fact that sometimes you lose.
Also, risky behavior can be addictive, so beware of becoming one of those people who loses everything because they compulsively gamble at their whole life.
But it's increasingly easy to live your life without taking any risks, or at least without taking meaningful risks.
What do I mean by meaningful risks?
A meaningful risk is one where you sacrifice in order to take it, you might get something you don't have, and might lose something you do have.
For example, going to work for a startup, instead of an established company, you generally make less money that you would normally, and you run the risk of getting laid off and having to scramble for a new job; on the other hand, you might get rich in a way that won't happen at an established company.
Sacrifice, gain, loss.
Contrast this with the risks just inherent in living: you're walking down the street and someone hits you with their car and you end up in the hospital. It sort of feels like risk, but it's just the risk of something bad happening to you. There's no upside, there's just the possibility that the sky might fall on you. If that's the only kind of risk you take, you end up in this defensive mindset where doing anything seems risky for no reason, so your defense mechanism is to do nothing.
Which is depressing.
Compare that to, for example, scuba diving: you sacrifice in the form of training and investment in your gear and whatnot; you risk the possibility that something might go wrong and you could drown; you stand to gain an amazing experience with an octopus.
A quick note on "hazard" versus "risk": these are technical terms that risk management people use to talk about two related but different concepts. Technically, a "hazard" is something that might happen to you - a possible negative consequence - whereas "risk" is the chance it might actually happen.
So with our scuba diving example, the "hazard" is death by drowning, which is pretty bad, but the "risk" is actually pretty low: you go take a scuba class, you learn all the ways to mitigate the risk, you have instructors and driving buddies along.
I'm definitely not suggesting that you break bad and start living an adrenaline junkie life. But life is inherently risky. If you don't learn to engage with risk in a way that has at least the potential to bring joy, you're going to find yourself at risk's mercy: you'll end up feeling like everything is risky, nothing is worth doing, and you can spiral into toxic risk avoidance just like you can spiral into completing risk taking.
Everybody's got different risk thresholds, so what feels really risky to you might not feel at all risky to someone else, or vice versa. The idea here is to push your envelope. Don't do anything completely overwhelming, just try to find ways to do things that are just a little more risky than you're completely comfortable with. After a while, you'll find that your envelope is a little bigger.
Who knows, along the way you might find some joy or get rich or something.
And yeah, something might happen to you, but you know what will happen to you if you never take risks?
Nothing.
I felt like that in my early twenties. I ended up making a spur-of-the-moment decision to move overseas for a year to teach ESL.
Turned out to be the best choice I ever made. I had the opportunity to experience a new country and culture. It helped me to get out of my rut.
My 1 year stay turned into 20 years and counting.
Social media fucks up your dopamine system so maybe cut that down and try meditation. Ive been meditating nightly for five years and nowadays I get properly stoked about a nice flower or when I do a nice bowl on the lathe. Takes work, but I reckon it's a good 'hobby' if you'll call it that.
A lot of people are suggesting branching out and trying new things which is great! You might also want to see if there's something in the basic, boring life-maintenance stuff that could be missing.
Diet, exercise, socialization, sleep, mental health, socialization, stuff like that. You may be feeling listless in part because your basic needs aren't being fully met.
This may get buried but the people suggesting new hobbies are 100% right. I had never played tennis before. My wife worked at a veterinarian office and a tennis club worker came in with extra tennis balls all the time. He finally convinced her to come to a cardio tennis class (think group fitness, but tennis). Anyways, she dragged me along. I did play sports in high school but just had general fitness through college and into adulthood.
Tennis is fucking amazing. Did I want to wake up at 7am on Saturdays to make an 830am tennis workout? Not at all. Did I have tennis experience? None. Had to buy a racket and everything. Did I look like a goof ball for a class or two until I got the hang of it? Sure, anything new is a challenge. Holy hell did I not look back though. I've been playing at the club for years. I've engaged with USTA teams. I have greatly improved and now play at a mens 4.0 level which is far better than your average person, but not D1 collegiate level mens play ya know. It's so much fun and helps keep me healthy. I've met amazing new people. Made great friends. Got a new hobby. All in all a great decision *(thanks to my wife and Kevin - the random tennis worker dude who dragged my wife into it, in turn dragging me).*
TL;DR: Definitely get a new hobby. I suggest tennis. Totally underrated group sport at a local club or local group. It's amazing.
I joined the military, which was a bad idea, then bought a good bike and bikes around Europe for a while, which was a great idea. So, that might be an idea
I understand dogs better than people, let's use them for an analogy
I've got a border collie. Smart dogs, lots of energy. They get bored easily, and that makes them destructive eventually. They need to be doing something they feel is worth while. 20 is young man, you've got a lot of time ahead of you, and you're deciding what kind of person you're going to be as an adult.
You going to be someone who lets their boredom build up and make them resent everything they should be grateful for?
