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Hobbies are distractions


Birlow17

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I was talking to my friend last week about how the true state of life is depressing. That’s why there’s existentialism- we create our own purpose. There is no other purpose in life other than to simply exist. But simply existing is not living. You hear that all the time. We live in routine and crave spontaneity because it’s different and we feel ALIVE.

 

Hobbies are coping mechanisms because simply existing is boring. And being bored is a type of suffering, that is why in some prisons it’s considered inhumane to not let the prisoners draw or anything. I can’t get this out my head now. Everything I do and see other people do like bike riding, arts; sports teams, bowling dinner dates etc. We are all distracting ourselves. I looked at my life and saw that all majority of the time is watch movies and tv shows and read books. Those things are all coping mechanisms for existing! I am submerging myself into other things like watching another person’s life (movies) or reading about it (books).

 

I went on Instagram and saw fanpages. Devotion? Some may say maybe even borderline obsessive. Observing a particular individuals life and idolizing them out of sheer boredom. Maybe that’s why people are so obsessed with celebrities lives? Because they are available on a platform for us to watch and engage in, that entertain us! 

 

I can’t see anything the same now. Hobbies and activities are distractions because life is unbearable. 

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i completely agree. life is truly meaningless unless we create the illusion of meaning and purpose for ourselves. otherwise we are all unbelievably the same, living our lives without worth. i do cope with hobbies and school... mostly school. the busier i am, the less time i have to contemplate my own existence (which i’ve wasted far too much time on already). pointless entertainment is a fantastic distraction, especially when it’s dumbed down enough to not provoke thought. it seems to me that focusing on existence and it’s lack of purpose or meaning will drive anyone to the edge, i know it drove me to the edge. life is unbearable, and that’s why people waste time on stupid stuff. but i can’t call it a waste of time really, just because all time is a waste without a purpose. back to what i was saying, yes hobbies are just distractions from life. i personally play sports, play the guitar, do a ton of extra school, and I spend most of my time reading or watching movies. it’s a good way to not go insane

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I view the world as two possible options:

1) if we were created by some higher being and it mostly ignores us. Then we were either made for no real reason other than being made or being a form of entertainment that could be compared to watching TV, except it writes itself. 

2) we are an anomaly and extremely improbably creation.

 

What do both of these options mean? We weren’t made for a specific purpose, such as designing X item or traveling the world. If we were an accidental creation, what purpose do we really have other than that which we set for ourselves? If we were purposefully made, does it really matter what the creator of us wishes if it ignores us and leaves us to our own devices? I’m not here trying to argue/disprove/prove/etc religion, just giving my personal thoughts on the subject.

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Galactic Turtle

Well I figure if I'm alive I might as well do something with it. Personally I quite enjoy my life. Never cared about a greater purpose but I definitely have my own goals and interests. 

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24 minutes ago, kenny. said:

i completely agree. life is truly meaningless unless we create the illusion of meaning and purpose for ourselves. otherwise we are all unbelievably the same, living our lives without worth. i do cope with hobbies and school... mostly school. the busier i am, the less time i have to contemplate my own existence (which i’ve wasted far too much time on already). pointless entertainment is a fantastic distraction, especially when it’s dumbed down enough to not provoke thought. it seems to me that focusing on existence and it’s lack of purpose or meaning will drive anyone to the edge, i know it drove me to the edge. life is unbearable, and that’s why people waste time on stupid stuff. but i can’t call it a waste of time really, just because all time is a waste without a purpose. back to what i was saying, yes hobbies are just distractions from life. i personally play sports, play the guitar, do a ton of extra school, and I spend most of my time reading or watching movies. it’s a good way to not go insane

Yes! Sometimes I can be doing stuff that’s not so stimulating and be at an event with people and get lost in my head thinking about it. It’s a really uncomfortable feeling to think about those thoughts when you’re around other people and supposed to be “distracted”. It’s like waking up and looking at the matrix while everyone is still caught up in it

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4 minutes ago, Darth Plagueis the Wise said:

I view the world as two possible options:

1) if we were created by some higher being and it mostly ignores us. Then we were either made for no real reason other than being made or being a form of entertainment that could be compared to watching TV, except it writes itself. 

2) we are an anomaly and extremely improbably creation.

