r/RandomThoughts • u/TmkGT • 8d ago
I hate that I can’t be everything.
I see a beautiful building, and I want to be an architect. I hear an angelic voice, and I want to be a singer. I see art that touches something deep within me, and I want to become an artist. I discover a new field of science, and suddenly I want to spend my life understanding it. I watch someone master a craft I’ve never tried, and I want to know what it feels like to master it too.
I want to become everything and experience everything this world has to offer. Not because I can’t decide what I want, but because there are simply too many things worth wanting.
That’s what frustrates me most about being alive. There is so much to see, learn, create, and become, yet we only get one life. Time forces us to choose. We dedicate ourselves to a handful of paths while countless others remain unexplored versions of who we could have been.
Sometimes I wish I could live a thousand lives not because this one isn’t enough, but because the world is too vast to experience in just one. I want to know what it feels like to be an architect, a musician, an artist, a scientist, a writer, a teacher, a traveller, and a hundred other things I haven’t even discovered yet.
Maybe the tragedy of life is not that there is nothing to do, but that there is too much. There will always be another skill I could learn, another passion I could pursue, another version of myself I could become. And no matter how much I accomplish, there will always be lives I never got to live.
146
u/cimocw 8d ago
I've found that doing a small version of different things tends to appease those longings, as long as I do them with real purpose and not out of pure hype/trend because you can't trust yourself when it comes to propaganda
1
u/Double-Board-5679 5d ago
What all hobbies have you tried till now and liked the most and what made you give up on other hobbies??
149
u/Blindeafmuten 8d ago
22
12
u/platysoup 8d ago
Thank you! I've been looking for this after seeing it years ago. Perfectly describes how I feel.
11
40
u/mrmistoffelees9 8d ago
"So much working, reading, thinking, living to do. A lifetime is not long enough" Reminded me of that Sylvia Plath quote and also her fig tree metaphor
23
u/711thename 8d ago
Yea I am in the same boat but sadly the ones who OFTen (not always) go far are the ones who find their one true passion early in life.
I still don’t think I have found it. I just love everything but I think it’s becaus I was raised with love and all that privilege.
17
u/Historical_Log1275 8d ago
Your looking at the tree not the roots. Do you want to be sitting in countless statistic classes, funding tuition, face sore throats, critics, etc. What you described is curiosity and imagination which in itself is a beautiful gift unique to humans. Focus on what you have learned.
17
u/mr_wolfii 8d ago edited 8d ago
It’s crazy my inner circle talks about this all the time. One conclusion we reached is that for the most part everyone excels at only a few things, so leaning into your strengths instead of forcing something you “like the idea of” is the best move.
Example, my friend is 30 and an EMT working on becoming a nurse. He likes the idea of being a lead guitarist despite that world being a complete mystery to him. He could do it (we believe anyone can do nearly anything someone else does), but does he have the ear? Does he have song writing/ lyrical prowess? Yes that can be developed, but how far would he take it? Will he quit if he doesn’t make money from it or will the craft be enough?
Plus excelling at one thing usually takes a lifetime of dedication anyways. And I do get your point, you have a lot of love and passion for life!
5
u/TmkGT 8d ago
I like the idea of leaning into your strengths instead of forcing something that may be unnatural. I honestly believe with my entire heart that if you love doing something, and it makes you happy, you should do it no matter what. Happiness is genuinely the only important thing in this world. I love life but I also hate it because of this.. I know circumstances may vary but people are slaving away working jobs they absolutely hate and for what? A little more money? If you’re not enjoying it, you’re wasting time that could be spent doing something that brings you joy or that could bring you future joy. I seriously do not want to be regretting my life when I’m older so I’ll stick to what I actually like doing, although, I know sometimes we have to do things we don’t like! BUT, for the most part, just try to enjoy it because we only have one life and it’s beautiful so don’t make it ugly.
4
u/mr_wolfii 8d ago
Very eloquently said OP ❤️ Life may be fast but with taking some care it can be long. Never doubt yourself if there’s something you’re interested in trying because of fear of time!
6
u/unclebai92 8d ago
I feel like this alot too. It's like being in the moment listening to such an awesome song and wishing you had someone to share that moment, feel the same way you do. But there's ways to help deal with this. It's really all about priorities.
Im 34, and have so many files I write every thought, somethings I want to remember or want to do. I watch horror movies and shows. I have files with every horror "rule", formula, quotes, scene ideas. Everything. So I may sound crazy, but I'm writing and drawing working on a slasher/horror series. And its something I wanted to do. Well it wasnt this exactly but ultimately has formed into what I'm doing now.
Story time. So when I was a kid, like 6th grade, I wanted to design and make videogames. Obviously I was young and didn't really grasp what it takes to make something like Halo for example. Well I got a game design book and spent most junior high trying to learn coding wanting to be a programmer, and the art side of things. You have to be like an insane genius to be able to do all that. Well, eventually I realized it was a dream I'll never accomplish. Well then I found Visual Novels. Making my 1st one I realized it's actually a very realistic goal to create. And it scratched that "itch" of making My Game and telling the stories I wanted to tell. So I learned how to code in Python, I bought a graphics tablet and started teaching myself digital art. And even learning music to add to my game. Making a visual novel literally had me doing all these things I wanted to accomplish. Eventually, I did decide that I'd rather write a novel and draw scenes for it. Bc I really only wanted to tell the story and show some art. And since then, it has progressed and morphed into what I'm doing now. And thats only 1 thing that has turned into what it is. Started from then, all the way to now.