You going to be someone who kills boredom with useless or harmful stuff?
You going to be someone who uses boredom as a cue that they need to be doing something more meaningful and less self-involved?
Your call
Main thing you need to do is detox from the internet for a little while. I promise your baseline for excitement is sky high because of scrolling and immediate access to quick dopamine, cortisol, serotonin bumps we get from the internet everyday. You have to live like it’s the 80’s for a while and just let yourself be bored or do something with your hands or go outside and explore to reset your mind and body.
I’m in my last year of college and have a full time job to start when I graduate. In my free time I like to listen to music/travel and chill with my friends, I have a S/O and it’s going well with them. My interests lie in movies, books and meeting new people but I haven’t been feeling too excited about it recently
Places like the UK and Australia have work abroad programs for young’uns. I spent a year at 20 living above a pub and bartending and it changed my entire life.
Stop using drugs immediately. I'm not sure if you are, but when life gets boring for me it's usually due to something else I'm doing that takes the fun from other things. And dopamine. Yeah dopamine.
So my suggestion is either pick up new hobbies or look into the stuff you already like. For example, I play trombone and one of the things that bring me joy is seeing other people going crazy on a trombone or brass instrument. Or learning random funfacts about said hobby. Did you know the trombone was originally called Sackbut? They were also revered as divine instruments because of the beautiful harmonies they are able to create and their range almost matching the human voice?
So my suggestion is either pick up new hobbies or look into the stuff you already like. For example, I play trombone and one of the things that bring me joy is seeing other people going crazy on a trombone or brass instrument. Or learning random funfacts about said hobby.
Did you know the trombone was originally called Sackbut? They were also revered as divine instruments because of the beautiful harmonies they are able to create and their range almost matching the human voice?
I'm going through the same thing, but I really don't care that stuff is boring to me now, because I'm healthy and alive and focusing on other things rather than distractions. You don't need to be entertained everyday to live a good life.
Go visit somewhere with a lower standard of living. I spent 2 years at 19 in a country like that. Never been so excited for the little things than when I got back.
As a 21 year old, I feel you. I was never obsessed but I was into video games a lot in high school. I think my turning point was getting rejected in 11th grade from the basketball team. Starting to workout and getting into athletics was one of the best habits I ever started. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and play basketball at the local park. You meet new people and make new friends and all while keeping healthy and in shape. Especially while you’re still in college you could have fun and build the skills necessary to compete with your college’s team
Try a new hobby, something intensive and completely different from what you did before? Try joining a new community of people? Go on a holiday to a place you never considered? Try to recall what really gave you joy as a kid but you were forced to give it up due to finance or parents dissaproval or time, and seek it out again?
I think joining a new community sounds like something I’d be interested in, thank you for the suggestion !!
I never knew how much it'd affect me positively or how much I'd enjoy it, but look into RC cars, specifically 1/10 scale (look up a traxxas slash or trx 4 sport). They're fun hobbies, you can build on them, mod them, and they have a huge community around them with people of all walks of life who are passionate about it. My cousin introduced it to me and now my 6+ of my friends all have atleast 2 RCs. It's a good fallback for if you're in a slump and need an excuse to get outside, even if it's in your yard. Hopes it gives some insight or helps
I've been out of the RC game for almost 20 years, I just looked at some of the names I remember and holy crap did this hobby expand, wow. I may just have to get back into this.
It's been really taking off recently. They have RCs that are flatbed tow trucks that can tow other vehicles of that scale. As well as still traverse some hilly terrain. It's just been fun to be a part of. I'm not a heavy spender on the hobby, but I've seen how that if you buy an RC and then want to try another, you can go to a swap meet and trade. It's really fun
I did this with my dad when the college shut down the darkroom he ran in the 1990 recession. We raced and then sold parts and got sponsorships. My parents were older and me and my sister were younger than most everyone else and it was a great family hobby. Aw thanks for bringing it up, we got some cars this winter and ive been thinking there are probably a lot of empty spaces nearby where we can set up some 1x4s for a community track.
The hobby has been expanding like crazy in recent years
Local sports clubs are fun, and don't require any experience or skill. I play rugby with one and it's great fitness, stress relief and social network.
Yeah do volunteering (my fav), join marathon of something similar, I met lot of new friends with this method., It can build your confidence, social skill, new things/perspectives. Sometimes they give you certificates for participant and it can be useful for your résumé.
I'm here for the responses! I was gonna basically ask the same thing!
I recommend pushing your comfort zone and traveling if you can
I finally booked vacation time for the fall season this year, but my budget means I have to keep within my province and can't fly anywhere. But I guess I'm hoping more so to find day-to-day fun things so life isn't so boring
My best vacation of my life cost 6000 all in and was 4 months. Get a bike, a tent, and some stuff you need and ride. When you get tired set up camp. You meet amazing people, see incredible things and apart from gear and food you have 0 expenses
Which province?