 

What do both of these options mean? We weren’t made for a specific purpose, such as designing X item or traveling the world. If we were an accidental creation, what purpose do we really have other than that which we set for ourselves? If we were purposefully made, does it really matter what the creator of us wishes if it ignores us and leaves us to our own devices? I’m not here trying to argue/disprove/prove/etc religion, just giving my personal thoughts on the subject.

The first one had me thinking. What if we are the entertainment? That would be funny. That higher being would have a good laugh then, and a good cry too. I’m not religious but I like leaving possibilities and doors opened to theories because we can never prove it. I like the way you think 

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5 minutes ago, Galactic Turtle said:

Well I figure if I'm alive I might as well do something with it. Personally I quite enjoy my life. Never cared about a greater purpose but I definitely have my own goals and interests. 

Me as well. But I do realize that it’s easier for people to get depressed if they don’t have goals or purpose. We all need a reason to live in order to live a good life

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3 minutes ago, Birlow17 said:

Yes! Sometimes I can be doing stuff that’s not so stimulating and be at an event with people and get lost in my head thinking about it. It’s a really uncomfortable feeling to think about those thoughts when you’re around other people and supposed to be “distracted”. It’s like waking up and looking at the matrix while everyone is still caught up in it

totally. it is uncomfortable especially when other people don’t have that realization or reaction about/to what life is. i like the matrix reference, cause yeah, it probably feels a lot like that. everyone goes about their lives either oblivious or in denial. some people actually don’t care about purpose or anything and are fine with a meaningless life. as am i, but i don’t enjoy it, and i guess as a person who is more often than not depressed, i can’t find a point in all of the effort it takes to enjoy the small slivers of “happiness” that life supposedly offers.

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9 minutes ago, kenny. said:

totally. it is uncomfortable especially when other people don’t have that realization or reaction about/to what life is. i like the matrix reference, cause yeah, it probably feels a lot like that. everyone goes about their lives either oblivious or in denial. some people actually don’t care about purpose or anything and are fine with a meaningless life. as am i, but i don’t enjoy it, and i guess as a person who is more often than not depressed, i can’t find a point in all of the effort it takes to enjoy the small slivers of “happiness” that life supposedly offers.

Currently I don’t have one. So I guess I’m just existing and living. I wonder if I’m depressed or this awareness is just me accepting the truth of our existence? Reminds me of a photo I saw of before and after of a guy doing different drugs to get some kind of high. In the before picture he is not smiling, but after taking the drugs he is smiling. Then there’s a before and after for philosophy and both pics are of him not smiling lol. Sometimes I feel like the happier people are the more delusional they are because truth trumps happiness. Happiness is a state only those who fool themselves get to experience (in my opinion). 

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I prefer nihilism myself. Who needs purpose when life can be fun? 😺

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28 minutes ago, Birlow17 said:

Reminds me of a photo I saw of before and after of a guy doing different drugs to get some kind of high. In the before picture he is not smiling, but after taking the drugs he is smiling. Then there’s a before and after for philosophy and both pics are of him not smiling lol.

haha that sounds accurate

29 minutes ago, Birlow17 said:

Sometimes I feel like the happier people are the more delusional they are because truth trumps happiness. Happiness is a state only those who fool themselves get to experience (in my opinion). 

like people say, ignorance is bliss. happiness is kind of like a futile attempt to make something out of the nothingness that is life. hey, it works for some, just not for me

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I personally disagree. Nihilism is not for me. I personally believe that the purpose of life is to make it better and spread love. Happiness can be found in all sorts of things. I notice it especially when I'm dealing with dark stuff. The way the world is made up so intricately, how cool certain natural things are, the potential to do good by doing even small things. The world that we live in is so improbable and amazing. The history of life and biology and why we look the way we do is so cool. I don't do things like music as a distraction from life. I do them because they are part of life. There is so much potential laid out in front of us. 

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Ah man. Yeah. I've been feeling that a lot lately. I'm no therapist, but my therapist seems to think I'm depressed, so maybe you are, too? -shrug- Maybe not though. I guess if you still do things, you might not be, because I have a lot of trouble with motivation to do the hobbies I used to do.

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45 minutes ago, Karret said:

[...]because I have a lot of trouble with motivation to do the hobbies I used to do.