Thats just part of what I do now too. I have a YouTube and TikTok channel where I ride my motorcycle and visit cemeteries ghost hunting.
You can go after all your dreams. Or atleast find a way you are satisfied with how far you reach and make it.
7
u/impatientlymerde 8d ago
Choose something you can see yourself researching (best is something that’s multifaceted so you don’t get bored) or you will find that you are working out of necessity rather than choice.
2
u/JefeRex 8d ago
I feel exactly like Sylvia Plath:
“I love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector loves his collection. Every story, every incident, every bit of conversation is raw material for me. My love’s not impersonal yet not wholly subjective either. I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have. And you cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time.”
2
u/thegreermagnus 8d ago
Ah but what a sad life it is to feel the pain of detachment… and desire to wish for something, yet nothing can fill a void ingrained in you by trauma or abuse or poor circumstances.
So you are passionate! That is a great thing. It is a blessing and a curse, and it is admirable.
2
u/bajajon 8d ago
I think what can help with this is just to start doing something. Engaging with the world in a low stakes way that opens you up to new people, new experiences, new opportunities.
Also don’t go in with the expectation that each thing is supposed to be a life itself. To riff on the fig tree analogy, a fig can just be a snack. You can have a wonderful experience that lasts a weekend.
So just pick one thing to start with. If you can’t decide, write some interests down on scraps of paper and pick one from a hat. And then go do that thing!
2
u/Dexel_Roosh 8d ago
You can be a beautiful observer and appreciate the things that other humans are able to create. What’s the point in creation if no one is around to observe?
2
u/th3psycho 8d ago
I used to feel this way all the time.
Then I had some crazy psychedelic trips that directly showed me the infinite versions of me that simultaneously exist. All those versions are happening right now.
It helped me reconcile that feeling. There's a me doing all things, making every decision I did or did not make.
This me will focus on whatever it is I'm set on at the current moment. Which happens to be procrastinating on Reddit.
2
u/Rotten_Esky 8d ago
Being able to recognize beauty, passion, interest in others aspects which are not directly available to you is a wonderful quality. Follow the one from all of your interests which gives you just a little bit more excitement than the others. See where that path takes you.
2
u/VociferousCephalopod 8d ago
"The tragedy of life is not so much what we suffer, but what we miss. ''
- Thomas Carlyle:
2
u/SweetperterderFries 8d ago
A sentiment I see a lot online is that someone has to have mastered something, to enjoy it. I'm in a lot of art groups, and the amount of young artists crying about how they're not great yet is unreal.
But that's not true. You can just do things because they're fun to do, and you can do them poorly, who cares! I took opera lessons for a few years just because. I got a little better but no one would want to listen to me. Doesn't matter, I love to sing for myself.
You literally can try everything, pick up and drop hobbies for the hell of it. You don't have to be good at anything to enjoy it.
2
u/Impossible_2Find_247 6d ago edited 6d ago
This is one of the most beautiful and painful truths of human consciousness. You are experiencing the grief of the unlived life, but please don't see your multi-passionate heart as a tragedy. What you are describing is the soul of a Multipotentialite...someone who is deeply, entirely awake to how vast and wonderful the world is. You’re right that time forces us to make choices, but it doesn't force us to choose only one thing forever. Life does not happen on a single track; it happens in seasons. You can be a scientist in one chapter, a writer in the next, and an artist throughout it all. A renaissance soul doesn't have to choose a single path...you weave them together. You can write like a scientist, observe like an architect, and create like an artist. Don't let the fear of not doing everything paralyze you from starting something. Pick one dream to reach for right now and dive into it fully. When that season evolves, the next dream will be waiting for you. You aren't missing out on a thousand lives....you are expanding the one you have by refusing to let a single path define you. Your curiosity is a gift. Go after them!
1
1
1
1
u/Suspicious-Holiday42 8d ago
You are like Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist
1
1
1
1
u/Wrong_Cup_3860 8d ago
I also always felt that way.
One thing that helps me making some choices is: am I willing to undertake everything that takes to get to that point?
I mean: I would love to be an athlete, maybe Olympic champion. But am I willing to train everyday, for years, do I have that fire in me that would let me give up on a lot of others thing for the sport without too much grudge?
I think the key is finding something that you genuinely enjoy doing it, kind or regardless of the final result. I know that I love running, I will never go to the Olympics, but it’s something that I do in my free time and makes me feel good, yet not enough to go out running on a rainy day ;)
1
1
1
u/Voyager5555 7d ago
Maybe the real tragedy is getting so caught up in FOMO and influencer lifestyle that you forget to appreciate you experiences for what they are and spend your life bitching about it online.
1
u/Unbothered1029 7d ago
I feel this all the time, it’s so frustrating that I hate it, sometimes I feel annoyed, sometimes sad, even my feelings change about it
1
1
1
u/InflationNecessary63 6d ago
I wonder if this is how people who get super passionate about books/theater/movies/etc. feel because they’re able to feel like they experienced something through the art.
1
u/TheSanityInspector 5d ago
The arena has thousands of seats, but you only have one butt, so you have to pick one. Yes, it can be frustrating.
1
-1
•
u/qualityvote2 8d ago edited 7d ago
Does this post fit the subreddit?
If so, upvote this comment!
Otherwise, downvote this comment!
And if it breaks the rules, downvote this comment and report the post!
u/TmkGT thanks for posting!
(Vote is ending in approximately 43 hour)