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Behold the difference between someone who knows what makes them happy verses the person who is told what is supposed to make them happy.
Not necessarily. I was thinking about this the other day. My kid is in another state getting their PhD, and they messaged me saying there was a firefighting C130 down the street from them, and they couldn't go see it because they were working. They were seriously upset. I asked if their boss would let them take a break and make up time, so they asked and were told yes. Not long after, I got a mess of plane pics with very excited commentary. They were so happy.
So my kid was like this guy with his bat pops, and I was happy for them for sure, but I was reflecting that there isn't much that's ever made me feel that way. I'm huge on people pursuing what makes them happy, and would have no trouble doing that myself, but nothing makes me that happy. I do envy folks who have stuff like that.
Perhaps you just need to find your thing?
Maybe? But I'm in my 60s, and have dabbled in a lot of stuff, so seems unlikely.
Don't get me wrong, there are loads of things I like. I picked up guitar in my 30s and enjoy that. My background is software engineering, and I enjoy stuff related to that. I read a giant amount of SF and fantasy. I'm a total chocoholic. I like exploring new places. But none of these things make me giddy happy like the stuff we're talking about.
At some point you realize you've sacrificed your "thing" to survive and you just shrug and try to remember what it was. eh.
Never too late to find something that sparks childlike glee. I'm in my 30s and I just rolled through home depot on heelys looking for insulation.
Honestly I think some people have just internalized the social pressure of needing to be calm or cool all the time. Exuberant happiness at small things is considered childish and many would mock adults for expressing happiness in this way. It takes a certain confidence and strength of character to hold on to that sense of joy without it being lost in the journey of growing into an adult.
The other day when walking back to my car at the end of a work day, I've noticed a father and his kid exercising and running on a pavement. The pavement had a walking area and a raised bicycle area. The kid while running did a zig-zag kind of running jumping in and out of the bicycle lane. The dad kept telling him to stop. I thought the dad was a killjoy , I thought it was fun and started running like that to my car.
Anybody who would mock me for something like that can go fuck themselves (and hopefully enjoy that at least). I remember me and another accountant going to watch a construction crane out of the window at our work, those are so much fun to watch. The shipping guy thought it was funny that grown women were at the window watching a crane moving stuff around. But won't most people stop to watch that?
I don't think you are supposed to outgrow fun or enjoyment. I like all sorts of adult things too, it's additive, I enjoy more now. I can't think of much I've outgrown except for very sweet foods, that has gone in the other direction, when young I enjoyed both dark and milk chocolate, for instance, now only dark.