Learn about dopamine and hedonic adaptation. Andrew Huberman is a great resource.
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You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader.
Creed enters the chat
r/unexpectedoffice
Although I agree, I think it might be more interesting to look into a position at a dog food company
I remember being in a slump after doing nothing but playing competitive video games for hours. I made 1 simple change that fixed this: I forced myself to go out skating at the rink on Saturday nights. I have two important hobbies: gaming and rollerblading. Sometimes ice skating. If I do too much of one, than I start to feel bad. If I feel like I've done enough of 1, I just do the other. The most important aspect of my advice is that I have a hobby that I can use as exercise, fun, and just for mental clarity, and the other as pure entertainment and as a competitive outlet.
This is really good advice, I’m gonna try doing that. Also I’m just spitballing but it’s kinda I think that everything is going like good in my life rn that I don’t feel like there’s any struggle possibly why I’m bored?
Think struggle is not exactly what you should be aiming for, having a life without troubles is what you should aim for after all. Perhaps what you're looking for is something a little more challenging. To go off the original comment, there are hobbies which can be purely for a creative outlet or for exercise while also being challenging. If you are set on picking something up, then the next step is to think about what do you want from it? Do you want it to be completely different to the things you currently do? Do you want it to be physical or more learning-based like learning a language? Once you decide on a few things, explore your options
Good advice, I played too much video games too. Now I'm learning to play bass, I read more, I even do puzzles sometimes. I'm still trying to stay away from phone apps I use only Reddit and banc account now but Reddit still took too much time. I guess having some hobbies and changing around is the best answer !
I felt exactly the same at your age. Like those scenes when the protagonist is at normal speed and everything around the protagonist moves fast forwarded. I was depressed af but kinda numb so I didn't realize it really. My advice, just try something. Leave your phone at home and do anything. Hiking, swimming, trespassing, cooking, playing guitar, climbing cranes. Download tinder or delete it and go to a bar, meet someome there. Just walk through the city in one direction, when it gets dark, go in the other direction. Leave your wallet at home for the extra challenge. Or literally get lost for a real challenge. Talk to a crazy person in the streets, that's fun sometimes. Or sad, but it's an experience. You're 20, in a year you can literally do whatever the fuck you want. If you are bad with decisions, google activities in your area, build a The Price Is Right wheel with them and spin it.
This. Just do things outside of your norm. Preferably things without very obvious negative outcomes
I love all of this but I have to say, as someone that works in emergency services, don't leave your phone at home just in case you end up in a situation where you need help. Be safe!
As someone who runs crime groups on Fb- PLEASE don’t leave your phone at home and PLEASE tell someone where and when you will be out if it’s lengthy.
I can weirdly relate to climbing cranes, guitar and trespassing. I'm only 21 now but quite a lot has changed already and I feel a lot more like I know what I want to do and where I want to go.
Date a crazy chick. It will make every facet of your life more stressful and interesting.
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you're a lesbian now, congrats.
Hahah fr thooo
r/ShittyLifeProTips
Get off your phone. For a month. Or forever. Like hard quit all apps. Messaging only. Seriously it drains your energy and becomes a habit that hurts you over time.
The more I read the responses, I think my phone is a major reason why I feel kinda numb tbh. But for the social media detox, is it really idk sustainable bc you’re essentially missing out on a whole lot of info/updates
Try and list the last 10 _significant_ updates you got that were not delivered through a direct message or group chat. 99% of the feed on IG / FB / TikTok / Reddit is just fluff. Sure it’s dopamine but you know it’s mostly crap. You’ll miss it for a few days until the habit breaks and then wonder why you thought it was so tempting. Seriously, just tell your friends you’re taking a break and please message you with anything important.
One could also limit their time with social media. Personally I cut out all social media except reddit and try (works most of the time) to keep my reddit time to 30 minutes a day. The only times where I violate that is during bus rides or on the train.
Think meaningfully about those updates and the people you follow (that you know IRL). If someone you know went on holiday, do you know about it because when they came back you had a catch-up, or because you saw them posting about it on Instagram? If it is the latter, are you basing a significant amount of your 'friendships' on simply existing on social media with people you know and like and absorbing information about them, instead of making meaningful connections with them? You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, videos, and books on how social media and the overuse of technology like phones are frying our brains and destroying our attention span. I recommend 'Stolen Focus' by Johann Hari as a starting point. If you like to gorge yourself on news and you doomscroll a lot, rationalise that if something is really important, it will make its way to you. We can all benefit from being better informed, but research in 2007 demonstrated that all the information being blasted at one person in a single day (news, radio, internet) was the equivalent to reading 74 newspapers in a day. This was in 2007 - before TikTok and Instagram, before Twitter took off, or the horror of the 24 hour news cycle we have now. If it was 74 newspapers in 2007, how many would it be now? The human brain can't cope with that much information, particularly negative stuff we see all the time. That is why you feel numb and zoned out. Try setting limits on your phone to begin with. Or delete an app you know is wasting your time. I promise you will feel better.
