all posts post new thread

Other/Mixed Where does imagination, zest and humor go?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Adam R Mundorf

Adam R Mundorf

Level 6 Valued Member
Hey StrongFirst,

I'm currently 30 years old and I place a premium on not emulating people I don't want to be like. I tend to have a super active imagination, find humour in everything and have fun in almost every situation. I try my best to maintain minimal obligations (responsibly) and thus have more freedom to do as I please.

I just notice that as I get older, I'm in the minority.

I guess my question is why do people become so rigid? Why do people start to lose their luster and zest for life? Why do people conform and emulate people who quite frankly, die unfulfilled?

Listen, I get there are certain aspects of life that demand a level of rigidity: investing, personal finance, possibly exercise and avoiding large mistakes (unplanned pregnancy, drug addiction etc). I treat them with the seriousness the deserve.

Whenever my lifestyle is critiqued it almost seems like it stems from a point of jealousy because they don't have the flexibility or didn't make the decisions I did to maintain my freedom of choice. Misery loves company as they say.

What are your guys thoughts?

Thank you, Adam
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
I guess my question is why do people become so rigid? Why do people start to lose their luster and zest for life?
Click to expand...
We are in the arts in my house, and our home life is full of humor, play acting, speaking in funny accents, word puns, and the like. I can't speak for anyone else. I'm a lifelong musician, my wife teaches high school acting and public speaking, and one of our two boys is an aspiring opera singer. I weighed in at a powerlifting meets earlier today and had to correct the guy looking me up at the table because he wasn't looking in the right age group - when I told him I was in my last year of M65-69, he did the proverbial double-take and told me I really didn't look that old.

I told him something that's true in my case - in round numbers, I've always looked like I'm 40. When I was in high school, I could pass for 40, and when I was 60, I could pass for 40. Now, maybe I could pass for 50.

Life's too short to always take it seriously. Laughter is the best medicine, and my wife and I give each other plenty to laugh at.

-S-
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
I guess my question is why do people become so rigid? Why do people start to lose their luster and zest for life? Why do people conform and emulate people who quite frankly, die unfulfilled?
Click to expand...
People are creatures of habit. The longer we live, the more habits we form. If we don't make a "forever habit" of evaluating the rest of our habits and looking for failed results or useless wastes of time, or simply accept those as a permanent status quo, it results in the loss all the qualities you described.

Make a habit of finding some way to appreciate your life and those around you and I have to suspect things will help to make people rigidly likable and happy.

And definitely Luis T. Gonzalez's comment on squat depth. That is a must.
 
GreenSoup said:
People are creatures of habit. The longer we live, the more habits we form. If we don't make a "forever habit" of evaluating the rest of our habits and looking for failed results or useless wastes of time, or simply accept those as a permanent status quo, it results in the loss all the qualities you described.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I also feel like it's not having intrinsic motivation. You're doing things for how you will be perceived rather than because it makes you feel fulfilled....

Thank you all for the great responses!
 
There is a shallowness to life, real life, that most people come to terms with in their own way.

The people in life that I've had the most admiration for have been individuals with deep and abiding dedication to something.

Their drive and relentless work toward achieving some ideal that remains invisible to everyone around them is the truest expression of life I've ever encountered.

I find these individuals everywhere: tradesmen practicing their craft, businessmen during hostile takeovers, athletes on the field of play, musicians during a performance, fathers with their daughters, and on and on...

Passionate people are transforming life into something more than it is all around me, and I'm grateful for them. I'd say that these people do have an interest (or zest) for their slice of life.
 
Everybody is a complex individual, of course, but at almost 72 a general observation is that people that don't have some kind of purpose, project, hobby, etc that pulls them beyond themselves and gives social community lose zest. We all need to continue to challenge ourselves. I'm still working 20-30 hours per week and socking money in a 401k for the long term future in a challenging environment. And hitting some kind of KB ballistics most mornings. There are plenty of people around my age who seemed to have given up and I just don't understand it. It does seem to take more work as you get older but therein lies the stimulating challenge.
 
SteveR said:
There are plenty of people around my age who seemed to have given up and I just don't understand it. It does seem to take more work as you get older but therein lies the stimulating challenge.
Click to expand...
I think the saddest part is that even my peers are beginning to 'shut off', I'm like you're only 30! As Ori Hofmekler said : 'Not actively surviving is passively dying.'

I remember on a Joe Rogan Podcast something was said like, 'People live lives of quiet desperation.'

That's the vibe I get from many.....
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
I think the saddest part is that even my peers are beginning to 'shut off', I'm like you're only 30! As Ori Hofmekler said : 'Not actively surviving is passively dying.'

I remember on a Joe Rogan Podcast something was said like, 'People live lives of quiet desperation.'

That's the vibe I get from many.....
Click to expand...
Maybe it's time to find a different crew ?
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
Whenever my lifestyle is critiqued it almost seems like it stems from a point of jealousy because they don't have the flexibility or didn't make the decisions I did to maintain my freedom of choice. Misery loves company as they say.
Click to expand...
Are people criticizing your lifestyle because you are humorous and "zesty"?

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't see people around me getting down on their peers for having a sense of humor.

Now, I DO have some friends who have interests that are very different from mine and some who probably think I'm aloof because I, for example, don't want to give up my "Squaturday" for a day of beer and watching other people doing sports. This irritates me a little, but what can you do?
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
I think the saddest part is that even my peers are beginning to 'shut off', I'm like you're only 30! As Ori Hofmekler said : 'Not actively surviving is passively dying.'

I remember on a Joe Rogan Podcast something was said like, 'People live lives of quiet desperation.'

That's the vibe I get from many.....
Click to expand...
Are they having kids? Kids can eat up time and energy. They have to get older before you can start doing some of the things you used to do.
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
I think the saddest part is that even my peers are beginning to 'shut off', I'm like you're only 30! As Ori Hofmekler said : 'Not actively surviving is passively dying.'
Click to expand...
Your exercise could be the difference. I'd wager that your physiology and brain are both healthier than theirs, in addition to muscles, bones, etc. The more they get sucked into their electronic world and neglect movement, the more passive they will become.

At my age (56) I see those around my age getting worn down and tired from illness, chronic pain, loss of strength and capacity, fatigue, and stress. Without an exercise routine (or better yet -- training program), they have no resistance to it. And life will beat you down -- demands from job, family, finances, and society. You have to actively build yourself, and then bounce forward from adversity and keep working to be resilient against it, or you just run out of resources to fight. Humor and fun have nothing to subsist on.
 
Anna C said:
Your exercise could be the difference. I'd wager that your physiology and brain are both healthier than theirs, in addition to muscles, bones, etc. The more they get sucked into their electronic world and neglect movement, the more passive they will become.

At my age (56) I see those around my age getting worn down and tired from illness, chronic pain, loss of strength and capacity, fatigue, and stress. Without an exercise routine (or better yet -- training program), they have no resistance to it. And life will beat you down -- demands from job, family, finances, and society. You have to actively build yourself, and then bounce forward from adversity and keep working to be resilient against it, or you just run out of resources to fight. Humor and fun have nothing to subsist on.
Click to expand...
That’s so true. My grandmother was a nurse for over 50 years and I remember when she was in her sixties she was taking care of people who were younger than her in the nursing home. Health is the greatest wealth.
 
I think it’s a bit of a bias that you view those people as unfulfilled.

I personally would find living life with minimal obligations to be very unfulfilling. I also think zest and humor is very viewpoint based, just because you don’t view it as such doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist for them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom