Man says he feels ‘depressed’ despite achieving ‘Singaporean definition of success’
A 26-year-old man in Singapore recently took to Reddit to seek advice after feeling “depressed” despite achieving the “Singaporean definition of success”.
In his post on the subreddit r/askSingapore which has since amassed 1,000 upvotes, OP said he has always been told to work hard and get a degree.

Image courtesy of RichVintage on Canva. For illustration purposes only.
As such, he was able to graduate with first-class honours, get a high salary for his age, get into a steady relationship, and have a tight group of friends he hung out with every month.
Despite his achievements, OP confessed that he felt “so empty inside”.
Man feels he is not being true to himself
“I’m spending the best years of my life doing shit that doesn’t matter to me,” OP expressed.
He then asked: “But is this really all there is to life? Work hard invest and retire and enjoy my life in my 50s and 60s?”
OP stated that he feels that he is living up to the standards other people – namely his parents, siblings, and friends – have of him but that he is not being who he really is.
Realising that this was going to be his life has since been keeping him up at night and left him struggling to cope.
He also said he was afraid of discussing this with his “uber traditional” family, so he decided to ask Reddit users how he could deal with what he was feeling.
Netizens offer different perspectives on situation
The 26-year-old’s concern was met with encouraging and comforting comments as Redditors shared different perspectives on his situation.
Some netizens claimed having such a realisation is common in Singaporeans who pursued the “conventional route”.

Source: Reddit
One user pointed out that OP had said so himself that he was not doing something he was passionate about; others urged him to discover what truly matters to him.

Source: Reddit
Meanwhile, another thought OP is simply in the “now what” phase after achieving a dream and suggested that OP find new challenges and goals.
One user also proposed that perhaps OP just needs to add value to the things he has already achieved.

Source: Reddit
Also read: Reddit user sparks discussion on what’s a realistic monthly salary for happiness in S’pore
Reddit user sparks discussion on what’s a realistic monthly salary for happiness in S’pore
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Featured image adapted from rattanakun on Canva.