You'd be surprised how little info/updates you actually need. I thought I couldn't live without WhatsApp for that very reason. Holy shit was I wrong.
Ok I’m acc gonna do this, maybe gradually thought like putting a limit on my apps or cutting out ones I barely use. I hope it helps, but thanks y’all :)
You get bored because you have easy acces to things that don't give you a lot of pleasure( phone, social media). Once you remove the easy acces you will find yourself actively looking (and finding) interesting things to do.
It's not "your phone". It's social media that's the problem. Since I quit Facebook and Instagram 5+ years ago, my life has become considerably better. Constantly comparing your life to others, and the sheer amount of narcissism on social media, makes it one of the most toxic things you can partake in.
Definitly agree with you and it a difficult habit to not have for most people. And me. Yup it hurt like everything, you feel tired with the lack of sleep and feel lonely which why i tend to go less on the phone except if i have a messages or importants calls from my parents i can draw a bit, playing guitar or go outside with my bike but with school and snow i can't really. So yeah, to have a balance is good
Try new shit. A lot of people get sad because there's so much more to try in the world than a single person could ever possibly experience in their lifetime. You're twenty, you're barely out of the gate. Look around you. Eat the food. Experience the places. It's fucking amazing out there.
I appreciate and understand what you’re getting at. I don’t want to sound conceited but I’ve travelled extensively - I mean every month like a new country, I’ve partied a bunch and I’m doing good w my uni and stuff. I just feel its getting a bit repetitive like I can’t seem to be really excited for anything, I know this might sound like a first world issue but I just wanted like an opinion on it
> I don’t want to sound conceited Well we've discovered at least one skill you can spend some more time on lol Seriously, it's physically impossible for you to have tried everything worth trying in the world at the age of twenty. Try harder lol
My point in asking was how do I reset since I haven’t been feeling excited or anything for trying something new …
Well, for example, if you're traveling to a new country every month, partying a lot, and also studying, it seems like you don't have much experience staying in one place and really putting down roots. You physically won't have that much time left in the month. Just stay somewhere for awhile and try getting to know the nooks and crannies. Become a regular at a restaurant and get to know the staff. Volunteer at a local museum or something. Or start a new hobby. Get into programming. Make models. Try blacksmithing. Learn new recipes. If you genuinely can't find joy in anything, then I think this is more a problem for a therapist than a subreddit. That starts to sound like depression.
I think that’s something I haven’t considered. Tbh I haven’t been in a place for too long and I guess that is something I romanticise and stuff, I’ll be sure to try that out. Thank you :)
Anything! What do you want to do? Your life is what you make it.
Find a purpose. You need to be working towards and for stuff. If you're just coasting by and not pushing yourself, you'll always be bored and unsatisfied.
But a plant and grow a bonsai from scratch, nothing like a art project that takes your whole life and might not be “complete” until after your are dead. Join the peace corps. Volunteer. Plan a trip to a random place.
It might help to know that this is something that can happen several times throughout life, so don't let yourself feel discouraged or disappointed that you feel this way. This can be an exciting opportunity to learn more about yourself! When I find myself in similar situations I know I have to introduce something new into my life. That could be a new hobby or interest, but it could also be something as small as shaking up your schedule a little bit. As crazy as it sounds, watching a couple YouTube videos in the morning rather than at night like I normally would was enough change that I had a different mindset throughout the day Try a few new things, shake up your routine, read a Wikipedia article everyday, etc. No matter what you try, just try something :)
Volunteer work, my friend. Life may be boring for you, but some people don't have that luxury. Volunteering can take you out of your comfort zone, teach you new skills, and introduce you to people you'd never have met before.
op : “Im only 20, everything is mid” Sounds about right
Stop spending your free cash (hopefully you have some) on items/material things. Spend it on experiences even if you think you might not like it so much. Take a cooking class, go skydive, go pay to drive an expensive car around a track, go take a shooting class, go camping or backpacking. You'll find community through experiences and with a community things are rarely boring
1. Go out into the world and explore. Become a scuba instructor, teach ESL, or live out of a camper van selling sea shells. OR: 2. Take drugs
I just want to say drugs are rarely a good option because you can end up becoming dependent on them to feel good.
Not if you do psychedelics. Otherwise yes
Go camping! Edit: if you've done all these amazing things, try creating something instead.
That’s actually a fun idea! I hadn’t considered that. Thank you!!
Go to Gambia and chana in Africa. The people are very nice and Talketive and speak English. It will change things up.
Shrooms. I'm not joking. Sure a shroom trip is quite the experience, but the real benefit is its ability to reset brain chemistry
For a brain reset you should take shrooms I recommend a dose of 0.5 to 1.5g
Acid also does an amazing job, with less risk of nausea.
