Years and years of being told that if you just do this, it will all work out.

The False Prophecies

If I did well in high school I would get into a good college. Check.

And if I did well in college I would get a great job. Check.

And that if I just sucked it up at my job I would get a promotion. Check.

And when I got that promotion, if I busted my ass that I would get to where I wanted to be. And that would bring me happiness, satisfaction and comfort. False.

Let’s Be Real

The equation above, if you can call it that, works for basically no one. And yes, for the 5 people that might read this, 1 of you is the exception. And to you I admit that some of us are lucky. We know that we want to be. Doctors — Heal the sick. Cure the blind. Save the world. Or Marine Biologist — Heal the sick. Cure the blind. Save the world.

For the majority of us though, I think the equation is just broken. Instead of looking at where we want to be and what we want to do, we get focused on the process and never stop to think about where the hell it is taking us. For those of you that know me, I use to say all the time how it is about the journey not where you end up. At face value it seems like I am contradicting myself. But perhaps using a movie quote for context and then explaining it might help. And yes, I just did what every English teacher I ever had advised me never to do… Explaining my thought process first rather than just writing it. But this isn’t 11th grade English, and I am not a published author so screw it.

When Michael Bolton from Office Space is addressing Peter about the “what would you do if you had a million dollars” guidance counselor question, he responds with:

“that question is bullshit to begin with. If everyone listened to her, there’d be no janitors, because no one would clean shit up if they had a million dollars.”

It’s just a magical scene that truly captures the nuances of the whole movie in my opinion.

So two things:

  1. We are told to dream, then we are put in boxes.
  2. We convince ourselves that happiness and comfort are predicated on money.

What would you do if you had a million dollars? It IS a bullshit question! The only right answer to that question is INVEST. And I don’t mean invest in the market or invest in a house. I mean invest in yourself. Invest in what you want to do.

Now, I can already hear the people on the other end saying “well what if I want to invest in sitting my ass on the couch?!” Well let’s not sugar coat this… You’re lazy. You’ve given in and given up. Or you have just simply convinced yourself that money is what drives you. Maybe it does. And perhaps a golf-clap is in order. You’re comfortable. Congratulations.

But dare I say, that for the majority of us, money is only relevant when we are talking about fulfilling some higher purpose. It is a tool to get us where we want to go. Too much of it, we get arrogant; just enough, we get complacent; too little of it, we get anxious.

I will speak from direct experience here, having had just enough is the absolute worst place to be. It induces and fosters complacency. Complacency is just the synonym for comfort. All I kept thinking about when I was there was “great… I guess I made it”. But really, what did I accomplish??! A paycheck? A new car? A downpayment?

The point in all of my rambling is this, and I am not the first nor the last person to say this, but we only get one shot at this. No refunds. No exchanges. No do-overs. Finding what drives us relentlessly is what matters. Leaving nothing in the tank when it’s all done. Money might bring you short lived happiness. But does it bring you fulfillment?

The equation should be what fulfills you?! Not what might make you comfortable.