Lack of interest, burned out?

[phinix]

Hard to say if its because of pandemic and lockdown, but I've been having this feeling in last year or two of losing interest in anything I used to like to do.
First - games - its harder and harder for me to really sit down and play some game, even to pick one and start at least. I started maybe 10 in last year, only finished one, maybe 2.
I don't see any of new games that would pull me in, like they used to in 90s

Then keyboards - I used to have a nice selection of boards and caps. Used to join GBs for new sets etc. Last year I stopped really using all those boards, decided to sell them all and left just two boards and 4 caps sets. Bought one recently, keep waiting for one more, but I may just keep one overall at the end. For 10 years I've been trying to find my endgame, I realised how few featured that were so important to me in years, are now totally obsolete and the one I'm waiting for is very simple that doesn't have those funky features I wanted it the past.
Seeing all those new caps sets with really ugly color options, freakishly long GB waiting times, I don't see anything that I would like to have, so stopped buying them. Finally got CRP PBT caps that I wanted to try out, I like it and looks like these will stay with me for long. I have a feeling that I have burnt out in this hobby as well.

PC hardware - I used to buy new CPU, GPU every two years, keeping up with new stuff years ago. My previous setup was bought in 2016, I have upgraded all last year. I bought the best monitor you can get nowadays, new GPU and had a feeling there is nothing else I can upgrade. Then decided to upgrade my pc speakers and mouse, which I did. Don't want to buy any more hardware like I used to do 10-20 years ago. Simply I don't need it. Recently I wanted to look into it and find out if I can upgrade something to experience new level of PC hardware, but I have a feeling that I achieved everything. Either I got the top stuff, or I don't need anything better (like faster CPU,GPU etc).

I feel burned out I guess. My main, huge hobby (games) I've had my whole life, is not interesting for me anymore. Recent hobbies (keyboards) also fading away...
Sad moment of being an adult I guess... getting old.
I just sit on youtube, watching other people playing games...
What's left?! 

[suicidal_orange]

Losing interest in stuff is said to be a sign of depression, is that an option?

Either way it sounds like you have plenty of money available so you could always find a new interest and repeat the same cycle you've experienced with keyboards, that should keep you amused for another couple of years.  Or you could be a normal person and find yourself a partner and invest in the seemingly endless time and money sink that is a child.

[Sifo]

visiting GH in its current state is beyond depressing

only thing keeping keyboards alive for me is private circles, and barely at that

try to come up with some personal goal/project, there's too much worrying about what other people are doing these days, easy to forget what makes it enjoyable for you.

[Sniping]

well really it sounds like you have to just bark up a different tree. there's a lot more to life than just video games and decking out your home setup. there's plenty of things to do -- if you're looking for hobbies and you like collecting stuff from what it looks like, maybe start a little succulent collection, or just get some outdoor plants to plant if that's available to you. you could watch some shows, movies. you can go hunting for specialty beers or sodas. you can go on alltrails and check out some of the top rated outdoors areas near you. you can also do any of these things with a friend to make it more fun/less scary.

really it sounds like you're changing as a person and it's an exciting time, as long as you think about what you want and bring that into your life in a reasonable manner. i used to like biking a lot (still do) and really got into mountain biking in the past year, which was completely different than the type of riding that i normally do. i'd say this was a pretty big personality change for me since i used to avoid risky activity a lot, but i've come to enjoy what i used to avoid completely.

[tp4tissue]

We're at end game hedonism.

That has been the primary industry for the last 5000 years.   We've converted the entirety of Life to trigger pleasure of Some-Sort.

Our technology has evolved such that we can easily break our natural Hedonic loop, even if it only meant eating burgers. We now have unlimited burgers, for very little labor.

Our mind was never designed to be saturated in the way it is now.  There IS NO MORE UP.


Think about it this way, The highest dopamine release designed by nature is only 200% baseline, that's SECS.