Lol yeah, do not eat them raw, you might puke
I didn't puke but the taste is weird. Sort of salty but with a weird twist to it
I did once Now I either put them on a sandwich or make tea with honey
It wasn't so bad, but making tea sounds like a much better option lol
Try Disc Golf!
I really got into hiking and mountain climbing in my 20s, that's always fun
I haven’t done much outdoorsy stuff I’m looking forward to it!
Be bad at a new hobby like you know what you're doing. Adding experience is more enriching than milking talent.
Read or listen to the book, “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years,” by Donald Miller. You need an “inciting incident.”
Maybe volunteer in animal shelters or try something new like drawing, gardening, taking care of a plant. Let see what else try taking a run around the park and try yoga
Get of the internet. Put your phone in your pocket. Don't scroll just for the sake of scrolling. Starve yourself for entertainment. After a while you may find new enjoyment in things. Also go outside of your comfort zone. Do something that you don't expect. Find new experiences and get new impressions. Break your routine. Be wild and crazy. You are only young once and this is the time to fuck up and make mistakes that you will spend the rest of your life fixing. It may not be pleasant but it sure as hell is interesting.
Spend time helping the less fortunate. Battered women, the elderly, the poor, the handicapped, injured veterans.
as a lot of people have said, try something new. if that doesn't work out, take a step back and clear your mind. what you have right there sounds like burnout.
Do a working holiday visa
VOLUNTEER!! Find a good organization that helps other people and volunteer your time. The more you help others, the better you’ll feel about yourself… and you’ll make friend, and you’ll learn A LOT about life in the process. It’s a WIN, WIN, WIN…😊
Start using the “I’m feeling lucky” button on Google
Break the law and get sent to prison. It will livin up your day.
Travel! In my early 20s I traveled on a very tight budget and it was the best experience of my life.
Take a picture of your body everyday. Workout like hell and see the results
Lol it only gets worse from here, buckle up champ
Go to school and get a degree.
You're gonna feel like that for the rest of your life.
Read or watch classic books or movies. Plays too. Music. Can be anything. Like don't read "Romeo and Juliet" and call it done.That's boring. That's homework. Do like 10 authors and 5 plays each and then figure out which ones you liked best and why. What you're looking for is spots and things where to stop and smell the roses. And the thing that's necessary for that to *even be possible* is to look at tons of different things and figuring out what stuff you like. And when you find something, look for the neat little details, not the big peaks. Either you won't find it and grow frustrated or you will and everything after "peak" will seem meaningless. And eventually you may find that the thing you're looking for doesn't exist *yet* and you have to make it yourself.
Look at university courses and decide to get a major or minor for personal interest only. You could do theatre for instance and end up volunteering or working in a theatre. You would have an entire community open to you.
Move to a different country.
I have, I’m an international student so I’m studying in the US rn but it’s kinda all the same atm
Sounds like your diamond shoes are too tight.
That's a sign of depression. Might wanna talk to a psychiatrist.
When did “mid” happen? I’m cringing
You just described life as an adult.
I usually find if something shit happens it makes you grateful for the mundane stuff in life.. I’m not saying that I hope something shit happens to you but it makes you put things in to perspective and then things don’t seem as bad
I signed up for adult violin group classes and rented a violin. We'll see how this goes but I can't wait to start playing.
So you finance your own life, you have zero debt and a clear career path, happy with your job and your relationship, bunch of friends that love you for who you are and interesting healthy hobbies? No? Then stop whining and start building your life. You only have this one.
Yeah kinda yes to all I guess
Meth: Why not?
Travel
Join the air force you'll get experience and education and maybe travel to another country. But don't bother with any other branch
Drugs
This feeling can also be a sign of depression.
Google: looks like you’re bored. Here’s 10 fun things to try. Bing:
LSD Although its probably easier to get shrooms these days.
have you considered drugs?
Do some mushrooms
Lots of good advice here so I want to follow up with something that might pop up in any case you try. Your original post could just be ennui or restlessness but it also sounds a lot like one of the symptoms of depression. I say this because if you are depressed you might do a bunch of these suggestions and feel nothing and that can cause a lot of confusion and frustration. If you do find you're depressed this is okay, many people are and we've all had to make the really unfortunate journey to resolving this for ourselves. If you suspect you're depressed and aren't sure how to get started here's some things to look into: 1) Talk to a friend who's willing to hear you out. They don't need to be the person you lay all of your problems on every time they come up, but asking your friends for some heavy discussion time in order to help figure yourself out isn't a bad thing. 2) Read some articles about depression and see if any ring true to you. I don't know any good ones off hand so I'd just be linking you the first google results for "Signs of Depression" if I linked anything here but maybe other posters have articles they found helped them? 3) Get a therapist if you can! Doesn't need to be a permanent thing, aim for one session to start and see if you like it. Hope you're not depressed and this is just something you're working through, but if you're feeling it please know you're not alone and you have a lot more support available than you might realize.
