Ask HN: Have you experienced completely loss of interest on everything?

> So I ask you... What motivates you to do what you are currently doing? (8>= hours/day)

Hint: nothing. I've just finished a year-long vacation from dealing with startupcanistan. It's been wonderful, though I'm probably heading back soon.

It's totally normal to get burned out on something that hasn't been directly rewarding to you--ignore the bullshit echochamber and media about our "industry".

I have been feeling bad for some years.

I wake up everyday and remember that there is some other guy somewhere who will kick my ass -and the ones of employees I protect- if i dont stand my ground and expand. So i suck it up and move. And once I am into it, everything flows.

Go to work at 9am. Be there, the first step in the morning is the most difficult, but I assure you the next ones are way easier.

Youre burned out and depressed. Take a break and think about what you really want. Youre still very young. If youre doing something for >8hr a day that in itself can lead to burnout. Motivation comes naturally...you cant force it.

Perhaps you should work for money in a non stressful job and do fun development stuff in your spare time.

You're 23. Be 23. Everyone your age these days wants to start the 'next big thing', statistically you won't. Don't stop trying, but don't make it everything. Remember, even if/when you do succeed, you still need enough of you left to keep the machine running. Live a little. Wisdom = knowledge + experience.

I'm on the same boat. I've spend lots of energy on projects that nobody cared, eventually I lost self-motivation and stopped enjoying life. The last four years I tried different medications with no results.

We live in a world where success is the main motivation. When you realize you don't have the resources to study AI at Harvard, or the contacts to make your product successful; That motivation is gone.

All I can say is don't be harsh to yourself. And remember you are not alone in this unpleasant experience.

Good luck.

There's an expression: "winning solves all problems."

Its very tough to keep doing the same things if you keep losing. Conversely, you'll have no problem finding the energy to do hard things when you're winning.

Comparing yourself to others (those SpaceX/Tesla/Uber engineers) is not a productive thought; those people have failings and frustrations too. Don't fantasize that you would be so much happier if you could do those things - its not necessarily true.

You probably still love programming, design, marketing, whatever. Find the smallest, easiest win you can get right now and put it in your pocket. Maybe thats as simple as following a 1 hour tutorial on coding something you wanted to learn about. Or maybe its designing something in Photoshop that you thought would be cool. Whatever it is, keep the commitment short, and you'll feel better by the end of it.

You have a lot of time to be successful, accept that it might not come so soon. In the meantime, maybe try to live a normal life, you can always work on side projects on evenings and weekends. Expand your life experiences, eventually a great idea will come to you.

> The world will still go with or without me.

This is always a difficult realisation to come to - yes, the world will go on regardless, and it's tough to live with the thought. It'll go on just fine without you, or me; but it's also going along pretty well without Thomas Edison, and George Washington, and Steve Jobs, and some day it'll go on without Elon Musk too. That's kind of the beauty of it - there's always a future to look forward to, because nothing is the be-all and end-all.

> I convinced my self for so long that whatever I was doing was going to be great and help lots of people, but it didn't.

And that's completely okay. Like, legitimately, 100% okay. No one says you have to help lots of people. There's an excellent quote that makes the rounds:

> You all have a little bit of 'I want to save the world' in you; that's why you're here ... I want you to know that it's okay if you only save one person, and it's okay if that person is you.

It's a dangerous line of thinking to realise that the world will go on regardless, and that nothing really matters. In fact, when I was 23 (currently 30) I remember a similar sort of malaise. What helped me personally get out of it was realising that even if nothing really mattered, I still had choice. I could still choose for things to matter - because there was nothing to tell me otherwise. You have the power to choose the things that are important to you. And you don't have to choose them for any reason - you can choose to get out of bed just to prove you can do it. Or you could choose to because you want to save puppies, or see the Pyramids.

My view, and what motivates me, is that work is not necessarily what defines me or what defines my successes; it's what my work enables me to do that motivates me. Sure, in some cases, my work enables me to directly help people as part of my job. But the money it pays me also enables me to help friends or family, or even strangers, in ways outside my work. I chose to do what I can to make the world a better place, and even if I only manage to do that for a small group of people, that's okay. Sure, I'll still try to change the world, and be an Elon Musk megastar, but I'm okay with just making a few lives better.

