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Seeing things like this, and others in the thread, honestly depresses me. I've wasted months of my life building in Minecraft, huge structures that I can do not

Seeing things like this, and others in the thread, honestly depresses me. I've wasted months of my life building in Minecraft, huge structures that I can do nothing but look at, alone. Months where I lost social interaction and self maintenance. Nothing good ever comes of these worlds, and they are self destructive to their creators. Minecraft, Reddit, Imgur, Facebook, all things you will eventually have to block from your life if you want to achieve anything real. Don't let it consume you. The only winning move is not to play.

thejosh 12y ago
Or maybe do things in moderation? A little HN is great, a little Facebook is great, unwinding during lunch on Reddit is great for a laugh... but if you let things consume your life it's like watching TV for days on end.
- themedstudetn 12y ago
  Hi, you make you a good point but it feels like most things are designed to keep you coming back, so it makes it hard.
- jamesisaac 12y ago
  Minecraft is tricky because it gives that long-term feeling of accomplishment (the same you get by creating a real-world artwork, or developing a software project), but it's not immediately obvious to some how untransferrable that time investment is to any real value or skills.
solistice 12y ago
I know this sounds harsh, but you seem to lack self control which I can emphatize with. After all, I've spent nights where "one more thing" has kept me up till early in the morning. I don't have the end all be all advice on the topic, but you might just need some people looking out for you. If you choose to play, play on a small server where you know people, and people know that you are struggling to pace yourself. If you're feeling guilty about playing, don't. Building huge structures you aren't proud of doesn't do you any good. If you're playing compulsively, but you're not enjoying it, it might help to shut it out entirely. Deinstall your client, give your account to a friend, block imgur, reddit and facebook, and forget they ever existed. Sometimes that doesn't solve your problem though, it only creates a void in your life. Empty time is horrid, and we try to fill it up no matter what. Unless you make a conscious effort to fill that void with things you do enjoy, you'll just end up filling it with whatever is convenient. If you don't know what those things are, you might need to do some testing and sampling. Maybe it's contemporary dance or building miniature railways or helping people learn to code that you'll stumble across and start to really enjoy. Also, if you, in the process of doing that, stumble across something you absolutely love, but tell yourself that it isn't productive or important, you've got problems with who you think you should be. You might be telling yourself you'll be happy if you're the guy in the 10,000$ suit sitting in his blacked out tesla, whilst you just stumbled over the fact you might be happier if you're the guy that's sitting in his basement watching tiny trains go on laps. If you think that that will make your parents or friends or whoever you care about think of you less, what business do they have of deciding what makes you happy? They shouldn't have a stake in whether you're gay or straight, who you fall in love with, whether you want children or not, and certainly not in whether you get to lead a fulfilled life or not. Anyways, I'm just drawing this from similar struggles I've been having, and maybe some of these points will help you crack out of whatever problem you're having. Honestly, I can't either say that I have implemented everything I'm preaching here, but it seems like a step in the right direction for me.
- themedstudetn 12y ago
  If nothing else I found this helpful so thanks for typing it
- rthomas6 12y ago
  Another technique is to make empty time less horrid, which in turn reduces the need to immediately fill it, which in turn allows you to choose better activities instead of scrambling for what is the quickest and easiest distraction. Empty time doesn't have to be a void in your life. If you can't sit alone and do nothing for an hour without a lot of anguish, that indicates some internal turmoil. Eliminating the feeling of emptiness during empty time is freeing, because in my experience it lowers the bar for your own contentment. While living, instead of worrying about meeting your needs for present gratification AND productivity of an action, you usually only have to think about the second, because you know you'll be fine, and even happy, regardless of the "fun" of the action you choose, as long as the action seems rewarding in the long run. This is easier said than done, but I've found some success in being content in the present through reading up on both mindfulness practices and Stoicism. A lot of people have found success through mindfulness meditation specifically (so check that out), but I've found it more useful for me to mindfully and meditatively carry out mundane tasks, such as dishes, instead of sitting meditation.
  - solistice 12y ago
    I'm certainly plagued by some internal turmoil, and I feel free to admit that. I'm at an uncertain period in my life, and I do not know whether I will be sucessful at achieving any of my goals. My past record has been littered by public failures, and successes noone close to me wants to recognize. I've failed at getting 3 businesses started, my academic track record is meager at best, and whilst I consider myself intelligent, I do not know whether I'll be able to perform as expected in college, which is what I'm looking at right now. I have trouble moderating myself, and even though I've spent the last couple of years working on my skillset, I'm not sure whether that will cut it for what I want to do in life. I'm struggling with the amount of social expectations that I'm being handed. For one I have friends who expect me to do great things, and they are on track to do great things. I also expect myself to do great things. They're all in college now, I'm not. One kid I helped with bio homework back when I was in 9th grade and he was in 11th grade now studies Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. There's another former classmate at NYU who I'm helping with physics and programming problems, and he looks up to me as an example. Can't say that about myself. But then, if you look at the way I've been performing, you'd expect me to fail in a spectacular manner. C student from the get go, then after changing schools oscialating wildly from getting straight As and straight Fs. Only student in the entire school that managed to get on academic probation with a GPA of 3.19. Then I got kicked out of that school as well. I'm not proud of that. I'm not proud of the school I managed to graduate from either. Then college right now. I'm not sure which school I'll even get into. Ideally, I'll get into a respectable school abroad, perform well, finally get to use the skills I've been honing for years, make some money, transfer to one of the schools I was told I should be in, that I could be in if my life wasn't such a mess. That's a long shot though. Then there's the less than rosy but equally possible probability that I'll ascend astronomically for the first semester and crash and burn within semester 2. Get kicked out second year, no job, no degree. My health in the gutter because I overworked myself and couldn't quite cope with the workload. It's quite the conflicting, uncertain situation to be in, and I don't think I'll be any less anxious about it before I figure out how well each of the bridges I've got to cross hold up. They look shoddy, but you never know. I don't think meditation will help me with that.
themedstudetn 12y ago
Hello, I logged in just for this comment. I really must thank you for your comment, it has made me come to the realisation with what I have been doing with my lives. I'm saying this out of sincerity, that your comment has had the most profound effect ive had in the last couple of years of reading comments. It's been the final kick in the backside, so to speak. I just blocked reddit on my hosts file. Also your comment is now my wallpaper. Really I must thank you again, for if I never saw this who knows how deep I'd fall.
sbate1987 12y ago
imagine all the sand castles gone. the hugeness of our architectural history erased and will be erased by time - you are just human - imagine all the great waves someone catches but no one is on the beach to see and the other surfers are to busy - you would be alone then. it is true that the hours are gone but what do you make of your now? we are all alone with our accomplishments we are together when we hope. Thanks for your hope
totony 12y ago
Depends on what you like, I guess. Some people find playing video games worthless why others would rather do this than innovate/participate in OSS/etc. It's all about how you perceive it.
MiddleEndian 12y ago
I'll have to disagree here. When I was on the West Coast, I kept in touch with a lot of my friends on the East Coast by building things together on my Minecraft server.
Navarr 12y ago
The goal is to turn your passion for something like that into something productive. Reddit? A redditor thought image sharing could be better and built imgur. Minecraft? Well, I'm still only a volunteer but I'm part of the www.shotbow.net team and we make some really awesome games essentially treating Minecraft like an engine - no mods needed!
astrodust 12y ago
Minecraft is a very capable multi-player game. Why not open up and share? I've spent a lot of time building in Minecraft alone, but also more time building with others. No regrets. It's been fun, though like anything, all about balance.
cmdrfred 12y ago
Minecraft is like one of those desktop zen gardens to me. When I have some downtime (waiting for a patch to install) I can open it up and build my world. Yeah its not saving the world, but not everything can be.

