34 and bored out of my mind with life.

Go on a thru hike. I chose the AT, but there are much more scenic ones (PCT, CDT, AZT). You’ll come to look at life through a much different lens, which may help you out of this rut.

Sounds like you are struggling with anhedonia. I think something about our society is creating this because I see it all around me. Some people need medication for this. Lots of research going on with psychedelics to treat this.

Assuming it's not a medical issue and you can actually snap out of it without meds, you'll have to change direction in your life and find a way of life that is satisfying to you. Only you can discover what you can be passionate about.

From your list of things that you are dissatisfied with, I noted that you mentioned that you've already heard all the good music. Perhaps you should start creating your own music. I've recently started to do this using Ableton (you can download it free for 90 days, after which I believe you have to pay $750 for the software). Have a couple beers or whatever your favorite substance is, and mess around with Ableton for awhile. If life is already hopeless, then time is worthless, so spending time on Ableton (or learning how to play a real instrument) isn't wasting time. I started sometime in April and up until yesterday I had a collection of very mediocre and disjointed sounds that didn't look like it was going anywhere. Yesterday I created a simple melody, threw a delay effect on it, and it sounds exactly like a legit track from a good electronica album. Of course it needs tons of tweaking but now I have the beginning of a recording. Maybe I'll get bored and walk away from it in a month or maybe in a year I have a full album. I'm not looking to make money or get famous but I know I'll get a feeling of satisfaction if I create a piece of art that is of high quality.

It doesn't have to be music. You've got to find something to do where you aren't measuring yourself, you're just doing it for enjoyment. When I was in my late 20s after I'd quit running I got into scuba diving. I enjoyed doing it but I never really got satisfaction because I was so wired towards my activities being a competitive venture. There's really no way to make scuba diving competitive (outside of technical diving where people eventually die because they had to do something more dangerous than the last guy). So diving just felt purposeless at the time. Still, I had a nice experience in nature. I wasn't ready at the time to face the true meaninglessness of life. Eventually you just embrace it.

You think your life is pointless, but imagine if your job was installing turn signals on BMWs...

At least you have letrun right? ;)

What about finding a wife and starting a family? That will take care of your boredom but I totally get it if you realize, "So the point is just to raise a kid so we aren't bored and try to give them enough money so they can repeat the process?"

Answer: "Pretty much."

Discover nature. Test or develop your skills at primitive living in the woods.

I hear you, man. I'm 36. I'm not saying what you're going through isn't real. But, if you want to make it better, 2 suggestions:

1. Read Transitions by William Bridges. You will see how to view some positives in your situation and how to turn crap into fertilizer.

2. Pick one or two brand new hobbies where you totally stink and have nowhere to go but up. After years of running, I started climbing in a gym for fun, and love it. Unlike running, I'm not competing with my younger self to set PB's. Also, I started studying German. Then, I started listening to music in German, which gave me a whole new world of music where nothing felt stale. The key at this age is to begin a transition into a different self rather than count on the strategies of the old glory days when you were younger.

I think it's your mindset rather than reality. For e.g. food, we live in a time where the access to ingredients is the best it's ever been. So change it up - try new takeaways, restaurants, ingredients. TV and film is the best it's ever been, it's just a question of finding the right ones.

Get someone pregnant and have a kid. Your life will never be dull or boring another second.

I think there is an author, Napoleon Hill, who mentions about "drift" and not having a life plan.

Although thru hiking is great, it only will provide temporary relief to what the OP is experiencing. It is a 3-6 month escape from reality. Boring life/job will be waiting for you when you return.

Source - me

The problem is you, what you gonna do?

I am a bit older than you just turned 40. My life was very similar at the end of my running career and after a health set back which scared me through my 30’s and made life just suck for a while. I thought for years I would have zero drive after my running evaporated. I had huge goals of running sub 2:30 for a marathon well into my 40’s and even 50’s but that is not the case anymore. I still enjoy running and now primarily stick to my treadmill with a tv series. Career wise I do well house hold income is $200K (+). I started searching for new adventures and things to do that had a similar rush to running. I got into playing Poker and doing other casino games which I found to give me some rush especially Poker. To put into perspective the most I have ever won during a single race was $5,000. The most I ever won during a single Poker Tournament was close to $50,000. My game play also gets me some free trips a year which is like being comped travel to a race. So, if you are into Physics and numbers casino games might be the thing for you. My philosophy on life is get busy
living or slowly die.

Pretty much same here. The only real advice I can offer is to get a dog. They'll teach you that pure love does exist in this world and they'll be a companion for you to explore the better parts of this life. Getting outdoors to hike and explore--you have a willing partner. Meeting friends and possible romantic interests--you have an icebreaker and common ground with most people. Having a down day at home, isolated from the world--you have someone who will curl up on the couch with you and just be present.

I know it might sound a little pitiful to have your entire emotional wellbeing propped up by an animal that will only live for a finite amount of time, but it may serve as a gateway to opening your eyes to the finer things this life has to offer. I say this from experience and with full empathy.

What are you trying to do to serve others? To find yourself, you need to lose yourself in the service of others. Life needs to be bigger than just ourselves.

This is not a complete solution to your problem... but will take you a long way. Go out and buy a reasonably nice road/gravel bike today. Stop running and start riding. Tons of groups in the UK. Gets you outside seeing new places meeting new people. Riding is super social and usually ends at a pub for something to eat. Focus your athletics on a new sport, new skills where you can see steady improvement which feels really good.

I would strongly advise changing jobs to somewhere you can WFH and kick the commute. It's made such a massive difference in my life and reframes my day to the schedule that best suits me. I travel into the office once a month but I think this has made a huge diff.

“Soul is sucked from everything”

Because everything is distilled and quick and non-personal.

”Soul” comes from multiple people putting their unique soul into a group, activity, music, art, social group etc.

This takes time and concentration, no distractions.

OP and others (and myself) — you gotta deep dive into something and put yourself into it without the modern distractions and malaise killing it before it begins.

Probably should have gotten married and had children.

Middle life crisis seems to be happening much younger than it once did. I imagine that is partly because we consume so much information so so often, and that can exhaust us, especially when we are not feeding it good information.

1) You lack purpose - Our first purpose in life is usually not chosen by us. We are living the dreams and aspirations of our parents and society as a whole. This is not necessarily easy to find, but it is easier if you don't base it on money. Also, it is not singular, you can have several purposes.

2) You don't appreciate what you have - We lose sight as to what is valuable, and we might only notice when these things are taken away. Stop and smell the roses. Life is amazing, and if you are bored, you're doing it wrong.

3) You need to man up - This sounds like a sexist comment (it is), but we do have roles in life that are based on our DNA, and being a man or woman is an ideal we have have lessened in recent generations. Jordan Peterson, Robert Greene, Stoics, etc are all good resources to learn more.

Being bored and lethargic are signs you need a change. This should be one of the most exciting things you can think about, how to create your life and mold yourself into the person you can be.