Why do people like life so much?

[Rumplestiltskin]

Life is boring. Painfully boring. Excruciatingly boring.

You get up every day 2 to 5 hours earlier than you would if you didn’t have to go to work. You spend the next half an hour in your bathroom, wondering fruitlessly what the meaning of life is. And then the next half one commuting, longing for the day you’ll be magically rich.

Time now to waste 10 or more hours in a disgusting, depressing, utterly impersonal office, doing all kinds of monotonous tasks you couldn’t for the love of your life care any less for. Only you have to. There’s no escape from work. You’re trapped.

Gone by those 10 or more hours of never-ending boredom, you come back to real life and are finally free to do whatever you want.

Only you’re not.

You still have to run some errands, buy some groceries, do some housework, walk out your dog, maybe pay a visit to your dentist. Only then are you allowed to attend your local gym, which you must do thrice per week in order to keep you healthy.

And so it’s already time for dinner. You eat rapidly and throw yourself onto the couch. You do now have time to enjoy your hobbies (which, by the way, are definitely one too many). You put on a good movie and doze off 20 minutes into it. You wake up as the ending credits roll, startled by the suddenly loud music.

Tomorrow will be another day. A better day, that’s one thing for sure.

Only it will be just like today.

But hey, the weekend is just around the corner! Let yourself rejoice, for you’ll soon be able to make up for all those hours you haven’t been able to sleep during the whole week.

And then will come Monday.

 

[Odo]

This isn't a thread about life, it's a thread about you.
Other people like their lives.

 

[Flanscho]

Well, as long as you live, there is hope. When you are dead, you are gone, for good. Non-existence for all eternity. No hope, nothing.

I like my life. Sure, there are problems every now and then, but nearly everything is better than not existing at all.

 

[Feathers]

A job is a choice. To have money to buy pretty things and live on your own and have peace and quiet (hopefully).
Having a dog is a choice too.

If you're unhappy with your job you could try to make it more interesting or likeable, or try looking for another one, more meaningful to you?
Then there's always vacations....

A lot of people do seem to live aimlessly, from day to day, but if you take a walk in a beautiful park on a sunny day (with your dog? ) it can be difficult not to notice that life is beautiful too, no?

 

[springk]

I bet my life is more boring!

 

[Opaline]

As Odo said, you just described YOUR life, not EVERYONE'S. However... you have a point. Many people's lives are very similar, especially in the West. You're not the only one to find the standard, post-Industrial lifestyle dissatisfying. Like everything else, it has its pros and cons, and right now you're more aware of the cons because you probably take the pros for granted.

What would you rather your life look like? (besides being filthy rich, which is unlikely to happen)

Maybe start planning for the life YOU want. Much easier said than done, but you can start making small changes. Or save money and go on some kind of retreat. Or start appreciating the positive things. Etc.

If the main issue is boredom... find ways to make it not boring? That's very doable, I think.

 

[lurknomore]

I'm currently having a hard time understanding how people enjoy life. Not because I'm bored (maybe just a little) but because life for me is just anxiety and stress that I can't handle, and I'd rather not exist than have to put up with it anymore.

 

[Froggy246]

Life is boring. Painfully boring. Excruciatingly boring.

You get up every day 2 to 5 hours earlier than you would if you didn’t have to go to work. You spend the next half an hour in your bathroom, wondering fruitlessly what the meaning of life is. And then the next half one commuting, longing for the day you’ll be magically rich.

Time now to waste 10 or more hours in a disgusting, depressing, utterly impersonal office, doing all kinds of monotonous tasks you couldn’t for the love of your life care any less for. Only you have to. There’s no escape from work. You’re trapped.

Gone by those 10 or more hours of never-ending boredom, you come back to real life and are finally free to do whatever you want.

Only you’re not.

You still have to run some errands, buy some groceries, do some housework, walk out your dog, maybe pay a visit to your dentist. Only then are you allowed to attend your local gym, which you must do thrice per week in order to keep you healthy.

And so it’s already time for dinner. You eat rapidly and throw yourself onto the couch. You do now have time to enjoy your hobbies (which, by the way, are definitely one too many). You put on a good movie and doze off 20 minutes into it. You wake up as the ending credits roll, startled by the suddenly loud music.

Tomorrow will be another day. A better day, that’s one thing for sure.

Only it will be just like today.

But hey, the weekend is just around the corner! Let yourself rejoice, for you’ll soon be able to make up for all those hours you haven’t been able to sleep during the whole week.

And then will come Monday.

Unfortunately this sounds a lot like my life too, I think the same sort of things when I'm riding home from work......'surly there's got to be a better way to spend my time on Earth than this!?'

If you're unhappy with your job you could try to make it more interesting or likeable, or try looking for another one, more meaningful to you?
Then there's always vacations....

I have in the past quit jobs with the intention of finding a more fulfilling way to live, I have all these ideas about what I could do but then lack the motivation, direction and decision making skills, to put a plan into action. After the first few days of freedom, I'll end up sitting at home slightly on edge and overwhelmed for a few weeks until the fear of running out of savings forces me to start applying for the same sort of job I had before.
I was thinking about this the other day actually, I know that life could be much more inspiring, but I don't really know how to make the switch exactly.