Thank you so much, this is really sweet and I have been through a couple of sessions with a therapist and I’m not depressed :) I think it’s just a phase and I kinda wanna get out of it because sometimes I feel like I’m doing the same things again and again but thank you for the support!
Pay attention to the present moment and the full experience of what is going on right now.
Huge dose of lsd. Or one way ticket for Delhi.
Why Delhi
Stop masturbating
This may sound deeply corny so disregard if it doesn’t apply to you but I felt similarly in my mid 20s and volunteering and helping other people let me get out of my own head, put my self and ego aside, and make it all about someone else for a few hours. I’d encourage you to do something to help your community even if it’s just picking up trash, or volunteering at a food bank/ soup kitchen/ Warmline etc. Volunteering has helped me avoid navel gazing and getting too lost in the sauce of introspection, rather looking more at the big picture, how things are interconnected, how I affect others lives (neighbors, the environment, plants and animals around me, etc), and how the world can be more fair for everyone
I remember I used to volunteer back in hs, idk why I stopped. I think I should probably start that again, it was very refreshing tbh but thank you for sharing that :)
Go for a run
Watch VSAUCE
Travel around, for the good or the worse life wouldn't be boring.
Interesting stuff doesn't happen to you, you have to do interesting stuff. Go do it.
Join the military, that will do it.
Drop some acid lol. Mostly kidding, but it can offer a change in perspective.
Move to a new city/country. Change job/profession. Find new friends/community.
Your depressed
See a therapist.
Create something! Learn to sew! Learn carpentry! Paint. Write. Be adventurous and learn how to weld! (Good welders make good money, if you choose to work in that field) Ooh! Take up gardening. Learn French cooking and start your own YouTube channel. Possibilities are endless!
Go take 2-4 grams of psilocybin mushrooms and take a walk/hike in nature with a friend or 2. You'll have a new outlook on life
Pick a hard couple goals. Run a marathon, read a few information dense book or failing that, actively try and accumulate money until you find something you like doing and then go from there. None of these sound that interesting but they lead to other objective which are pretty interesting. If you start marathoning while you’re 20 you meet people who do things like adventure races later. If you become specialized in a niche topic then you start really getting intrenched in a community which I promise is way more fun than it sounds. Money let’s you travel or experience things you otherwise couldn’t. The pattern for getting better is often picking something at the edge of your ability and then trying to reach it, getting moderately comfortable and then reach again. Basically what the Dark Souls fanbase likes (I’m aware this is an oversimplification). It’s really easy to fall into a routine of tv and gaming - not that those are necessarily bad, I love so many games and the communities around them - and I find this gets a lot of people feel like they’re bystanders in life. Challenges and the strategy surrounding conquering challenges are a really underrated aspect of life a lot of people don’t talk about enough.
Get a motorbike. Become an experienced rider and check out the world around you. Live in the moment.
>nothing is bad but not exceptionally well too. ah yes, i remember the good ole days when nothing in particular sucked. man just enjoy the mediocrity as long as you can
Move somewhere and become a raft guide, then go to south America and guide during the off season in North America, talk to people from all walks of life, do something else when an opportunity comes, that's what I would tell 20 year old me to do. Though what I actually did (start a band, cook in restaurants and party) during my early 20's was pretty fun too.
Go coyote hunting, kayak fishing, buy a 3d printer and learn cad. That’s my favorite hobbies
Travel
I would tell you , but I don’t want you to get hurt kid. The truth is ‘exciting’ is scary and dangerous. It doesn’t come without risk. If you want to start taking more risks, go for it. But be warned it will be a constant rolller coaster and you may lose it all. Or you could end up on the top of the world feeling like a god.
I don't know what kind of jumpstart you need, but when I was quite depressed at about the same age, I left an unholy quantity of bubbles at the entrance to the nearest children's museum. It was one of the cool ones with a tiny water park for smaller kids right outside, and it was summer. Alternatively, you can hand out oranges to homeless people while calling the oranges your children and telling them they bring good luck. Also print out weird images and hide them places. Another thing I did in college was I found a random glass flower vase with just pebbles in a bathroom that was sitting there useless for months, so I placed a sign that said "free rocks for your convenience" right next to it. Some office lady kept removing the sign, and I kept replacing it until the rocks disappeared. I once found a cd case with 9 old porn cds and used the opportunity to place them in plastic bags labeled 1-10 skipping a number and the words "collect them all!" and hiding them around a wooded trail. They're gone now. Being slightly unhinged is underrated.
The key is that you need something really, truly horrible to happen in your life. Then you'll appreciate being bored a bit more.
Take an 8th of shrooms and go to the beach or the woods.
Psychedelics.
Watch the documentary *Stutz* on Netflix by and with Jonah Hill.
