Time, the arch-nemesis of humankind

[luckylukecraft]

Hey everyone,

I've been thinking about writing this for a week now and despite several hesitations, tonight something in me turned the switch. See this post however you wish, but I'm just emptying my mind. That, and I'm looking for advice. I'm probably setting the tone incorrectly here because written language is much more easily misunderstood than verbal language, but I'm not trying to be pessimistic or pathetic in front of all of you. Much rather, I just wanted to discuss the subject that you can read in the title and shed a bit of light on how it affects my life: that miserable concept that we define as "time". I've wondered whether it would be right to post such a 'dramatic' subject on a forum like Minr, the place where you can enjoy your free time and momentarily separate yourself from real life, but ultimately I just feel like you guys are my second family, willing to be my listening ear.

(If you're still of very young age, this subject might not / probably will not apply to you, but feel free to read on anyway.)

Where does our time go? Every day, a tick on the clock is a second wasted, not spent on doing something useful. Despite only having started up school again, I'm barely scraping by. I'm putting my best foot forward, yet always short of time. If only time stood still, I could take a breather and finish everything I've got on my hands that I need to finish, at my own pace. Realistically speaking, this is, of course, impossible. So how does one manage to get by? All I know is that I can't comprehend whichever answer is out there. Either way, I find it absurd for people to be spending tireless nights simply to get where they need to be.

Then again, it's not just school and work. Don't mind me getting all philosophical, but time is slipping through our fingers, uncontrollable by me nor any other man. Time is our biggest enemy. And you might say "Just enjoy your life! Don't stress too much about everything, it'll all be fine in the end." And you know what? You're probably right! In a week, I'll probably have forgotten about finding myself in a situation such as this one. Thinking about it, I've still got a lot of years ahead of me, but how will I look back on that in 5 years? And in 10 years? I don't want to waste my life doing nothing - I want to explore the world, enjoy life with my friends and family, get a job and ultimately a nice life, accomplish things - I want to live!

Personally, I'm also the guy that likes to watch back on joyful moments in my life, thinking about how great life was back then. However, I rarely look back anymore thinking about how bad life was, simply because I feel like it wasn't. The older you get, the more challenges you have to endure to create a place for yourself in the future society. Is that a formula to success? The pressure from the unspoken expectations around you, the people you don't want to let down; everyone is watching, and life is a race against the clock. There is so much a single person such as me would like to do in their life, yet time is a limited resource that, at this point of your life, should be spent wisely.

So then here comes a question from me to all of you, those who find or used to find themselves in a similar situation. I'm not expecting a reaction and you're free to message me on Discord privately, but I'll gladly accept any advice. How do you manage to get by and set your priorities straight? How can you stand above the very thing that is time, which is always catching up to you and lurking over your shoulder?

Other than the posed question, I'm also throwing this out there because I know that this surely couldn't just be me, facing this problem.

...That, or I'm going crazy.

And don't worry about me, trust me: I'm doing perfectly fine, especially now that I've finished writing this post and have emptied my mind.

Fun time facts:
I spent 64 minutes and 48 seconds writing this post.
If you made it to the end of this rant, you probably spent a solid 3 minutes reading this.
It's 1.45 AM and people would go to sleep at a time like this. Just like me. Who doesn't go to sleep at 1.45 AM. Because I'm stupid.

 

[Pieceofcheese87]

This can often be one of the most depressing subjects to delve into. I've spent my fair share of nights thinking about the inevitability of aging and death, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I've also thought about the idea that the technology to make us stay young and live for a very long time could be coming sometime soon, but not before the end of our generation. And that disturbs me greatly.

I agree with a lot of what you said. I often put off work with the thought that "I can do it some other time, I would rather spend my time now doing something else" - and then before I can blink all the time is gone and I need to rush myself to get the work done. One of the worst things about time is the way our brains perceive it - it always goes by fast when you don't want it to. It's like you're being fast forwarded through all the fun parts in your life.

