Fun is overrated; well, at least the fun that youth want to have nowadays is. When I was 18 years old, in the middle of my first year at university, I remember thinking about how I cannot wait for the summer holidays to start so that I could do nothing but waste time for 3 months. I was excited!
Fast forward three years, I simply cannot stand being stagnant during my day. I have grown to hate the word "stagnant" because to me it signifies comfort. Comfort brings you laziness because you are on auto-pilot. Life then becomes boring because you do not have a stimulus to be mindful or challenged.
The youth of today seem to think that 'having fun' can only be things like playing video games or binging a TV show. However, I believe fun is of two types; fun that kills, and fun that skills. super corny I know
The former consists of video games, TV shows and social media. This type of fun is only suitable when consumed in moderation and in mindfulness. Consume too much of this and you find yourself in the perpetual state of stagnance outlined above.
The latter consists of activities that challenge you, push you or drive you in the social, physical, spiritual or creative aspects of your lives.
I am NOT saying, the above "fun that kills" should be avoided at all costs. You know you best. Mental health is important. People tend to engage in social media and TV shows when they have a bad day. I support this. But I also believe that we know when we abuse this entertainment outlet. All I am asking for is we hold ourselves accountable.
Ever since university, I have developed a theory.
The theory is the rate of "idealness" in youth has declined over time.
I don't recall who, but there was a companion of the Prophet who lead an entire army and conquered a city/country at the age of 17.
And then you have 20 years old today who are excited about going to the first showing of Spiderman No Way Home; myself included.
I believe the decline is apparent.
DISCLAIMER I am not saying being excited for Spiderman is bad. I am saying that that being the peak of our life is bad. I mean, what's the equivalent of conquering a city in our lives? Do you have something that you are working towards?
Everything above probably sounds barbaric. Please take all of this with the caution that hustle culture is toxic. There is a balance. Never forget. Doing nothing with friends on a quiet Thursday night is never just nothing. It's what you'll remember when you're old.
The problem with most of us is that our balance is off - we err too much on the side of "fun that kills" and pay little to no attention to the "fun that skills".
And because we are comfortable, we never reflect and as a result, we become stagnant. And then we cannot stay off our phones because everything else is too boring.
Growth requires mindfulness. It requires effort. We can all achieve at least 1% of that.
part 2 to follow