In fact, some of the greatest people I know are those who work regular, straightforward 9-to-5 jobs, and who choose their family to be the thing they value most. They are amazing parents, dedicated to doing everything they can to give their kids the best opportunities. They are great not because of their work achievements, but because of their personal achievements.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that there are many more people contributing to things like SpaceX, Tesla, Uber, etc, than just the people working there. There'd be no Tesla or Uber without the people who work through the night laying asphalt to make new roads and fill potholes. There'd be no SpaceX without the people who mine the aluminium they use to build their rockets, or the mechanics who service the boats that pull their landing barges.

For me, I still have days where I don't want to get out of bed. I lie there, thinking about staying in bed, and calling in sick to work - because if I stay in bed, the world will still go on without me. There's no real reason to get out of bed. I don't have to.

But, eventually I do get out of bed; not because I have to, but because I want to. Because I choose to.

Also, just worth noting - when Elon Musk was 23, it was 1994, and he was yet to found a company, and he didn't make all his money through SpaceX - he made it by making a payments platform.

Hope this helps.

Let me address a few of your points.

>What motivates you to do what you are currently doing? (8>= hours/day)

Right now nothing really. I long stopped believing that there's some need for my input in this world. To be frank, it wouldn't matter if I'm working for Tesla or some CSS3 project, at least not long-term. Most people are wired for feeling empty under certain circumstances. And I am one who has seen this state come and go since I've been a kid. Chasing a lifestyle like this is a distraction. That's not a bad thing and maybe not the conclusion for everyone but unfortunately mine. The problem is that I need distractions to not get crazy, and at the same time they burn me out sooner or later. Every step towards a structured approach has been healthy for me. So, I don't know if this relates to your problem but try to do something else for a while and get your thinking straight, and treat all these thoughts of excellence and boheme as a pattern more than anything. Figure out what these thoughts were trying to change in your phantasy version of how you're life would go. To me they were really a manifestation of wanting to be appreciated, seen as a great and exceptional because I would feel like I'm definitely good enough to be able to do something of merit even though my narration would not catch up with real life as I hoped. Being honest with myself helps a little bit. Also I do allow myself to be this person sometimes but acknowledge the dangers of it now.

>Meds made everything worse (which forced me learn the hard way about the big-parma lie 'chemical imbalance of the brain' theory).

I think chemical imbalance has not really been debunked, rather I'd say the way American research treats diagnosis is comical in many cases. Here in Germany where I live doctors don't just throw medication at you and it's essential to try different ones to see if one of them does actually work. Anyway, I am on your side in as much as I do think meds are not life changing for everyone.

>I convinced my self for so long that whatever I was doing was going to be great and help lots of people, but it didn't.

Honest question - did you want to help lots of people or did you want to get a lot of credit for helping lots of people? Not saying they're mutually exclusive but I find this notion of the tech industry being so helpful to many people a little dull in its concept. It's a very capitalist movement even if it's less cutthroat than Wall Street, if you want to help lots of people, cooking food for people without shelter would probably be the smarter action to take. Or going to regions where your know-how can actually help people move forward, or honestly just oldskool construction work for people in need. I think there's a lot you can do.

Maybe you should just stop software for a while if you can afford it and do something else. I'm sure you'll find some great idea to improve things in whatever field you're in sooner or later anyway. And then your skills are gonna come in handy. Also, serious meditation really helped me get through some of these bleak weeks that seemed pointless and sad. But it takes a while for it to show results.

All the best to you.

From someone struggling with depression: I'm not a doctor, but you sound depressed. Lack of motivation in things that you used to find enjoyable is a huge red flag. It sounds like medication hasn't helped, but please don't throw away an entire tool that might be able to help. Meds aren't a silver bullet, but they DO help a lot of people, and there is evidence to suggest that flooding your brain with serotonin or dopamine can help with some aspects of depression.

In pretty much the same boat, broke and living in an RV. Exercise/fitness, set routine and take a semi-bullshit job to stay busy the truth is the banality of nearly every venture. Stay busy no matter what, because idleness and depression are dangerous. Find joy and "move the needle" to positivity.