And here's something I hate: the amount of time we waste sleeping. It's about a third of our entire life, give or take. So much time that could be spent doing things, and instead we are forced to lay motionless for hours on end. I once saw a website that breaks down an average person's life by their activities, and I was saddened by how much of the screen was taken up by sleep. This is part of the reason why I'm somewhat of an insomniac. It's not that I can't get to sleep - it's that I don't want to. Going to sleep means that I am fast-forwarding to the next day. If I don't, then I gain more time. Of course, it's unhealthy. But I can't stop myself from thinking that way.

Anyway, uh, I can't say I'm offering you any advice here. If anything, i'm giving you more fuel to be miserable about. But it really isn't worth it to be miserable - time is limited after all

 

[luckylukecraft]

If there is anything I could take away from your message (besides being miserable from bathing yourself in thoughts of time flying by, hehe), it's that I know that I'm not alone in this struggle, and that weirdly enough reassures me. I, too, feel like sleep is sometimes a waste of time, a time period where you could do so much more rather than just lifelessly lying down in your bed. I can imagine the future being a restless world; a one-of-a-kind utopia.

As the world moves on and technology advances, I still believe life is meant to pass by and end naturally like a cycle that was designed for the human, so I don't particularly mind not being a part of that life-preserving future, either. While we're on the topic of life, death, and the time in between, I've probably spent one too many nights pondering about an empty void your mind falls into once you cease to exist (which is probably one of my biggest fears), but I won't dive any deeper into that rabbit hole. I still have my entire life ahead of me to prepare myself to fight that fear.

And yeah, you're right, we shouldn't spend our time being miserable over thinking about time when time is limited. Then again, our brain really loves making ourselves doubt our very existence, so I guess there's nothing to be done about it. Either way, thanks for the (reassuring?) message, it's enormously appreciated.

 

[Berend]

Early 2019 was a bad time for me. I had similar thoughts, wouldn't go to school (only lessons which were mandatory). Cycling to school kept me thinking about these things, I was afraid of going there because of that. I played games to forget my thoughts. My memory became pretty bad at one point. After 2 anxiety attacks, I opened up to my mom about it. We talked some time and I quit gaming for around a month. After picking up canoeing I quickly recovered. At one point I would canoe around 10 hours a week, along with working and going to school. I've had a similar period after the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown while gaming alot (again). I ended up reaching out to a psychologist after another anxiety attack and we had some talks. She ended up recommending anti-depressants at one point. For me that was the motivation to fight these thoughts, notice any depressive thoughts and let them go actively.
After these experiences I noticed the following things:
-I get more depressive/anxious during a cold/feeling ill
-Doing something to tire myself helps against these thoughts
-Staying up late causes these thoughts for me too

Depression sadly kind of runs in the family for me, so this might not be the last time. My advice for you is to lose some energy and do new things, maybe try a new hobby, or even take a different route to some familiar place sometimes. Changing your routine throws your mind off a bit and learning new things can kind of slow down time, as long as you can set your mind to doing that. I also recommend waking up early if you don't do that regularly. For me, waking up before 9AM consistently somehow helped me too.
It's good that you talk about this. Try to make yourself comfortable talking about your feelings, and during bad times you will be able to reach out early.

 

[luckylukecraft]

Hey Berend, thanks for your advice. I can recall doing some of the things that you've listed before, both to fight against these thoughts and produce these thoughts and now that I look back on it, I think these tips are definitely something I could use. I'll try picking up those good habits again -- perhaps it'll help ease my mind -- all whilst not staying up too late.

I've made a realization that I had nothing to worry about when I was being scared that this post would make everyone feel at unease and I'm glad that people are surprisingly more open about it than I would've thought. I think we're all just being human. Shortly just wanted to mention that everyone that is a part of this close community is a wonderful human-being and I feel lucky for being a part of this community.

 

[SIkye]

Hey Luke, long time no talk buddy. I actually have a lot to say on this topic due to what I've been through and currently going through all while trying to balance out college and covid/working so I know how it can feel. When I actually get the time I'd like to talk with you more. I am stalling on finishing my thesis atm though lol. But I need to go get back to it. Take care friend.