The life you want might look boring on paper. Paper doesn’t get to live it.
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS MEANS
On paper a life is a list of facts, and facts cannot carry what it feels like from inside. A quiet job, a familiar street, the same people every Friday: unimpressive written down, and possibly exactly right to live in. The only person who has to be satisfied by it is the one living there.
Describe the life you actually want, dull parts included, and notice whether you flinch at how it reads. If the flinch is about how it sounds to other people, separate that out before you plan around it.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which quiet future appeals to you despite sounding unimpressive?
MORE IN MEANING & PERSPECTIVE
- You don’t need to know the meaning of life. You need a reason for tomorrow, and those are easier to find.
- You’re allowed to be average at most things. Nobody’s great at everything, and the ones pretending are tired.
- The world doesn’t need you to be extraordinary. It needs you to be decent on a regular basis.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.