Here's Uncle Mullet to brighten anyone's day: http://youtube.com/user/gladyscalls

In down times nothing is interesting. Now is time to focus on yourself, your friends, and your family. I recommend exercise and nature to help clear your head and bring confidence and vitality back into your life. Get out hiking, jogging, or biking, and read books you love. Maybe software isn't for you, or maybe your skills are the perfect fit for some other kind of organization that helps the world and makes you feel proud to be a part of it.

It sounds like anhedonia to me.

I ran into a similar problem. As far as I can tell, it was mostly due to burnout. I worked too much and never really took a vacation -- other than visiting family twice a year for roughly a week per: some people might find that relaxing but I honestly find it somewhat stressful.

Pretty much the only thing that got me moving again was a short-term leave from my job : my boss was very understanding. I did a short stint WWOOFing.

I think the combination of physical work, a job that ended at a set time in the day, and a near-complete technology disconnect are what worked for me. During my day-to-day (both as an engineer and trying a startup), I always had something on my mind, even when I wasn't technically "on-the-clock". I don't think that can go on forever without exacting a significant toll on the psyche.

As I see it, the problem is in your mindset, more precisely that you're not evolving yourself. At some point, you just created a set of rules that hold you back in life. And you brain is constantly see the world through that particular set of rules: for example, CSS3 is boring, working in Tesla is awesome or I want to change the world, but don't have resources, therefore it's boring or the thing that if you are comparing "boring React" with "cool Autopilot in Tesla" shows the lack of understanding of the world.

Read Carol Dweck about growth mindset, change the mindset and start seeing the world differently.

And also, don't piddle "entrepreneur" and "startup" - I can argue that you really don't know how it works and you just have knowledge of it from cool articles, Tony-Stark-style business moves, and movies. Learn how it really works.

I don't know if you're depressed, burned out or facing a bout of apathy. What I do know is that I feel/have been feeling very similar. I'll end the comparison there.

Now here's what I've been doing to get through each day: 1. Routine - from brushing my teeth at 6am to going to bed at 10pm. I stick to it like glue. 2. Pick a goal - Mine is to lose the fat and get fit. So I've taken up Muay Thai. 3. Projects - They don't have to be technical. It can be something like running a local meetup on depression, writing a short story or starting a small t-shirt business. If it's tech based, use the tools you love/want to use and not the ones screaming at you in every new tech article. 4. Dial back on the tech news - Got rid of the social media accounts, RSS readers and 'read it later' services. 5. Meditation - Having trouble with this one but I hear it works well for others.

The routine ensures you've got a starter to your morning so you don't lay in bed all day. Then you keep that momentum going with your projects and goals. It's all part of your routine. The trick is to keep moving because when you don't, the bomb explodes. Think of yourself as Keanu Reeves.

After a while you may find you're interested in tech again. I know I certainly did, just not React, Preact, Webpack, etc. Those little projects you're doing might get your interested in a different side of tech or maybe not in tech at all.

If you'd like to chat, my email's easy to find. Hope this helps in some small way.

I stopped getting all my satisfaction from code, computers and tech. Exercised, took up some hobbies, particularly those outdoors. You can work a normal job somewhere and it's perfectly fine (at least for a while) -- the money is good and you can do a good job.

most of the office jobs are really irrelevant, you can either get in peace with that or change profession if you wanna do really something meaningful or try to find positives how your affect people's lives in some small way even through some office job

i used to work in call center, it was not 911 life saving line, just insurance claim registration, though even it was bad pay it was sort of satisfactory to help people who experienced disaster or accident and talk them through it when they were in stress, at least i knew i calmed down some people and checked their priorities that maybe they crashed their car but they are not injured

higher i went with salary later in IT less satisfactory was the job, because in the end of the day what will be difference if there will be minor bug in mobile phone OS, i always found it funny how serious newcomers took it, they think we are saving lives by fixing crashing so under certain scenario? in this regard bakers job is much more important than mine

nowadays i just don't care, job doesn't really fulfill me, or better said i can enjoy it despite knowing it's pretty much irrelevant

if you really feel the urge to do something meaningful switch progression, those important are actually usually very easy to enter, i am seriously considering now if i should become policeman since police have trouble to find people with offered salary, it would be pretty useful job, though i guess not so good to provide for my family

As someone who's been there and understands your thoughts and feelings, I'm going to make this very short and simple.