Maybe just got bored of them, so could try finding new ones?

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Personally I think nihilism is liberating because I’d hate for my life to have some objective purpose forced on me. Nothing is stopping people from giving their lives their own subjective purpose if that is what they wish.

 

Yes hobbies are ultimately pointless things that you just do so you aren’t bored during the time before you die, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Why should everything have to have a point or a purpose anyway?

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11 hours ago, RakshaTheCat said:

Maybe just got bored of them, so could try finding new ones?

Maybe, but they've been a part of me for so long that losing interest in doing them kinda makes me depressed.

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1 hour ago, Karret said:

Maybe, but they've been a part of me for so long that losing interest in doing them kinda makes me depressed.

Can they be enhanced with something? Maybe add something to them to make them interesting again? Although not sure if you like exploring things...

 

I don't know what your hobbies are, but to give you an example, one of mine is programming, Whenever I'm getting bored with it, it just means I need to find myself more interesting programming project to mess around with.

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1 hour ago, RakshaTheCat said:

Can they be enhanced with something? Maybe add something to them to make them interesting again? Although not sure if you like exploring things...

 

I don't know what your hobbies are, but to give you an example, one of mine is programming, Whenever I'm getting bored with it, it just means I need to find myself more interesting programming project to mess around with.

Yeah, maybe I need to do that. Part of it is also getting myself in the mindset to work on them again.. or maybe just pushing past that mental block and instead of thinking about wanting to do it more, simply do it more. :Ua

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Maybe life is meaningless, but hobbies give it meaning so they aren't merely distractions. Humans exist to create more humans and that's it, so why not enjoy life and make something of it? I feel humans are also hardwired to produce things: stories, games, inventions, and anything else to help themselves and others. We're not a sedentary species content with just sitting around fucking and eating. 

 

This is also not taking into consideration that hobbies serve to distract us from our boring jobs or lives. We want to be adventerous and everything but can't, so live precariously through others or build things just for fun. We're stuck in a 9-to-5 but going out and fishing every weekend gives you a sense of accomplishment. 

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InDefenseOfPOMO
On 9/18/2019 at 10:37 PM, Birlow17 said:

Hobbies are coping mechanisms because simply existing is boring.

 

Boredom is self-inflicted. It is not a default condition of any kind.

 

Beginning at least with the Industrial Revolution we have increasingly taken initiative, creativity, imagination, care, attention to detail, personal touch, nurture, etc. out of work.

 

We have been told that industrialization has given us unprecedented amounts of "leisure time". However, for the system to work there must be people willing to consume more and more commodities produced through that aforementioned robotic work. Therefore, we spend much of our free time as consumers. Impersonal, mechanized, homogenized, market-researched, mathematically-modeled mass consumption.

 

We have taken all of the joy out of work and leisure.

 

It is not "existing" that people need distractions from. It is this impersonal, automated, dehumanized modern life that people need distractions from.

 

Existentialist philosophy misses the point.

 

My life has plenty of meaning and purpose. That is not something that I have subjectively created in response to some supposed reality of "existence". It is something that I have gradually discovered. Neither Sartre nor anybody else can reason out of existence the inherent meaning and purpose of my life. It is probably not a coincidence that the appearance of Existentialism correlates with the rise of industrial capitalism.

 

The problem is that in order to survive I have to spend the overwhelming bulk of my time, energy and other resources being a robotic capitalist worker enabling the robotic life of consumption that nearly everybody else around me centers their existence around.

 

We in the post-Industrial West have decided collectively, with some individual dissenters, that we do not like being human. Let's not mistake the consequences of that decision with universal reality about existence and life. It is not human life that has no meaning or purpose. It is life under global capitalism that has no meaning or purpose--other than to robotically produce and consume commodities on a mass scale. If something else, such as machines, can do any of it better than humans then humans, as we are already seeing, will be replaced. Transhumanists, it seems, go even further and plan to make all of us machines.

 

If I actually could spend a lot of time and energy on being the human that I am then there would be almost limitless meaning and purpose to cultivate and celebrate.

 

You are wrong.

 

First, what you call hobbies are not really hobbies--they are just people robotically acting as capitalist consumers.

