how do you deal with life after 26 and the fact that everything

>>18317077
A family friend started a company that ended up being worth over $300 million around age 45. Though it took like 10 years to get to this point. Previously he just owned some bars/restaurants and had a drinking problem. Life does not end at 26.

>>18317081
Don't bother. He doesn't want advice or reassurance, he wants validation, a pity party and for everyone to tell him that society is the problem and that he's just an innocent victim.

>>18317081

Well that is inspirational. Thanks for that.

>>18317077
In terms of relationships, I was single for a year after my last gf broke up with me at age 25, then found another and things have been going really well so far. On dating sites, older women often seem somewhat nicer and more reasonable about the world anyway. I'm not saying it gets easier necessarily-- I don't know if it does or not-- but it definitely still stays _possible_ as long as you stay in shape and keep trying to talk to people who seem like they might be compatible with you. (If you aren't in shape, just cut calories by drinking only water and eating mostly vegetables and some meat for a few months, at most 1200-1300 cal/day, until you are in shape, then after that start working out and eating more protein and carbs.)

>if you haven't figured it out by now (career, girlfriend/future wife) that you probably won't ever.
naaaaaah that's not true
it's just getting too late to hold on to the idea of starting a family unless you marry someone younger

30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, there's still people going to college at that age to learn new things, maybe not even for job prospects but just because they've still got brains and they want to use them

you'll find things that can make you happy as long as you keep open about them

>>18317094
People have kids at female-age 30-40 all the time. Males can be as old as 60-70 and still have kids.

>>18317092

I haven't dated since college but I'm struggling HARD with online dating. I'm in good shape, but I have bad photos because I can't stand the idea of taking a selfie so all my photos are pretty old and not very flattering. I consider myself a 6/10, 7/10 on a good day, and I go to the gym, but online dating just nets me extremely undesirable women.

I don't have any exciting hobbies (I used to but I no longer do) and I am open to a lot of things, but most of them aren't socialable hobbies. I don't think I'm a boring person, but on the outside I probably am because I am not constantly trying to do crazy and social things and impressing others.

>>18317094

That is true, but I mean in terms of having a solid career... it's like if you haven't figured it out yet, what is another 5-10 years gonna do for you? Experience is everything these days and if you don't have experience, they will just find someone younger who does

I just am not one of those people that have a passion, I work hard and have done a ton of jobs, but nothing has stuck out to me as 'WOW I'm good at this and I can't make money doing it!'

>>18317097

I feel like having kids that late is so unfair to the kid. I want to have kids before I turn 28, because I want to be young when my kids are somewhat young too, I want to do stuff with them and be apart of their lives.

I'm not trying to throw a pity party and I am open to suggestions, I am just feeling very bad and very stuck right now and have been for awhile. I can't get rid of the anxiety that time is ticking and I need to shit or get off the pot and that is why I made this thread, to see if others feel the same way or not. I constantly feel as though I am running out of time or that it is too late.

>but I can't have/do any of this because I spent the last 10 years fucking up everything and unfucking is pretty much impossible at this point.

its not impossible but you obviously need to be doing something differently than before

i mean look at you, you are 25+ and "realizing" that you cant be happy because your life isnt what you imagined it would be, how do you know? have you done everything you could to reach those goals?

>>18317097
past 30 for females seems to not be very good for the offspring
it used to be the "safe cutoff" was at 35 but puberty is getting earlier and earlier these days, seems to be some correlation between active fertility window and development risks

>>18317106
>Experience is everything these days and if you don't have experience, they will just find someone younger who does
oh that's hardly true, connections have always mattered more than experience
you're not going to be able to do as technical roles without experience but they'll probably just shove you into a management position like all the other people getting up in years

just attend job fairs, hobby groups, get some networking going and someone will get a good word in for you
volunteer too if your financial situation allows it, good practical use of "free time" that can help improve your status and meet new people

>>18317077
27 year old here.
if i can be completely honest.
the most important thing in the world is you. when you die, the rest of the world goes under. thats the truth. name a relative of yours 20 generations ago. no matter how good person he was, he is nothing now.
and the same goes with you and everyone else.
the main thing you need to focus on is YOU and NOW.
the other thing you need to focus on is the people you love the most. first comes family, then comes friends.
you must do whatever makes YOU happy and as long as it wont hurte just the people closest to you, then you should do it.

i could never let anyone boss over me and make me spend time on work if my family should need me.
im on welfare, and finally i can focus only on things that make me happy.
i work out, play video games, have sex with a lot of women and get to spend time with my family and i finally feel thats everything is just right.

people will hate me for saying this, but their lives and existence is worthless. my life is the whole reason the world keeps spinning.

>>18317119
It isn't hate, it's contempt.

I wouldn't stoop to hating someone deficient enough to have sucked down the solopsistic pill.

>>18317077
Not everything is on a downhill slope - as a person who follows life long learning in my down time I only ever look forward to knowing more as I get more years under my belt.

But, that may not be an interest you share - so perhaps everything you care for would trend down.

Point is, things necessarily going downhill past your age is false.

I'm pretty much in the same boat.
All I can tell you is that you have to convince yourself it's not over yet. There's nothing stopping you except yourself. I live too comfortable of a life to be motivated enough to chase my dream of being a family man, but I know that I could get started on it tomorrow if I had the motivation. It's not out of my reach just yet.