If you've lost interest in everyrhing and you have felt this way for longer than a few weeks you are not just burned out, you are depressed.

UNLESS you are prescribed Selegelline, I highly recommend you avoid taking the medical route. (Selegelline is worth taking even if you are not depressed for its neuro protective qualities and possible neurogenesis).

If you feel up to it, do cardio (running, biking, playing basketball, etc.) 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week or 60 minutes a day 3 days a week. It must be aerobic exercise, not just lifting weights.

It can be tough to generate the motivation. My solution to this was to buy a pack of energy drinks specifically made to be taken before a workout(Redline, not red bull, monster, etc.) . If I didnt feel like working out, I would ingest the energy drink. At that point, Id have no choice but to exercise because being sedentary in that state is extremely uncomfortable.

Going to a doctor and trying to find not only the right medication, but the right dosage is hell and can take a year or more. Not only that, medication often causes many undesirable side effects such as anxiety, weight gain and sexual dysfunction, which may lower your well being even more.

If you have a good friend, task him/her with motivating you to stick to your exercise regiment. Not only is it free, it works better than medication, it will proba ly extend your lifespan, and it will moat likely make you more physically fit/attractive.

Is helping others really so important to you? If so, why didn't you pursue a path where doing it is much easier and direct (than in tech), such as for example being a doctor or a nurse? I suspect that this speak about helping is some sort of fake BS that your mind picked up (it is prevalent among the startup crowd). More experienced people speak about it as a form of political correctness (as it sounds better that doing a startup for just selfish reasons), while young people such as yourself treat it at face value and can even internalize it as their own values. I'm not saying that's what happened with you (I don't know you) - just please take a minute and think about it.

Money motivates me. Without it I couldn't afford things I need and/or help my family. I'm in my early thirties and still feel like a kid, don't want to take responsibility and feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. But it's just being selfish.

Well, you can get a baby, it will absolutely need you :)

Does never having any interest in anything count?

Still, my work is not my (whole) life and is nothing more than a way to earn money to support me. At least that way I'm not disappointed by my current job, which is mostly useless and unrewarding.

You should know that world class startups fail 99,99% of the time. You can't be sure that you will ever be that 0,01% .

Next in line, if you want to do something, think about friends that can help you. It will make it more easily to succeed.

Just don't be a world class startup or you'll get into depression. Try to be the small startup, which has real revenue/profits.. You'll be a lot saner :)

Tackle a problem at a time ;)

The biggest issue is that people confuse popularity for merit. Just because your startup didn't become extremely popular doesn't mean that it wasn't a good idea. People only have so much money and attention. Making a hit is like winning the lottery. Even having a successful business these days is a bit like that. People who say it is easy don't realize how lucky they were or the advantages they have.

If you are depressed its because on some level your mind wants you to take a different tack. If you are frozen it means your subconscious mind hasn't figured out what direction or change to do.

Come up with a change to your approach or expectations and convince your subconscious that this will lead to more positive reward signals.

It might just be lowering expectations a bit because business is harder and requires more luck than most people make it out to be. OR, maybe you are giving up on your ideas too soon. Maybe consider giving an idea up to three or even four years before you declare it a failure.

I've had a two year period where my feelings were dominated by apathy and depression. Nothing appealed to me anymore, friends, going out, video games, programming, school, work. Literally nothing. My parents, gf told me they loved me and while I said something back, I did not really feel it or mean it.

Best advice I received was from my dad - in life you have three different types of inner motivation:

* fire and anger are the initial drive - they help you start something

* professionalism and existentialism - they help keep you going

* self-fulfillment - they help you finish

One motive that is inwrought through all these motivators is "sometimes you have to be your own hero". You have to have the fire, you have to have the professionalism, you have to fulfilled. Not others. Step it up, I'm sure you have it in you!

Don't give up, your life has purpose and you are valuable :)

Are you happy? http://musho.tk/l/e4cc8e21

Changing context works awesomely for many people, and that is my advice for you.

Change field. Change friends. Change (girl|boy)friend. Change state or nation. I mean, change something.

Maybe you'll want to come back after a while. Maybe not. But if you don't like what you're doing right now, why keeping on doing it?

Take advantage of the fact that you're just 23 right now and probably have very little duties (i mean, no children to provide for, or house loans, or wife/husband).