Okay, I have some sort of complex about my age. I don't really like it when people are younger than me, especially if they are better than me at skills I have, like math and music (which, granted, I'm not very good at to begin with, but nevermind). Makes me feel like I've wasted my life at not getting better, if you understand what I mean.
So in the dream I had, someone on this forum had coded an emulator, and I thought "Wow, he must be an accomplished programmer then", so I checked his profile, and he was only somewhere around 16 years old. It made me anxious. Then I woke up.
Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed my post.
You don't waste your life if you find the path of God, and the age at which you find it doesn't matter, the prize is the same for everyone at the end.
But the prize shouldn't be the same, should it? If I had been Christian since childhood, I'd be pretty angry if I was treated the same as a deathbed convert. Because what's the reason? Might as well spend your life in paganism and sin then, and convert when you're 70.
Swedishmartin, the age doesn't matter when it comes to experience. Anyone can be better than anyone in anything, no matter the age. That's a part about how life is made. I'm 18, and I absolutely know that a kid is better than me in programming, music, TASing, encoding, freaking anything! And I don't worry a bit about this!
Let's take an example here, on TASVideos. As I said, I'm 18. About TASing, I have little experience in this. In fact, I have what I need to create joke submissions. Otherwise, I suck at TASing, and I think I'm gonna stay as a Publisher here.
And look at Sonikkustar (if that annoys you, Sonikkustar, sorry). I think he's something like 15-16 years old (but I do know he's younger than me), and he's a freaking "Skilled player"! He's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than me at TASing. I'm not crying because of that!
Another example, the youngest DJ in the world is 7 years old. See? That's freaking young!
And also, I'm not THAT good in a video game called "Street Fighter IV". One of my friends is 13, and he's doing international SFIV tournaments! Again, I'm not sad because of that.
In other words, your life is not wasted because someone younger is better than you in something. You can become an expert at something, no matter if you're a baby or an old man.
I have a question for you. When you were a kid/teen, did you have a special talent at something?
kids today get exposed to technology at younger ages, and become thus better at computers than we older models. i read about a 3 year old who tried to double click on a physical book and got frustrated because it didn't work. our brains are like computers which get better all the time.
I came here to post basically what MisterEpic said.
Stated slightly differently:
If you are constantly comparing yourself to anyone and everyone in the world, you will ALWAYS come up short. The world is absolutely ridiculously huge, and full of extremely talented individuals.
Here is a boy getting his Ph.D. at the age of 12.
You need to deal with certain facts: You will never swim as well Michael Phelps, play basketball as well as Michael Jordan, do physics as well as Stephen Hawking, play chess as well as Gary Kasparov, or know as much ridiculous trivia Ken Jennings.
If you consider that to be failing, then I pity you. You'll find much more happiness when you stop comparing your achievements to those of others, and spend time on the hobbies you enjoy, and work on things you love. Enjoyment in life comes in the pursuit of a goal, and not the achievement. If you aren't enjoying the pursuit, then I suggest you switch hobbies.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Thanks, Mister Epic. I'm 19, by the way. So maybe I was getting your hopes up, considering you wrote "kid/teen" in your post. Sorry about that :)
I really do know that "no matter how old you are you can still become good" and I keep telling myself that, but I lapse back into my regular way of thinking sometimes. And then when I'm reminded that "wow, compared to that person, I'm a beginner" (watching a music video or something), instead of being spurred to practice or so, I start worrying about what I haven't done instead. And that anxiety makes it more difficult to practice. Awfully ironic.
And your question, if you allow me to brag: When I was little I was good at language. When I was 4 I could read and write, and at 11* I was fluent in English. And everybody still keeps telling me I'm an awfully quick reader. So I do have real skills, but I just take them for granted for the most part. Thanks a lot for your thought. An outsider's view on things really helps, since it's so hard to judge yourself fairly.
*That's when I figured "Swedishmartin" was an acceptable internet handle. I've regretted it ever since.
But the prize shouldn't be the same, should it? If I had been Christian since childhood, I'd be pretty angry if I was treated the same as a deathbed convert. Because what's the reason? Might as well spend your life in paganism and sin then, and convert when you're 70.
You need to deal with certain facts: You will never swim as well Michael Phelps, play basketball as well as Michael Jordan, do physics as well as Stephen Hawking, play chess as well as Gary Kasparov, or know as much ridiculous trivia Ken Jennings.
