[IcryWhoAmI]

It's depressing seeing people younger than me having such big careers and i'm sat here still struggling to even decide what to do with life. I just feel like I'll never amount to anything or be anyone Life is just too overwhelming for me.

[Neverlosehope87]

When I find myself becoming jealous of others, which at times is more than I care to admit, I tell myself this “their path is not my path”. Kind of like the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. For some people, they just know what it is that they want to do with their lives, as far as a career goes. For others, it feels like you’re just drifting. But a job doesn’t make you who out are. You make you.
A high paying job doesn’t mean that that person is more important than someone who has a job say at a grocery store. Every person is equally as important and is someone. Even when you die, you’ll still be someone. You’ll be someone’s child, someone’s friend, perhaps someone’s parent (if you have children), someone’s sibling (if you have them). And even if you never have children, even if you don’t find something you truly love doing.... you’ll still be someone, you’ll still be equally as important as the parent of 10 or the CEO of a company. Hopefully I’m making sense. You are important, and take baby steps. It doesn’t matter how many steps it takes to reach the goal.
Try making smaller goals, or narrowing down. Instead of “what do I want to do?”, try asking yourself “what do I Not want to do”. Then make a list of things that don’t interest you, things you dislike/hate.
Or you could always try what type of hobbies you like or things you enjoy. I love children, I love their big imaginations and the things they say. So I became a childcare provider.

Either way, small steps so you don’t overwhelm yourself. I know it’s not easy when you feel like the weight of the world in weighting you down on something society puts so much emphasis on. You are important, you are somebody!

[IcryWhoAmI]

That would be a long list of things. I hate almost everything and there's nothing that interests me, which is why I struggle to find something.
Even with people around me, I feel like I don't exist. I just want to be something more, but i'm not good at anything.

[ArcheM]

At the risk of sounding like a complete hypocrite, I've heard many times that a big career doesn't equal happiness. I mean, I have a gentle German man mutter in my ear sometimes that the only proven defining factor of happiness is happiness. I don't know if he's right, but he sounds convincing.

I have more tidbits of his wisdom to share, but I would understand if you're not interested.

[Etherin]

I totally feel the same. I hate how society places so much emphasis on getting a "high paying job" and all that nonsense like nothing else matters. So many young people have their lives (in terms of college/work) at least semi-figured out, meanwhile my mental health issues kinda ruined my motivation/interests, so I feel lost in the world.

[IcryWhoAmI]

Like, I find myself so envious of Celebs who have more or less everything at the age of 16/17/18 or whatever. Envious of their talent or lifestyle or the fact they're adored by so many people. And yes, I know I shouldn't compare myself, blah blah blah, and I know all the downsides that goes with it, but at least they have something going on in their lives and are making something of themselves.

[Neverlosehope87]

it’s the depression talking when you say “you’re not good at anything”. Depression has ruined my life 100 times over. Horrible people have done things to me and it changes you. At the moment, I can see clearly but I know that vision will probably come back.

You’re worth more than you think. I hope that one day you will see how amazing and important you are. But until then, know you aren’t alone in this thinking, in how you are feeling. I’m a shell of a person I once was. Drifting, almost like I do what I’m expected to do but I’m not really there, just a ghost.

[FallDuskTrain]

Originally Posted by ArcheM

At the risk of sounding like a complete hypocrite, I've heard many times that a big career doesn't equal happiness. I mean, I have a gentle German man mutter in my ear sometimes that the only proven defining factor of happiness is happiness. I don't know if he's right, but he sounds convincing.

I have more tidbits of his wisdom to share, but I would understand if you're not interested.

It sounds healing and thought provoking. I would be interested in knowing more of his wisdom.

[ArcheM]

Oh, boy. Now you suddenly have me on the spot. It's actually a long, frequently-updated podcast in German, and I'm afraid I'm not going do it justice, because I don't speak German perfectly and sometimes zone out. I distinctly remember, though, that he quoted some study that correlated like 80% of happiness with... just, kind of, being happy in the moment, with the rest combined coming... Oh, wait. So... Oh, damn. Okay, so I don't remember the numbers, but, like, happiness from achievements lasts generally only a week or something...

Wait, wait, I'm hopefully going to listen to another episode today and get back to you!

Or if you speak German, the podcast is called "Achtsamkeit leben - Dein Podcast mit Peter Beer".

[Sunflower123]

Originally Posted by Neverlosehope87

it’s the depression talking when you say “you’re not good at anything”. Depression has ruined my life 100 times over. Horrible people have done things to me and it changes you. At the moment, I can see clearly but I know that vision will probably come back.

You’re worth more than you think. I hope that one day you will see how amazing and important you are. But until then, know you aren’t alone in this thinking, in how you are feeling. I’m a shell of a person I once was. Drifting, almost like I do what I’m expected to do but I’m not really there, just a ghost.

I agree with this. You are worth more than you’d think.