You feel the way you do because you don’t know me well enough. I’m universally loved and an all-around wonderful person.
It depends on your definition of like. Liking someone doesn’t mean that you like every single aspect of them, it’s more about there being enough things to like without too many things to dislike.
Is it possible that you dismiss potential friends too early, because you find some aspect of their personality that you don’t like and immediately write them off?
I feel somewhat the same, I will think someone is pretty cool to hang around with then, as I’m with them more, they just become annoying. Their habits and faults just start grating on my nerves to the point that I can’t enjoy the qualities that I like.
It’s not like I’m judgmental either, I’m very accepting of people’s choices. It’s the little things that get me: the annoying laugh after every sentence, the open mouth chewing, and especially the whining about the same shit over and over while not trying to change anything.
I take antidepressants and I notice it gets worse if I don’t take them for a while. Explore the depression angle, it has a lot of not well known affects on mood.
I knew a young guy that was what most people would consider a misanthrope. He could read anybody like a book and felt most people his age were “amateurs”. He’s a millionaire about 50 times over and still pretty much only likes one person–his wife. Works for some people I guess.
I could have written this about five, six years ago. Then I discovered that the reason I thought I didn’t like people was that the people I was spending my whole life around:
a) had very little to nothing in common with me
b) were very prejudiced and not interested in accepting the ways in which I was different from them
I started meeting people with interests more similar to mine and who had a background more like mine or could appreciate my differences. And I figured out what real friendship was, and that it was something I too could have.
This also taught me a little bit about how to keep from being bored around people, and made me realize that my boredom was because I didn’t want to just sit and talk with people for hours on end. Instead, I like to do things such as going to museums, concerts, restaurants, etc. That way when I run out of something to talk to I can concentrate on the activity, and at the same time not feel like I’m being left out.
I have realized that I am not as social as other people (introvert vs. extravert?) and I’m fine with that. I can also be a bit judgmental of others and I’m aware of that too, so I try to keep it in check. (Kind of like the guy you know, palacheck, except without the $50 million and the awesome marriage. Maybe that’ll come later if I hold out a bit.) I just remember that when I’m annoyed with my friends’ behavior, hey, they have to put up with me too and I am not exactly a bouquet of roses 24/7 myself. So I forgive them, and I know I have to spend time alone a lot of the time, and now I’m able to make connections with people.
tl;dr - I thought people sucked. Realized that I was just around people who happened to suck. Met some non-sucky people, discovered that I had been going the wrong way about the whole ‘friendship’ thing in the first place.
How old are you?
True, point conceded.
That’s not true. If everyone in the world had leprosy, I wouldn’t be the problem, leprosy would.
In much the same way, if everyone in the world was a Fundie Mormon, and I refused to go to Church, I wouldn’t be the problem.
It’s different for everyone one. Sometimes it’s “acts like a jackass,” sometimes it’s “thinks they’re extremely intelligent – with an IQ only rivaled by barstools.”
Most frequently, though, it’s just a general aura of annoying that makes me want to remove their teeth with a multitool.
Nothing, I don’t think I’m all that great. I just think, for the most part, other people bug the shit out of me.
Not as far as I know. I don’t have problems finding potential friends, or people willing to hang out with me.
It was meant sarcastically, hence the (removed) “:P”.
No.
Possible? Yes. Probable? No.
It’s very rarely a single aspect of their personality that causes me to write them off.
Chewing with your mouth open is a deal breaker for me. Other than that, it usually takes a combination of annoying traits to put me over the edge – but yes, this is similar.
Wouldn’t a depressed person be, you know, depressed?
I’m liking this multi millionaire thing. Hot wife, too, I assume? 
How, exactly, did you find people you share an interest with?
What exactly is it that you’re looking for, other than “doesn’t annoy the shit out of you?” Are you looking for a date? A friend? And what do you want in either? A combination of intelligence, looks, a sense of humor - what?
Even if you don’t feel like you’re acting superior, saying that everyone else is annoying does imply that you feel everyone else is inferior, whether or not that’s true.
Is your feeling perhaps a function of age? 20 is pretty young. Have you travelled? Been exposed to many different types of people? Is there a possibility that your feelings are simply inexperience and angst rather than everyone being annoying?
Donno. At this point I’m not really looking for much of anything.
But, all those things you listed, and rich, for a date, would be nice. 
Being annoying, in itself, doesn’t make someone inferior. I’m not sure how you get that conclusion.
It’s like saying I don’t find black women attractive, so I don’t want to date them, and therefore I find them inferior – no, I just don’t find them attractive. There’s no value judgement.
I’ve lived in the city, and country, in Ohio, NC and DC. I’m not well travelled, although Ive been places, and despite that I still haven’t found a lot of people I like.
I’ve been exposed to a number of different types of people. And I’m not angsty, I’m just not fond of people.
I was angsty when I was 13. Im crotchety and acerbic now.
So you’re lookin’ for a sugar-mama? 
I know what you’re saying about not making a value judgment, and my intention was not to tell you you had a superiority complex. But, many people pick up on when others find them annoying. They often feel that those who find them annoying are snobs (not always - sometimes they just think the person who thinks they’re annoying is just a douche). Anyway, people don’t generally want to hang out with people who think they’re annoying or they develop a dislike for said person and potentially are perceived as yet more annoying. See where I’m going with this?
It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy - you think people are annoying, they don’t like that and (to you) get more annoying, so you avoid them because they’re annoying. And unfortunately, there are plenty of asshats out there mixed in with the non-asshats, so sometimes it’s tough to tell who’s really annoying or just reacting you thinking they are. Now, how you’d break that cycle is beyond me. Perhaps you adjust your expectations of others? Maybe assume they’re not annoying 'til they prove otherwise?