thejosh 12y ago

Or maybe do things in moderation? A little HN is great, a little Facebook is great, unwinding during lunch on Reddit is great for a laugh... but if you let things consume your life it's like watching TV for days on end.

themedstudetn 12y ago
Hi, you make you a good point but it feels like most things are designed to keep you coming back, so it makes it hard.
jamesisaac 12y ago
Minecraft is tricky because it gives that long-term feeling of accomplishment (the same you get by creating a real-world artwork, or developing a software project), but it's not immediately obvious to some how untransferrable that time investment is to any real value or skills.

solistice 12y ago

I know this sounds harsh, but you seem to lack self control which I can emphatize with. After all, I've spent nights where "one more thing" has kept me up till early in the morning. I don't have the end all be all advice on the topic, but you might just need some people looking out for you. If you choose to play, play on a small server where you know people, and people know that you are struggling to pace yourself. If you're feeling guilty about playing, don't. Building huge structures you aren't proud of doesn't do you any good. If you're playing compulsively, but you're not enjoying it, it might help to shut it out entirely. Deinstall your client, give your account to a friend, block imgur, reddit and facebook, and forget they ever existed. Sometimes that doesn't solve your problem though, it only creates a void in your life. Empty time is horrid, and we try to fill it up no matter what. Unless you make a conscious effort to fill that void with things you do enjoy, you'll just end up filling it with whatever is convenient. If you don't know what those things are, you might need to do some testing and sampling. Maybe it's contemporary dance or building miniature railways or helping people learn to code that you'll stumble across and start to really enjoy. Also, if you, in the process of doing that, stumble across something you absolutely love, but tell yourself that it isn't productive or important, you've got problems with who you think you should be. You might be telling yourself you'll be happy if you're the guy in the 10,000$ suit sitting in his blacked out tesla, whilst you just stumbled over the fact you might be happier if you're the guy that's sitting in his basement watching tiny trains go on laps. If you think that that will make your parents or friends or whoever you care about think of you less, what business do they have of deciding what makes you happy? They shouldn't have a stake in whether you're gay or straight, who you fall in love with, whether you want children or not, and certainly not in whether you get to lead a fulfilled life or not. Anyways, I'm just drawing this from similar struggles I've been having, and maybe some of these points will help you crack out of whatever problem you're having. Honestly, I can't either say that I have implemented everything I'm preaching here, but it seems like a step in the right direction for me.