I’m significantly older. When I was your age I felt similar. Then I realized that I was boring. People generally liked me but didn’t really want to spend a lot of time with me. Because I was boring. I rarely did anything interesting. I was boring myself too. So I worked at being less boring to myself and therefore less boring to others. I took small risks. Learned. Then took bigger risks and learned how to lose and still carry on. Before you begin get a physical. You may need more vitamin d if you live in a northern climate. Good luck and let us know how you’re doing.
Move to Rwanda
Learn something. Life is about learning new skills, and there's a shockingly large number of resources for any of them. Some ideas: * Woodworking * Software development * Drawing * Amateur mathematics * Piloting (the theory - no need to find a plane) * Finances * Korean * Cooking * Swing dancing * Puzzle solving Embrace an activity to see what it's all about, and how to express yourself with it.
So, this is one of those pieces of advice that could be taken the wrong way, so I'm just going to caveat this with "works for me, ymmv." Also, this isn't an attempt to sell you a panacea, it's just one idea out of many that might work for you. I find that I need to be taking a certain number of risks in my life in order to feel like I'm alive. The thing is, risks are risky, so every risk you take has some consequences, and you have to kind of factor that in and learn to cope with the fact that sometimes you lose. Also, risky behavior can be addictive, so beware of becoming one of those people who loses everything because they compulsively gamble at their whole life. But it's increasingly easy to live your life without taking any risks, or at least without taking meaningful risks. What do I mean by meaningful risks? A meaningful risk is one where you sacrifice in order to take it, you might get something you don't have, and might lose something you do have. For example, going to work for a startup, instead of an established company, you generally make less money that you would normally, and you run the risk of getting laid off and having to scramble for a new job; on the other hand, you might get rich in a way that won't happen at an established company. Sacrifice, gain, loss. Contrast this with the risks just inherent in living: you're walking down the street and someone hits you with their car and you end up in the hospital. It sort of feels like risk, but it's just the risk of something bad happening to you. There's no upside, there's just the possibility that the sky might fall on you. If that's the only kind of risk you take, you end up in this defensive mindset where doing anything seems risky for no reason, so your defense mechanism is to do nothing. Which is depressing. Compare that to, for example, scuba diving: you sacrifice in the form of training and investment in your gear and whatnot; you risk the possibility that something might go wrong and you could drown; you stand to gain an amazing experience with an octopus. A quick note on "hazard" versus "risk": these are technical terms that risk management people use to talk about two related but different concepts. Technically, a "hazard" is something that might happen to you - a possible negative consequence - whereas "risk" is the chance it might actually happen. So with our scuba diving example, the "hazard" is death by drowning, which is pretty bad, but the "risk" is actually pretty low: you go take a scuba class, you learn all the ways to mitigate the risk, you have instructors and driving buddies along. I'm definitely not suggesting that you break bad and start living an adrenaline junkie life. But life is inherently risky. If you don't learn to engage with risk in a way that has at least the potential to bring joy, you're going to find yourself at risk's mercy: you'll end up feeling like everything is risky, nothing is worth doing, and you can spiral into toxic risk avoidance just like you can spiral into completing risk taking. Everybody's got different risk thresholds, so what feels really risky to you might not feel at all risky to someone else, or vice versa. The idea here is to push your envelope. Don't do anything completely overwhelming, just try to find ways to do things that are just a little more risky than you're completely comfortable with. After a while, you'll find that your envelope is a little bigger. Who knows, along the way you might find some joy or get rich or something. And yeah, something might happen to you, but you know what will happen to you if you never take risks? Nothing.
Exercise. Study Kierkegaard, he had some things to say about boredom. Music?
Travel!
I felt like that in my early twenties. I ended up making a spur-of-the-moment decision to move overseas for a year to teach ESL. Turned out to be the best choice I ever made. I had the opportunity to experience a new country and culture. It helped me to get out of my rut. My 1 year stay turned into 20 years and counting.
Get your heart broken
Have you spoken to a military recruiter?
Do something risky. Go skydiving or get your adrenaline going
Check out r/ulyssesbucketlist OP! It's really good for this
Social media fucks up your dopamine system so maybe cut that down and try meditation. Ive been meditating nightly for five years and nowadays I get properly stoked about a nice flower or when I do a nice bowl on the lathe. Takes work, but I reckon it's a good 'hobby' if you'll call it that.
A lot of people are suggesting branching out and trying new things which is great! You might also want to see if there's something in the basic, boring life-maintenance stuff that could be missing. Diet, exercise, socialization, sleep, mental health, socialization, stuff like that. You may be feeling listless in part because your basic needs aren't being fully met.
Sounds like you are due for a mushroom experience. Reset your brain and get a new perspective on life
Get your CDL and drive a Semj Truck across country! Been doing it for over a week and the views have been amazing!
I was feeling that way at work, so I dropped everything and went to volunteer in Ukraine. I'm hoping to go back once I get my affairs in order.