 

Second, what you call "existing" is not really mere existing. It is living life with a purpose--a purpose that almost none of us people with minimal power chose. That purpose is to be machines monotonously providing labor and mindlessly consuming commodities in the name of "progress".

 

Third, the boredom that you analyze was created by the system that we are servants to, not inherited biologically as part of life.

 

Most importantly, "hobbies" are not what distract us. Philosophy, neuroscience, physics, Silicon Valley and other things that tell us we are nothing more than insignificant, arbitrary collections of matter are what distract us. They distract us from the beautiful meaning and purpose of our lives. 

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^^

I certainly noticed that many hobbies have a lot to do with "doping" and "shopping" 😺

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Hobbies can be monetized if other people find the results useful. That's why I kept building wooden boxes but stopped building model airplanes. You can't do much with a model airplane, but people will always want to store stuff.

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I think there's an error in your math. Life itself isn't inherently unbearable. It's simply that we as people can feel what it means to be bored.

 

If my dictionary definitions are still correct, a distraction is classified by definition as something that diverts attention or focus from a desired area or something. As far as we know, in life, there's no desired subject to listen to or focus on. We're just here with no guidlines than those that we happen to stumble onto. You could technically call hobbies more accurately, addictions. We crave a hobby, and can go through some rather negative withdrawls when we aren't allowed our hobbies. You could classify bordom as a negative withdrawl symptom.

 

No matter which angle you look at it, we're all puppets, and we're trapped within a closed system which so happens to be our universe and its respective laws of physics. We can't escape that, not even through death, since death is a part of the sytem. Rather than agonize over this, do and be you, try to have fun, don't be a dick to people.

 

Works for me.

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6 hours ago, E said:

do and be you, try to have fun, don't be a dick to people.

 

Works for me.

I agree.

 

My life is pretty good and I have many happy times. I enjoy various hobbies, too, not to distract me from life, but because they are activities I actually enjoy for their own sake.

 

But to each their own. :) 

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Personally I think the purpose of life is to grow, to keep improving. Addictions keep us from focusing on personal growth, but something like a hobby is a way of self-improvement because it is building up some sort of skill.

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Nihilism is self-refuting. It states that nothing matters, but fails to acknowledge that the fact that nothing matters doesn't matter. You don't need some grand purpose for your life to be meaningful. Just live, enjoy yourself, work on projects, and participate in hobbies. Hobbies are not a distraction from nihilism. Nihilism is a distraction from hobbies, and it's also a tool that lazy people use to justify inaction. Think about it. What brings you more fulfillment - hobbies, or nihilism? Honestly, nihilism is shit. It doesn't benefit anyone in any way. There is not a single person in history whose existence has been enhanced by viewing life as pointless because they thought they needed some grand external purpose for their existence to be meaningful. Repeat after me: Nihilism is shit. It's a shit philosophy that needs to be eradicated.

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Nihilism seems to be a good oncept to filter out people who are too dumb or close minded to understand it. And good thing is, it works regardless if person considers themselves a nihilist or not 😺

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8 minutes ago, Moonman said:

Isn't that very literally the definition of existentialist nihilism?

Maybe. I haven't really studied nihilism, I'm just going with the colloquial definition. I have a feeling a lot of self-proclaimed nihilists are just hipsters trying to sound deep and most of them have never read Nietzsche or anything similar.

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11 minutes ago, Some guy said:

most of them have never read Nietzsche or anything similar.

Exactly what I was thinking. Nietzsche thought that nihilism was a necessary step, because it frees you from meanings that are propagated by higher authorities. But (passive) nihilism is also  a disease that should be fought against. He is often misunderstood as a prophet of nihilism (he predicted the results of the rising nihilism surprising precise), but he was concerned about overcoming nihilism.

 

Nietzsche said:"The nihilistic question "for what?" is rooted in the old habit of supposing that the goal must be put up, given, demanded from the outside. [...] Nihilism presents a pathological transitional stage, what is pathological is the tremendous generalization, the interference that there is no meaning at all..."

 

So, in this sense I see hobbies as great opportunities for growth and to achieve mastery in a selected field of interest. I've found meaning in this strive for mastery in arts as a hobby. I might not become a good artist ever, but I can develop a skill and it gives me a "why" to my life. Who has a "why" can bare almost any "how".

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