If you consider that to be failing, then I pity you. You'll find much more happiness when you stop comparing your achievements to those of others, and spend time on the hobbies you enjoy, and work on things you love. Enjoyment in life comes in the pursuit of a goal, and not the achievement. If you aren't enjoying the pursuit, then I suggest you switch hobbies.
Yes, I'm very aware. And yes, I focus way too much on where I want to be, rather than where I am. Thanks.
So, if you follow Jesus, your attitude is not Christ-like.
Yes, I was joking, I'm sorry. I just thought it was funny that DrJones started talking about God all of a sudden, so I decided to play along. That's the reason I used the word "paganism": Only a Christian would use that word, but no Christian would reason the way I did. Also I'm an atheist, but I respect your beliefs and Jesus was really an admirable person.
But please, let's stop talking about God now.
I really do know that "no matter how old you are you can still become good" and I keep telling myself that, but I lapse back into my regular way of thinking sometimes. And then when I'm reminded that "wow, compared to that person, I'm a beginner" (watching a music video or something), instead of being spurred to practice or so, I start worrying about what I haven't done instead. And that anxiety makes it more difficult to practice. Awfully ironic.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Joined: 2/20/2010
Posts: 209
Location: I'm in space
OK, you're 19? Guess what? I'M 29 AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE! Please forgive the caps.
I can name a few things that I do well, things I really enjoy, but as of yet I haven't found a way to spend most of my time doing them. I totally understand how you feel... when I was 19, every time someone would come along and accomplish at age 12 what I still couldn't accomplish, I'd feel pretty crummy, and seriously question how I was spending my time, and whether I'd ever amount to anything. Sometimes I still ask that question, but you know what I discovered one day that changed everything? I felt crummy because I assumed that I had to *compete* with others, but I don't! To be happy, I don't have to "win", or be "the best", I just need to spend as much time as possible doing the things that make me happy, no matter what those things are.
I can tell you with certainty that you should be proud of yourself for attempting to address this issue now. I think most people wait until much later, or worse, spend their entire lives not dealing with it. Don't pursue anything you aren't really into just because you want to measure up to someone else, or because family, friends, etc think you should... just do whatever it is that really makes YOU happy, and you win. I really believe that's all that matters. =)
Oh, play it cool. Play it cool. Here come the space cops.
Swedishmartin: I share your feelings about age and accomplishments. But on the other hand, it doesn't matter. What's in the past is in the past. And you can't get a Ph.D. in the next two years just because a 12 year old managed to get one and write an emulator at the same time. Don't worry too much about "catching up", just look forward. Don't look at the list of goals you want to reach and force yourself to go for all of them at the same time, just because you feel that ideally you should already have reached them. Just take one step after the other. Pick one thing at a time. You want to write an emulator? Then figure out the exact steps you need to take to write one, and then take one step after the other. Easy and relaxed, but determined. Because if you really do that, you are definitely going to reach your goal. If you aim far too high and try to reach several difficult goals at once, then chances are you're going to fail at absolutely everything. It's called overcompensation and usually results in paralysis (in German there's the term Handlungsverweigerung for it, but unfortunately I can't find an exact translation for it into English). What's going to happen is that you won't even seriously start writing an emulator because you don't think you're good enough yet, and to improve yourself you're going to eventually create 10 new goals instead*, maybe resulting in a vicious circle.
*)You'd, f.e., look at some people who have indeed managed to write an emulator. Then you'd see one of them has been holding lectures at a university before he started his project. And you'd find out another one has programmed several small games before writing his emulator. etc. And you'd feel like ideally, you'd have to be able to do all of that before seriously attempting to reach your goal. You're going to feel inferior. You'd decide before you start writing an emulator, you'd first have to reach some of these other goals. etc.
Also, for another example, you wouldn't think you're good enough to get a girlfriend because you feel like you haven't really achieved anything big in your life yet. (not to mention that some people look way better than you, and others have already managed to become rich at your age!) So you'd look at several people who have achieved something really big and make it your goal to be as good as them, but that's overcompensation. It doesn't work and only results in paralysis (you won't even ever directly attempt to get a girlfriend). Just pick one goal at a time and everything will be fine.
You'd maybe also find the somewhat pagan idea of Cosmic Unity interesting. It means that we are all the same being, that there is only one soul in the entire universe, that we are one. We only have different bodies and brains, which make us different. It means you don't have to be as good as anybody else because you are him and he is you, and therefore you already are as good as him. It makes no sense to "catch up" and relive somebody else's life. Focus on doing something unique and different instead and you're going to make this world a better place. :)