Your point about the holiday is a good one though, as soon as I step off the plane I'm like 'wow life is good after all!' but that's only temporary of course.

 

[Flanscho]

If you don't like your job, go get another one. :idontknow:

 

[bsammy]

I'm currently having a hard time understanding how people enjoy life. Not because I'm bored (maybe just a little) but because life for me is just anxiety and stress that I can't handle, and I'd rather not exist than have to put up with it anymore.

im also wondering how people just enjoy life..i go to work, come home drained..i find getting a hard workout in gets my mood up but leaves me tired of course, then its late and i have no clue what to do..taking dogs for a walk is relaxing but i dont enjoy it, i rarely enjoy much of anything..my mind id restless or just focused on upcoming things..

Work is not a choice, whoever said that is silly..it is not easy finding a good job that you like, so many many people have to find decent jobs that they can tolerate..

i think many people go out drinking and thts how they deal with stress and how they let loose and enjoy themselves..

 

[Kiwong]

It doesn't happen very often, but when I put my self in a position to really see it, this earth is amazingly beautiful with almost infinite detail. It makes me feel lucky to be alive.

And there are times when I work hard at something, push through pain and doubt, and I see the happiness that lives on the other side of that, that makes me appreciate life too.

I suppose the fact that a few years ago I faced my mortality front on, I appreciate life and my good physical health even more. There's nothing like living in pain, that makes you realise how good life is when the physical pain is gone.

 

[S_Spartan]

If you don't like your job, go get another one. :idontknow:

Life isn't always that simple.

 

[bsammy]

If you don't like your job, go get another one. :idontknow:

lol where do you live?you act likes it just that easy.

 

[dottie]

it won't be easy but it will be worth it.

 

[Flanscho]

lol where do you live?you act likes it just that easy.

I didn't say it's that easy. But you can do it. If you can get a new job, but won't, and still complain about it... :idontknow:

 

[MikeyC]

Time now to waste 10 or more hours in a disgusting, depressing, utterly impersonal office, doing all kinds of monotonous tasks you couldn’t for the love of your life care any less for. Only you have to. There’s no escape from work. You’re trapped.

This sounds like the whole reason why you're so upset about life: your job is taking up far too much of your time and you're not free to do the things you want to do. Are there ways to get out of this job into something more meaningful for you? What do you want to do?

People from all backgrounds like life. I suppose it depends what they want out of it. Having the confidence to go for it does help, too.

 

[Silatuyok]

Life isn't supposed to be enjoyable. Having free time to pursue hobbies is a pretty modern concept. For the vast majority of humankind throughout history, life has been a simple matter of survival. It is only in the past couple hundred years that anyone has felt entitled to free time and enjoyment. We have traded in around-the-clock hunting, house-building, farming, back breaking labor and homesteading for sit down office jobs, hour-long commutes, gym memberships, and dentist appointments.
I'm not really sure what my point is, I just want to point out that it's not all that bad, and you probably have much more to be thankful for than you realize.

 

[S_Spartan]

Life isn't supposed to be enjoyable. Having free time to pursue hobbies is a pretty modern concept. For the vast majority of humankind throughout history, life has been a simple matter of survival. It is only in the past couple hundred years that anyone has felt entitled to free time and enjoyment. We have traded in around-the-clock hunting, house-building, farming, back breaking labor and homesteading for sit down office jobs, hour-long commutes, gym memberships, and dentist appointments.
I'm not really sure what my point is, I just want to point out that it's not all that bad, and you probably have much more to be thankful for than you realize.

Yes but while they were surviving they were also bonding with each other and there was a sense of community whereas now we have Facebook, selfies, texting, meetings, pornography, television, fantasy, consumerism, and lives lived in isolation.

 

[Kiwong]

All my troubles in life have come about through colliding up against a dysfunctional mass of humanity. Personally I enjoy the time I get to spend away from people. Independence is one reason I like my life.

I have so much choice. There's still a sense of community to be had if I want it. Running community, writing community, photography community at a time and place of my choosing.

I wouldn't want to go back in the past to a time when I had no free time or independence. That's what work is, better to only spend 40 hours per week, than spend all my waking hours working to survive.

Looking at past lives with rose coloured glasses is fantasy. I enjoy social media the internet, TV, consumerism, I buy stuff I want like cameras and running shoes, I go away on holidays. My life is good, I am lucky.

 

[S_Spartan]

All my troubles in life have come about through colliding up against a dysfunctional mass of humanity. Personally I enjoy the time I get to spend away from people. Independence is one reason I like my life.

I have so much choice. There's still a sense of community to be had if I want it. Running community, writing community, photography community at a time and place of my choosing.

I wouldn't want to go back in the past to a time when I had no free time or independence. That's what work is, better to only spend 40 hours per week, than spend all my waking hours working to survive.

Looking at past lives with rose coloured glasses is fantasy. I enjoy social media the internet, TV, consumerism, I buy stuff I want like cameras and running shoes, I go away on holidays. My life is good, I am lucky.

Then why spend time on this site? Sounds like you are firing on all cylinders. Is there something missing?