I am 23 years old, recently graduated and already scared about the rest of my life. I just wake up, go to the gym, go to the office, come home, go to the gym again and sleep. that’s it. (of course, it differs from day to day..)
**some background:** don’t think of me as some ugly, weird, non-social, loner who has nothing and no one. I have a loving family… a day doesn’t go by without talking to my mom and dad. have two amazing friends who would put their life on the line for me. I have a big social group(be it, colleagues, collegemates, schoolmates… all the ppl I met thru my life) whom I party with at the weekends. broke up with my girlfriend 2 months ago (whom I dated for 3 years, my first and only serious relationship. broke up because she moved to another country and the long distance seemed like a fairytale, definitely not going back) I earn good for my age and have a comfortable life. work is not hectic and not a cakewalk either… adequately challenging.
It’s just that everything is so mechanical… like I know what happens 2 ~~hours~~ ~~days~~ ~~weeks~~ months from now and where I will be and what I will be doing exactly! (the scary part is… I tested this and this is true!) this scares me a lot! why am I doing this? why are we all doing this?! what’s the point? is this just me?! or does anyone else has this feeling? (ever in their life)
5 comments
Seek therapy.
I’m 36 and I can relate. This whole working thing is complete BS, but unfortunately I’m stuck with it
You’re having a quarter-life crisis. It’s totally normal, and you shouldn’t panic. You’ve just had a massive change in lifestyle. Previously you were in school, living life a semester at a time, with regular changes in what you were doing every few months. Now suddenly, you’re in a job that is far more steady-state, and naturally, you’re getting antsy.
This is very understandable. It’s a big psychological change–you feel like you’re stagnating. But you’re not stagnating; you’re growing and getting experience. Career experience is often measured in blocks of years (1-2, 3-5, 5-7, 7-10, etc.). It’ll feel like a LONG time between changes.
So don’t panic. What you’re feeling is normal. It might help to map out goals, short-term, mid-term, and long-term, both career and otherwise, and position yourself to make and measure progress towards them regularly. To help get your mind out of the groundhog-day-esque funk.
Life is the journey my man. Sure we’re all hurtling towards the same point, but we all take different paths. Enjoy it, its not a competition despite what some people insist.
Just try to take life as it comes, try to make time to enjoy the small things. It’s super easy to get in your own head about life. Don’t compare yourself to others, just live the life you wanna live.