I've learnt lately that comparing ourselves to other people in a very off-context, closed way is what makes us so fear ful of 'missing out'.
You are comparing yourself to your friends and going
"what are they doing? - having fun"
"what am i doing? - following my goals"
On the fun score, they have more fun points than me. And they're looking down on me because of it.
Following your goals may (sometime or at all times) seem boring, painstaking, frustrating... when you can say "screw it" and go party away and look GOOD to your friends and peers. But remember two things:
1) you are sacrificing your potential 'fun points' for something bigger. Sacrifice what you want now for what you’re destined to have later. It's one of the universal principles of life, on which discipline is also based. You are working towards a better, productive, happier life.
2) Before you look at my last line and muse to yourself "yeah, a better, more productive and happier life compared to what my partying friends will be" - stop. Life isn't always about the story of the ant and the grasshopper. You are working to be better / happier / accomplished than your old self, and not other people. (This is where i've been going wrong most of my life and maybe that's why I'm elaborating so much
) Thier life is thier journey. Your life is your journey. Comparing your journey to thiers really is as pointless as comparing Mother Teresa's journey to Mohammed Ali's (other than an entertaining ride and discovering some interesting life-lessons, neither had a 'better' or 'worse' journey) But it's also as pointless as comparing thier life to Mother Teresa's or Mohammed Ali's too.
How do you make a goal exciting?
I think Steve posted once on doing that using
sex energy. While this is just one way, the most common approach is "visualisation", where you actually try and imagine and feel what it would be like to reach the goal. If this sounds too "donkey and carrot" like, then
re-align your perspective with a different approach towards the things your goals are about.
Best of luck