And if you’re already acerbic and crotchety, you’re ahead of your time.
For me, what helped was trying to keep a better lookout for people I really did like, and then making sure I put in the effort to get to know them better. For example, I used to be reluctant to go out with new coworkers after work, assuming that I wouldn’t have anything in common with them, and I kept to myself because I didn’t think I would really like the people I met anyway. Now, I never turn down an opportunity to socialize with new people unless I absolutely have to, and I’ve met some really cool people that I actually do like, just by playing the numbers. The more people I meet, the more I’ll like, even if I only like a small percentage.
The other thing I’ve gotten better about is giving people more of a chance. I’ve met some people that I’ve disliked immediately, who, when I got to know them better turned out to be really cool. As a result, I consciously try to give people more time before I dismiss them, because apparently my snap judgments are terrible.
Hope that helps!
Hm. Rereading that, it looks like it could be in a dating advice thread. I guess meeting people is meeting people, no matter the purpose.
Changing schools was a big part of it at the time (moved from a small private school to a large public school).
But another way was through online communities. You can also join a group for an activity you like. I’ve met some very cool people with similar interests to me since I joined a community theater group that focuses on traditional music and performances. Recently I’ve been attending a few shape note conventions and while I don’t know anyone very well yet I still feel much more comfortable and friendly than I would in a random group of people.
No, this is not a dating advice thread. I don’t have trouble with people liking me… I have trouble liking other people.
The internet is your friend. Think of things you like and find specific communities for them. I like to go fishing, so I joined a few small fishing forums and I’ve met a ton of people through them. A few of those people ended up being good friends, and a bunch of them are cool enough for me to see once or twice a year.
I’m much the same, but I’ve learned that when I get to the point where they start annoying me, I back off and don’t hang out with them as much.
I kind of have a time limit for hanging out with almost anyone, and once I reach that limit, I’m “too busy to get together this weekend”. It’s not their fault, I’m certainly no better than them, but it’s healthier than me trying to change them into people that I’d like to spend every minute with.
For the OP, playing the numbers would help, but I have to ask - do you *want *to find more people you like, or do you just feel like you should?
I don’t particularly want to, but I think I should. It would be beneficial to me, it the long run, I think.
I mean, what if i want to move, and im too cheap to hire movers?! 
Todderbob, being angsty at 13 is normal.
So is feeling mysterious, displaced, misunderstood and superior, at 20.
I think you’re pretty normal and trying really, really hard to seem like your not. That, of course makes you seem much, much, more interesting than you probably are, or at least feel that you are. So as far as you’re concerned, anyone out there who is willing to break that barrier and jump those hoops to become your friend must be worth it… obviously they recognise your incredible, and terminal uniqueness.
You’re not that interesting, and certainly not that interested. In the scheme of things no-one is that special; we’re all just a bunch of frauds in the spectrum of pretty reasonable, to totally fucked-up creatures gettin’ on in this world.
That you claim to be so eye-rolling bored around other people suggests that you have little idea that boredom is not a sign of intelligence; its indicative of noticing what’s not going on, rather than what is.
Life and friendships are about being curious - not standing still and waiting for someone to ‘unlock’ you.
In the Big Wide World Out There beyond school, nobody knows who you are. So you can drop the misanthrope identity if you want to, fake it 'til you make it and reinvent yourself to be someone who has at least one good friend they can call on for anything at anytime.
Though not moving. NOBODY is that good a friend. And if they are, wipe 'em. They’re mental. Or expecting you to help them.
Fuck that…
6impossiblethingdb4breakfast, you say feeling superior, misunderstood and mysterious is normal for a 20 year old – but I don’t feel those things either.
I feel like I’m no better than anyone, or at least most, other people – I just happen not to like other people. Plenty of people understand me, i guess. I’m not akl that complicated. Good food, decent book, interesting brain teaser, I’m good to go.
And it’s not that people bore me, is that they agitate me. I’m alright with boring people, even if im a little bored… You seem determined to believe a certain thing, Breakfast, and are warping my posts to fit that, why?
No, it’s like you have leprosy and think the entire rest of the world is abnormal because their parts aren’t rotting off.
IANApsychiatrist, however, it sounds like in some way, maybe you were different from your peers growing up. Maybe you were a bit more creative or intelligent or dealing with some latent homosexuality or just a little plain old wierd. Maybe your just introverted. Whatever the reason, it’s made you isolated from your peers. The more isolated you became, the more you resented them.
People become like those with who they surround themselves. Since you avoid socializing with people, you mostly just become more like yourself. IOW, you reinforce in your mind that your behaviors and perspectives on the world are correct.
Now it doesn’t sound like there’s much to you so you probably overcompensate by creating this grandiose vision of your self. When people talk to you, you probably find them irritating because they aren’t talking about you or feeding your ego. They are just another “idiot” babbling on about something you find inane.
It also sounds like you view other people as extensions of your self, not as their own individual entities. “What if i want to move, and im too cheap to hire movers”. “I’m liking this multi millionaire thing. Hot wife, too, I assume?” These statements, while made jokingly, in the context of the rest of the thread come across as if you only value people for what they can do for you.
Based on my personal experience, a vast majority of the human race sucks. We all have irritating and obnoxious habits. We all have moments when we are jerks. The point of friendship is to find the small number of people in a vast sea out there that you do want as friends and can live through their most obnoxious jerkish moment and still be their friend.