Anyone else feel like ~99% of their life was kind of wasted? - eviltoast

In the last year or so I started to see so many people of my age that have done truly incredible things and still doing more.
For the vast majority of my life my only goals were gettimg academic satisfaction and doing unproductive stuff in the free time to get temporary pleasure. No end goal whatsoever.
I kind of don’t know what I’ve been doing in the last 17 years while someone gets a patent on solar systems, other invents a new recyclable plastic, and another found a successful startup. I mean, they all find what they’re supposed to be doing with their lives and excel in them.
I feel overwhelmed for trying to pace up with these kind of people. Yet I don’t like the way the things are and I can’t do anything but envy those people.
Anyone with experience in this regard? How did you deal with this? Did you eventually “pace up” with these people or was it too late or an unattainable goal?
Edit: Whoops, I didn’t expect so many replies! Thanks, I’ll look into them all

  • sealhaslupus@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    the comment isn’t literal. it was an off handed way of saying that it is beneficial to try and improve oneself to get the most out of life.

    i perhaps shouldn’t have qualified his profession because this was a conversation over beers, not his place of work.