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Comment by exe34 | Hacker News Reader

It's age. I'm alone and I have the same problem.

Just so that the discussion does not become overly biased in one direction, I'd like to share that I'm over 40 and still feel highly motivated to pursue intellectual interests, and take on hobby projects. The hours I can put in is definitely far less than I could when I was single and young but the motivation is still there and I still manage to complete a few hobby projects (software ones and otherwise) each year.

That's a pretty good thing. I'm glad you can still do it. Nowadays I'm very reluctant to jump into any new hobby that needs thinking and focus (e.g. STEM topics). I know I won't be able to stick to it, so it's better to just drop it instead of trying it out and disappointing myself later. I'm so scared to try out because I really hate failing myself again.

I know it might sound ridiculous but I never succeeded in any hobbies. Family and kid take away time from me so I feel even less likely to be successful in any hobbies. But why do I stick "Hobby" and "Success" together? I think that's because I have never been successful (by my own definition, whatever it is) in real life.

But how to explain the change just in a few years?

Maybe because aging is non-linear.

Yeah that could be. I need to adjust my mindset around the changes.

Hormones?

Yeah that could be. I think it accelerated in the last 12 months.

Might be worth talking to a counsellor or something, might be depression/boredom/burnout/etc.

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