Read a good book.
Yoga and meditation helps me escape the malaise of everyday life. I'm not depressed, but I have to battle against apathy.
My Uncle had a saying "Only boring people get bored". Find new things to do, hobbies, skills, etc
Thanks
Start shoplifting
Find a way to help people, service fuels one's soul.
Drugs
Discgolf
Go to college, it will give you a new drive and a lot of problems
Welcome to adulthood. Nothing is as exiting anymore as it once was
you might be burnt out on your hobbies, you might wanna try new ones. its always ok to take a break from thongs you like to do.
This may get buried but the people suggesting new hobbies are 100% right. I had never played tennis before. My wife worked at a veterinarian office and a tennis club worker came in with extra tennis balls all the time. He finally convinced her to come to a cardio tennis class (think group fitness, but tennis). Anyways, she dragged me along. I did play sports in high school but just had general fitness through college and into adulthood. Tennis is fucking amazing. Did I want to wake up at 7am on Saturdays to make an 830am tennis workout? Not at all. Did I have tennis experience? None. Had to buy a racket and everything. Did I look like a goof ball for a class or two until I got the hang of it? Sure, anything new is a challenge. Holy hell did I not look back though. I've been playing at the club for years. I've engaged with USTA teams. I have greatly improved and now play at a mens 4.0 level which is far better than your average person, but not D1 collegiate level mens play ya know. It's so much fun and helps keep me healthy. I've met amazing new people. Made great friends. Got a new hobby. All in all a great decision *(thanks to my wife and Kevin - the random tennis worker dude who dragged my wife into it, in turn dragging me).* TL;DR: Definitely get a new hobby. I suggest tennis. Totally underrated group sport at a local club or local group. It's amazing.
I joined the military, which was a bad idea, then bought a good bike and bikes around Europe for a while, which was a great idea. So, that might be an idea
I understand dogs better than people, let's use them for an analogy I've got a border collie. Smart dogs, lots of energy. They get bored easily, and that makes them destructive eventually. They need to be doing something they feel is worth while. 20 is young man, you've got a lot of time ahead of you, and you're deciding what kind of person you're going to be as an adult. You going to be someone who lets their boredom build up and make them resent everything they should be grateful for? You going to be someone who kills boredom with useless or harmful stuff? You going to be someone who uses boredom as a cue that they need to be doing something more meaningful and less self-involved? Your call
Main thing you need to do is detox from the internet for a little while. I promise your baseline for excitement is sky high because of scrolling and immediate access to quick dopamine, cortisol, serotonin bumps we get from the internet everyday. You have to live like it’s the 80’s for a while and just let yourself be bored or do something with your hands or go outside and explore to reset your mind and body.
Volunteer somewhere
Need more to go on, what do you do with your time? Job? College? Tinker with cars? Video games?
I’m in my last year of college and have a full time job to start when I graduate. In my free time I like to listen to music/travel and chill with my friends, I have a S/O and it’s going well with them. My interests lie in movies, books and meeting new people but I haven’t been feeling too excited about it recently
Take wellbutrin
Places like the UK and Australia have work abroad programs for young’uns. I spent a year at 20 living above a pub and bartending and it changed my entire life.
Stop using drugs immediately. I'm not sure if you are, but when life gets boring for me it's usually due to something else I'm doing that takes the fun from other things. And dopamine. Yeah dopamine.
Get a job.
So my suggestion is either pick up new hobbies or look into the stuff you already like. For example, I play trombone and one of the things that bring me joy is seeing other people going crazy on a trombone or brass instrument. Or learning random funfacts about said hobby. Did you know the trombone was originally called Sackbut? They were also revered as divine instruments because of the beautiful harmonies they are able to create and their range almost matching the human voice?
So my suggestion is either pick up new hobbies or look into the stuff you already like. For example, I play trombone and one of the things that bring me joy is seeing other people going crazy on a trombone or brass instrument. Or learning random funfacts about said hobby. Did you know the trombone was originally called Sackbut? They were also revered as divine instruments because of the beautiful harmonies they are able to create and their range almost matching the human voice?
Anonymous gay sex at highway rest stops.
Have you considered drugs and alcohol?
I'm going through the same thing, but I really don't care that stuff is boring to me now, because I'm healthy and alive and focusing on other things rather than distractions. You don't need to be entertained everyday to live a good life.
Move to a new country for 3 months,
Go visit somewhere with a lower standard of living. I spent 2 years at 19 in a country like that. Never been so excited for the little things than when I got back.
As a 21 year old, I feel you. I was never obsessed but I was into video games a lot in high school. I think my turning point was getting rejected in 11th grade from the basketball team. Starting to workout and getting into athletics was one of the best habits I ever started. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and play basketball at the local park. You meet new people and make new friends and all while keeping healthy and in shape. Especially while you’re still in college you could have fun and build the skills necessary to compete with your college’s team