Food, ~150% baseline
Coffee, ~200% baseline
Cigarettes, ~200% baseline
Vaping, ~200% baseline
Alcohol, ~200% baseline
Secs, ~200% baseline
Heroin, ~400-1600% baseline (neurotoxic)
Methamphetamine, ~400-1600% baseline (neurotoxic)
Cocaine, ~400-1600% baseline (neurotoxic)

Everything is cheaply available and CONSTANTLY available.    There is no where left to go if you frame LIFE in terms of PLEASURE,     at least from the perspective of developed nations.

As the third world ramps up into consumption economies in the same way,  Our world is MELTING DOWN. We're living incorrectly and beyond what the Biosphere can support.



If we do not quickly develop asceticism or some sort of anhedonic philosophy,  within 10-30 years, we'll all probably be dead. 

It's not any 1 Thing that needs to change,  EVERYTHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.     The most important of all though is going 100% Veggie.

[noisyturtle]

I get that when I'm depressed as well. Weed has been the absolute best cure for that specific issue I've ever come across, but it also feeds that negative energy in the long run. I quit smoking (mostly) and feel genuinely better and happier, but I am bored all the time too. Not in the same way though. It's lack of interest vs too much energy.

[SBJ]

I get that when I'm depressed as well. Weed has been the absolute best cure for that specific issue I've ever come across, but it also feeds that negative energy in the long run. I quit smoking (mostly) and feel genuinely better and happier, but I am bored all the time too. Not in the same way though. It's lack of interest vs too much energy.

Back when I was depressed I smoked a lot of weed. And it kept me alive.
Not saying that's what you should do OP, but it helped me too.

I totally get what you're saying though.
I lost interest in a lot of things I used to love lately too. Seems as though that when I turned 35 all my hobbies just started meaning less and less.
I have one keyboard I use now along with one backup.
Gaming used to be my big thing too, and nowadays the ONLY game I can remotely play is WoW (which is ****ing sad if you ask me, I kinda have a love/hate relationship with that game)

[Kelseer]

Hard to say if its because of pandemic and lockdown, but I've been having this feeling in last year or two of losing interest in anything I used to like to do.
First - games - its harder and harder for me to really sit down and play some game, even to pick one and start at least. I started maybe 10 in last year, only finished one, maybe 2.
I don't see any of new games that would pull me in, like they used to in 90s

I feel the same as you, about pretty much everything that you said, and especially about video games. Video games just plain stopped being fun. Primarily, my take is its because the industry as a whole exploded and the suits moved in. Video games went from being fun to all about "user retention and engagement metrics".
Secondly, and mostly influenced by the former, everything became a rehash ("reboot") of something that's been done before. Innovation is dying out. No more playing Warcraft 2,3, SC, WoW, HL, Doom, Deus Ex, ME, Civ and all those games that defined gaming so well, everything that came afterwards built on them instead of branching out.

I had hopes for Star Citizen, and I still kinda do, but then that was a bet I placed a long time ago. If it doesn't happen - I can live with it. So its not just you or me getting old, its that the guys who make games found easier ways to make mega bucks.

What's left?! 

Take time off. Stop playing games for a year. Don't look at new keyboards. Try to find some other hobby that lets you learn something new and also lets you create stuff. E.g - I taught myself CAD and CNC well enough I can make stuff on my Shapeoko. That would never have happened if I didn't start by learning how to solder when I got into keyboards, and also when I got into PC Water-cooling - and how things took off from there. Its not like I'm writing the next great novel, or composing a piece of music, but at least it lets me create something - and that keeps me relatively happy.

We're at end game hedonism.
Our mind was never designed to be saturated in the way it is now.  There IS NO MORE UP.

As the third world ramps up into consumption economies in the same way,  Our world is MELTING DOWN. We're living incorrectly and beyond what the Biosphere can support.

I'm coming around to subscribing to this way of thinking. I grew up both in the West and the East, and currently live in Asia. This is indeed what's happening. As more of the third world starts its own process of catching up to the "first world" and the "superior standards of living" a lot of bad habits come with the good. There's more I can say on this topic, but its irrelevant to OP's post.

