Off-topic from Pokemon but hoping to seek some life advice on the forum from my fellow Pokemon buddies.
Recently, as of a few months ago I sold most/if not all of my Pokemon collection as I am now moving in October. Reason being: landed a pretty cool job in the field I’m in, stated pursuing the masters degree in the field as well and thought buying a condo would be the next step in life, and I should try being “more adult” and take responsibilities on.
Wanted to know if any of you ever came to the crossroads/made the decision to focus on your studies when it came to University. I feel like its all I did to land the cool job I wanted, and I kept Pokemon as a hobby to keep me happy.
When I reached the real “working world”, I met a lot of people that had different life experiences than I did. No one really shared introverted hobbies like myself, or things of that nature it was more of the relationship nature talk. I also have seen a shift in the friends group I have that I start to see less, and less often and it just makes me want to work the weekends away, and come home and sleep. I started to really lose passion for the hobbies I used to love, and cant seem to find the same simple happiness I used to have when I would study.
Now having reached 24, I can’t help but feel I’ve gone wrong somewhere in life. Anyone ever gone through a similar situation?
I used to never be phased by things in the past, I guess maybe I just tuned it out better as a student.
I don’t really follow all you wrote but I can tell you life is a process. It’s a series of vignette’s. There are seriously no ends…until the ultimate end. All else are simply experiences along the path. Don’t dwell on the difficult experiences cause that will only slow you down on your journey towards the amazing things that lie ahead,
Hey dude. Im 28 and kind of know where you’re coming from. Got through uni and got a job and bought a place and thats when it hit me that i was no longer free and had debt to get rid of.
My advice would be find something you enjoy or want to achieve and go like hell at it. For me it was fitness. I started with marathons in uni then over the next six or so years stepped it up into ultra triathlon (full and half iron distance stuff). It helped as pretty much all I did was work, train, eat, sleep. Although it was at times pretty lonely it made me need to get out of work and get away from it all so I could train. Recently ive dropped some training and just run most mornings and now put a bit of my time in exploring nature through spearfishing.
Another thing to remember is that your time is the most valuable thing you have. It’s the only thing everyone is equal on. Find something/s you enjoy and make sure you make time to do it. Also it’s ok to have regrets,I have plenty.
Final thing, be open to making new friends who are interested in your potentially new hobbies.
Not sure if this helps at all but if you’re genuinely flat and maybe even depressed, best thing you can do is see your doctor for help. I know from experience.
You’ve reached a quarterly crisis. I’m currently at that phase. I’m coping with it by exploring things I never done before. Look for charities, travel, run a 5k, steal Gary’s sweat pants, etc.
I got this from a tv or movie: “err on the side of saying yes”. This will help you open your mind to new things.
The issue with school is – You are around your friends and peers 24/7. You see everyone on the daily and you don’t even realize the bliss until it is all gone. I’m going through a similar dilemma right now. Part of me wants to move and be closer to my friends, since I went to school out of the city I grew up in. Conversely, part of me wants to stay here at home with all my family and friends here. It sucks but as you grow older your friendship circles start to shrink and some of those so called “friends” you had at school, will probably forget your name next time they see you in a supermarket.
Whether I say if you should sell or not is up to you. I wouldn’t start selling my collection just because no one I know collects Pokemon, simply because I get joy and gratitude out of collecting. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be doing it.
Re-evaluate your situation and think about what truly brings you happiness, and your answer will be there.
Thanks guys! think it is abit of a quarter life crisis, I guess I just need to start taking up activities that will keep me busy like you guys have said, as the increased time alone is quite lonesome. I guess when you get to work you start comparing yourself to more successful people too much as well, that you start wondering.
Don’t waste this precious time you have on earth, you only live once. Have you ever listened to that Allan Watts recording about doing what makes you happy? I heard it right before leaving high school and it changed my life.
I’m 28 years old, and although I’m just 4 years older than you, sometimes I feel that was a completely different person at 24. I’ll give you some examples; I’ve seen college from two different points of view. From the party side and hanging out with the “cool bros” and the side of “I’m an adult with a full time job and I can’t waste my time”. A lot of times we focus so much in being so socially responsible like graduating, making money, doing the right things, getting a house, having a 720+ Fico score that we forget to enjoy ourselves. I’m not saying these are bad things but sometimes you need to do things for yourself to remain sane. The 20’s is a weird stage, some people become adults instantly and successful and others just go around exploring. It is normal to compare yourself with others but sometimes it is not healthy.
I’ll give you more examples, as a gay man, I always felt that being in the closet robbed me from my teen years, I was always paranoid someone would out me and that I would be rejected and ridiculed. I still sometimes say “shit, I wish I would’ve been out in high school”. This sounds stupid, I’m 28, happy with my partner and we own a beautiful home with more rooms we can’t fill, (in that sense I feel like I’m 35). The point I’m trying to make is that we all go through the life in different orders that everyone else. Some people become parents first, others do careers first and others become homeowners first. There is not an established order, but what’s more important than all of that is for you to be happy while you are at it. Those things are not gonna matter if you are not happy while are you are living them. You are young, go out and travel the world. Take some risks, you are at the age of making those mistakes like I like to call it (go on a journey) Sometimes you have to let loose.
Thanks for the advice man, glad to hear of a positive outcome! For me it was more of a seeing that most people had it all sorted out i:e relationships, job, houses and I was like dang you know I’m not as accomplished as these people are. But like you said, life is a process. I feel like most of my life is in order, just I’ve failed at the relationships aspect of life. Still time to fix tho I hope :] I try to keep a positive outlook of what I’ve been able to accomplish so far, but some days its harder than others.
Sometimes it’s ok to feel a bit down. Maybe what you’re feeling right now is a sign that there’s something you’d like to change in your life. If it’s related to friends and relationships, maybe what you’re feeling is a sign that you should actively start taking more care of the friendships that you already have and that are important to you, or even that you should actively look for new friends that can share your interests… Our feelings are usually just the way our body tells us what we need to hear
That being said, I completely agree with one of the messages above: if you see that this is getting worse, asking for help to a professional is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, I think it is brave. So if you need it, go for it
One last thing in case it’s too serious and you don’t ask for help: the thing with depression is that it’s a circle. You feel down, so you feel kindda tired to go out, so you don’t go out, and you feel bad, so you feel even more tired, and you feel down again, so you don’t go out… And it keeps going. The only way to break the circle is going out. Even if you feel down and tired, going to see your family, your friends, going for a walk, going to the cinema even if it’s alone. Even if you don’t feel like it. That’s the only way to break the circle.
So I guess my point is: listen to yourself and change something if you need to change something, if you need it ask for help and if you don’t ask for help, at least go see your family or go to have a walk. Just don’t close the door to the world
I was and still am in a similar position. That is why I sold off my collection. From all the advice that is given I will say it’s all hitting the same spot. Things are constantly changing during our 20s. We are trying to find some balance to this life (both for our individual self and as part of a larger society) and to do that it takes a certain amount of exploration and self discovery. The amount of which is needed is different for everyone, but that is part of the fun.
Take chances, put yourself out there, explore the world and see what comes.
This video is something I watch and it helps me keep a positive attitude regardless of what is going on.
Loved the video man! I sold my Base set collection as well that took me years to grow, and am indeed looking to “find myself”. I guess its something we must all go through in our search for happiness.
