For some people – not all, just some – life sometimes settles into some kind of predictable routine. Something like work-home-sleep-repeat, or the slightly better version work-home-{read/gym/dance/etc}-sleep-repeat. And then suddenly its been three years of that and you “don’t have a life anymore”. You know what I mean?
Well, I am a bit worse than that. I should say “I used to be worse than that”. I am naturally not social (or maybe just lazy), and generally really like things that keep me indoors: code, books, and such. So unlike others where the work-home-sleep-repeat cycle generally starts after school, for guys like me it started from day 1. Additionally I used to be heavy into video games…
Anyway, let us get back on track. So it had been years, and I couldn’t really put a finger on what I had been doing with my life. I’ve never been 40 before but things felt like how I imagine that infamous moment when you are 40 and you are wondering what the fuck happened to you. I used to be better than this! Where had all my friends gone? How did I actually spend years of my life, what had I been doing? Surely this is not how one leads an interesting life. Right?
And then I stumbled upon an article titled “So, you’re a boring fuck. What now?” Okay, that was not the actual title but it was gist behind the article. You can read it here. Quick piece of advice: don’t click on that link if you get offended easily.
Mind blowing. Right?
Okay, quick summary for those who didn’t read the article: Basically step 1 of working towards a more interesting life is getting the following:
- Hobbies – these are things that you do regularly (at least once a week) which have a tangible output.
- Interests – these are things that you are, well, interested in. These can be obscure and don’t necessarily need to have a tangible output. Their main benefit is that through them you are able to talk about interesting things.
- Experiences – these are cool things (as judged by you) that you have done in the past.
Five years ago, I had none of the above (playing video games does not count). Here’s what is different these days:
- I work out at least 4 times a week. This has been the biggest and most important improvement. I am ashamed that I spent the whole of my 20s not doing this. Definitely something to tell younger me if I met him.
- I read voraciously. I can talk all day about stuff I’ve read over the years. I am especially happy because there are a few years in my 20s where I had completely stopped reading. Shame on me.
- I make soap. A surprisingly easy thing to pick up. Plus, I always have gifts for things like birthdays. I
hope thatwonder if people appreciate my hand-made-with-love gifts of soap (they don’t). - I bake gourmet bread. This is actually therapeutic. And it seems popular with the ladies – who knew?
- I try and go out a couple of times a month. This is my weakest link 🙂
All in all, if interesting-ness was measured on a scale of 1 – 10, I would rate myself a solid 10. LOL. Just kidding, I’m a 6/10 🙁
Here are things I think I still need to work on:
- Get a more active social life. Maybe commit to going out somewhere every weekend? With people, of course.
- And when I am doing social things I need to completely be in the moment, let go, and let things flow however they will. This is hard for me.
- Take up an additional hobby. Something completely out of my comfort zone like biking or boxing or woodworking. Need help here.
- Do something that takes me to the great outdoors more. I hike maybe once a year, but this is not enough. Need help here.
- Stop working weekends completely. I need to rearrange my life to be such that I go hard on work as much as I want, but leave ample time for rest, relaxation, hobbies, and people.
- Write more.
- Learn how to dance. (Sad, I know.)
What have I missed?