[Findecanor]

Sometimes you'd just need to take a break and reconsider what your priorities are in life. It is only natural that priorities change.

I've seen many collectors in several hobbies buy a lot of stuff, to later sell it off. That's not unusual.
I think that to be long-term into collecting, you'd need to decide yourself what area or areas you should focus your collection/s to be about, and not follow other people's habits too blindly.

I agree with tp4tissue that modern society and the keyboard enthusiast sphere in particular has maybe been infused with a bit too much dopamine in recent years.

[Darthbaggins]

In all the gaming space has been stagnant since 2018, and hasn't really done anything to improve it - as there haven't been really any major breakthroughs in gameplay (other than Raytracing being implemented in games).  I have been rotating out through my backlog of games since quite a few have become stagnant for me as of right now - also I'm notorious for not finishing games just since I lose interest or not enough is peaked for me to return to it.
The KB community is still somewhat fresh for me but the pricing threshold for alot of items that are not inherently special compared to offerings already in the market that are mass-produced - also my want for instant gratification vs waiting 6mo - 1yr+ on the chance that the product is actually produced and delivered is a big turnoff for me.  I've only ordered one cap set and that's due to the vendor and cap design is one I've wanted - with that there are very few that I really want and am happier on buying artisans that I can add to my collection (reasonably priced ones).
This past year and a half has definitely messed with my mental state since it has been a sh!tshow to say the least.

[phinix]

Guys, thank you for all your comments.

@Sniping - yes, it sounds and looks like I am changing as a person - due to simply getting older.

@suicidal_orange - It is also due to depression, but I don't want to get into this subject, it wouldn't go well;)

@Noisy - yeah, you're right - I've been off grass for over 2 years, would love to go back, as I know this helped me a lot in the past, but like it is said - long term puffing is not good either, so maybe its good that it is hard for me to get the stuff;)

@StickyBlueJuice - yep, I know what you mean and I think it would help a lot:)
You're right - all hobbies get less interesting with age, its like they have there own age brackets where those are most enjoyable, then when you out of those brackets, then you need to find something else as those won't be fun anymore.

@tp - your input with levels of dopamine - there is something in this as well. I know we've talked about it in the past and you also mentioned those levels and influence of different activities on your level of satisfaction - it definitely has an impact on me as well.

@Kelseer - someone else suggested similar approach as you - that leaving some of your activities for a longer period will help me clear my head and I may feel wanting to go back to it in a while.  You're also right about games industry - I also think its going downhill, has been for a while now. Same for movies - I have a feeling that movie industry is going in wrong direction - profit more important than actual product quality.

@Findecanor - priorities do change, yes. Thing is, I take my hobbies are totally separate from my life priorities and keep them away from those. Financially too - I do not use my job earned money for my hobbies - earned money go to my missus:) We both take care of our finances and life priorities apart from my hobbies - she knows I'm a nerd and better to stay away from my hobbies, but she's always with me, watching all those "weird stuff" I play with or collect:)
I have gathered some funds for last 10 years, collecting or selling stuff. For years I was in PC modding hobby which brought me some money from sponsors I could invest in other things. Then I started keyboards hobby, which is even more expensive:) But yes, like you said - I do decide by myself what I want/like to collect, never looked on somebodies else moves - most of the cases as I always had a different taste.

@Darthbaggins - I feel the same. Gaming, same like cinematography industry went full commercial, full money making, instead of produce some really interesting stuff. They dont care about us, players, they just care about money they can suck off our wallets. There is hardily few games that I really enjoyed in years.
Same feeling about keyboards - I hopped on this train about 10 years ago, when having a different Esc key on your Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid keyboard was a huge modding step In last years lots of thing started to put me off, but the worst is the time of getting things - 12months+ waiting times for a stupid keycaps, keyboard GBs taking 10months just puts you off big time. In the beginning it was cool and everyone kept being excited about it, but after 10 years I feel like "common, does it still needs to be that f** long?!" kinda attitude.