Dead Bored and Getting Dumber by the Day
It was 2009, I was 29, and I was dead bored and getting dumber by the day.
Sure, I had decent income, a new car, a big TV… all the trappings of a full-time j.o.b.
And on paper the job title looked good - gave me a lot of cred with friends and family.
But something just wasn’t right.
The job itself was two days of real work, at most. The other three were filled with white noise that left me feeling exhausted, impotent, and like I was wasting my life.
I was good at school, got A’s, got put up a year… was heavily involved in music.
And I got a double degree in industrial design and psychology.
But despite all that, I felt like a total failure.
Something was very wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Like most people I had some ideas of how to get out of my rut… and like most people, those ideas died the moment they bubbled to the surface of my brain.
I tried ignoring it, but the mental jousting kept returning, and more often.
Eventually, I reached a fork in the road…
Nick, bury this feeling, take the money, and pretend you’re on the right track (easy path).
Or…
Stop, turn back, and try to find where you veered off… find your true self (hard path).
The fork in the road is destiny but choosing which road to take… that’s free will.
I don’t quite know how, call it “being in-tune with my emotions” but I couldn’t ignore the feeling that the first option (the easy path) was bullshit and a trap.
So, I chose the hard path.
I chose to turn back and find myself.
And as soon as I did, some key things began to happen…
- Some of my ideas would not die… they began adapting and changing in my mind. I began learning again.
- This happened automatically, in my quiet times or when I was mowing the lawn. It happened when I wasn’t thinking about them directly.
- I started to feel better. I awakened a power deep inside that I had somehow abandoned. And it was like seeing an old friend again that you hadn’t even realized had gone (your true self).
What happened next was I began writing my ideas down in a notebook.
I soaked up new knowledge, I got new skills, and new understanding.
And in about 12 months, I came into a new self-awareness and sense of confidence that I hadn’t felt in years.
I was going to quit my job but my boss hit hard times and let me go anyway.
It was a sign.
The payout was my springboard and into the deep I dove.
Friend, if…
You work in a job that has nothing to do with what you studied at university…
You were a high-achiever growing up but now find yourself stuck in a 60 hour a week hamster wheel…
Your profession (that took you years and cost you a fortune to get into) is being automated, commoditized, roboticized, and depersonalized… and it gives you no joy and you feel like you need to change but have no idea how…
You feel like you’re wasting your life and you know you’re not living up to your potential…
You feel like you’ve reached your own fork in the road and now you’re facing the same terrifying choice that I did…
Then you need to begin the journey.
To find out what the journey is… stay tuned.
To your peace…
Nick Hardman
