Why Adults Stop Doing Things That Make Them Happy

Movement used to be joy. Now it’s “effort.” And somehow, that shift ruined our mental clarity.

Remember being a kid? You’d sprint out the door like someone was chasing you, ride your bike until your legs gave up, jump on the trampoline for literal hours, fall off, cry for 30 seconds, then jump again. You played catch, climbed trees, did dance class, karate, ballet, swimming, soccer. Half the time you didn’t even like the sport, but you craved the movement. You craved being outside. You craved doing things.

Now? We crave… the couch. And Uber Eats. And doomscrolling until our brain is porridge.

It’s wild. As children, movement was our play. As adults, movement is a “task” we negotiate with like we’re signing a peace treaty.

From Play to Effort …The Rebrand of Movement

At some point between age 13 and 30, riding a bike went from “BEST DAY EVER” to “honestly… seems like too much effort.”

Playing outside transformed into an aesthetic on Pinterest. Joining a fitness class became a luxury, like buying a nice candle. Walking became something you “try to fit in if you’re good.”

And movement … simple, joyful, pure human movement became perceived as extreme.

In the 90s, if someone sat inside all day doing nothing, people assumed something was wrong. Today, if someone DOESN’T sit inside all day doing nothing, we assume something is wrong.

“You go for a run… after work? For fun? Are you okay?”

This is where we’re at.

So… What Happened to Us?

We got addicted to digital dopamine.

Social media gives micro-hits of reward without effort.

No sweat. No sunlight. No grass stains. Just thumbs, notifications, and slow brain decay.

Why go outside when TikTok will hand deliver entertainment straight into your eyelids?

We accidentally built lives that drain us.

A lot of people work in jobs that leave them mentally fried.

By 6pm you’re not thinking “Let me learn a new skill like pottery or salsa.”

You’re thinking “If one more person breathes near me I might scream.”

Kids have energy. Adults have deadlines.

Movement became isolated instead of social.

As kids, movement was your social life. As adults, movement often feels lonely, gym headphones, treadmill, repeat.

And humans don’t stick to lonely habits. We stick to social ones.

We forgot what made us feel alive.

Skills, hobbies, outside time, fresh air, trying things badly, moving for no reason, these were all normal parts of childhood. Now they feel like “commitments.”

When did we stop letting ourselves "play"?

The Mental Decline Begins When Play Ends

A wild thing happens when adults stop moving: Your mind gets loud. The fog creeps in. Overthinking becomes a full-time hobby. Everything feels heavier, blurrier, more complicated.

But movement, any movement, acts like a hard reset.

Walk for 10 minutes and suddenly:

• problems begin to shrink
• clarity rises
• mood lifts
• you remember you’re a human, not a houseplant

Movement clears what scrolling clogs.

So How Do We Fix It?

We don’t need more discipline. We don’t need a 6-week challenge, a 5am routine, or a fitness rebrand.

We need what we had as kids: Movement that feels social. Movement that feels fun. Movement that feels human.

That’s literally why oNex is being built. To bring back movement as a shared experience, not a lonely chore.

To turn walking, gym sessions, casual activities, and silly challenges into something you look forward to, not negotiate with.

To make movement social again, the way it always was meant to be.

We’re here to help you remember what your younger self knew instinctively. You think better, feel better, and live better when your body moves.

Because the truth is simple. We didn’t stop doing the things that made us happy because we outgrew them. We stopped because adulthood convinced us they weren’t “productive.”

It’s time to reclaim the joy. It’s time to move again, together.