themedstudetn 12y ago
If nothing else I found this helpful so thanks for typing it
rthomas6 12y ago
Another technique is to make empty time less horrid, which in turn reduces the need to immediately fill it, which in turn allows you to choose better activities instead of scrambling for what is the quickest and easiest distraction. Empty time doesn't have to be a void in your life. If you can't sit alone and do nothing for an hour without a lot of anguish, that indicates some internal turmoil. Eliminating the feeling of emptiness during empty time is freeing, because in my experience it lowers the bar for your own contentment. While living, instead of worrying about meeting your needs for present gratification AND productivity of an action, you usually only have to think about the second, because you know you'll be fine, and even happy, regardless of the "fun" of the action you choose, as long as the action seems rewarding in the long run. This is easier said than done, but I've found some success in being content in the present through reading up on both mindfulness practices and Stoicism. A lot of people have found success through mindfulness meditation specifically (so check that out), but I've found it more useful for me to mindfully and meditatively carry out mundane tasks, such as dishes, instead of sitting meditation.
- solistice 12y ago
  I'm certainly plagued by some internal turmoil, and I feel free to admit that. I'm at an uncertain period in my life, and I do not know whether I will be sucessful at achieving any of my goals. My past record has been littered by public failures, and successes noone close to me wants to recognize. I've failed at getting 3 businesses started, my academic track record is meager at best, and whilst I consider myself intelligent, I do not know whether I'll be able to perform as expected in college, which is what I'm looking at right now. I have trouble moderating myself, and even though I've spent the last couple of years working on my skillset, I'm not sure whether that will cut it for what I want to do in life. I'm struggling with the amount of social expectations that I'm being handed. For one I have friends who expect me to do great things, and they are on track to do great things. I also expect myself to do great things. They're all in college now, I'm not. One kid I helped with bio homework back when I was in 9th grade and he was in 11th grade now studies Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. There's another former classmate at NYU who I'm helping with physics and programming problems, and he looks up to me as an example. Can't say that about myself. But then, if you look at the way I've been performing, you'd expect me to fail in a spectacular manner. C student from the get go, then after changing schools oscialating wildly from getting straight As and straight Fs. Only student in the entire school that managed to get on academic probation with a GPA of 3.19. Then I got kicked out of that school as well. I'm not proud of that. I'm not proud of the school I managed to graduate from either. Then college right now. I'm not sure which school I'll even get into. Ideally, I'll get into a respectable school abroad, perform well, finally get to use the skills I've been honing for years, make some money, transfer to one of the schools I was told I should be in, that I could be in if my life wasn't such a mess. That's a long shot though. Then there's the less than rosy but equally possible probability that I'll ascend astronomically for the first semester and crash and burn within semester 2. Get kicked out second year, no job, no degree. My health in the gutter because I overworked myself and couldn't quite cope with the workload. It's quite the conflicting, uncertain situation to be in, and I don't think I'll be any less anxious about it before I figure out how well each of the bridges I've got to cross hold up. They look shoddy, but you never know. I don't think meditation will help me with that.

themedstudetn 12y ago

Hello, I logged in just for this comment. I really must thank you for your comment, it has made me come to the realisation with what I have been doing with my lives. I'm saying this out of sincerity, that your comment has had the most profound effect ive had in the last couple of years of reading comments. It's been the final kick in the backside, so to speak. I just blocked reddit on my hosts file. Also your comment is now my wallpaper. Really I must thank you again, for if I never saw this who knows how deep I'd fall.

sbate1987 12y ago

imagine all the sand castles gone. the hugeness of our architectural history erased and will be erased by time - you are just human - imagine all the great waves someone catches but no one is on the beach to see and the other surfers are to busy - you would be alone then. it is true that the hours are gone but what do you make of your now? we are all alone with our accomplishments we are together when we hope. Thanks for your hope

totony 12y ago

Depends on what you like, I guess. Some people find playing video games worthless why others would rather do this than innovate/participate in OSS/etc. It's all about how you perceive it.

MiddleEndian 12y ago

I'll have to disagree here. When I was on the West Coast, I kept in touch with a lot of my friends on the East Coast by building things together on my Minecraft server.

Navarr 12y ago

The goal is to turn your passion for something like that into something productive. Reddit? A redditor thought image sharing could be better and built imgur. Minecraft? Well, I'm still only a volunteer but I'm part of the www.shotbow.net team and we make some really awesome games essentially treating Minecraft like an engine - no mods needed!

astrodust 12y ago

Minecraft is a very capable multi-player game. Why not open up and share? I've spent a lot of time building in Minecraft alone, but also more time building with others. No regrets. It's been fun, though like anything, all about balance.

cmdrfred 12y ago

Minecraft is like one of those desktop zen gardens to me. When I have some downtime (waiting for a patch to install) I can open it up and build my world. Yeah its not saving the world, but not everything can be.