The Runaway
You can tell that I’m my father’s son because I’m planning to be spontaneous.
I’ve said it over and over again, but I really do need to find some balance in my life. The problem is that I never do anything about it.
Sure, I’ve had some temporary solutions. I had a streak there where I went to the gym consistently for a few months. I was feeling great, but I let it slip. I’ve been consistent with the blogging thing for a few months, then I let that slip. I am consistent with my religious commitments both personal and public, but I eventually let them slip, only to pick them up again a little while later. The same goes with my eating habits, my social life and so many other facets of my daily happenings. Sometimes I feel like my life is like unto shoveling the sidewalk during a snow storm. Every time I clear a path, I turn around to find more stuff left in my wake that I need to take care of.
Therefore, I’m planning to be spontaneous.
How, you might ask, am I going to be spontaneous and find a lasting balance in my life? I’m going to run away and become a nomad!
I can hear you now. “Oh Bags,” you’re saying. “Running away from your troubles doesn’t solve anything.”
And to you I say, “You’re right!”
But you know what? I’m not running away from my troubles. I think it’s high time I run away from my distractions.
When I look back on my life next year, 5 years from now, or even 50 years from now, I don’t want my only memories to be of constant web surfing. Don’t get me wrong… I love the internets, but I feel like Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Gmail and so many other empty web obsessions have overtaken the primo spots on my priority list.
You guys, I’ve forgotten to live! I feel like a time of rediscovery is close at hand. And whether it starts over the next week or so, or upon my graduation, I know not.
What I do know is that if I don’t weed out the time suckers now, I’m going to be stuck for life. And I’ll tell you this right now: I’d much rather be a stress-free, relaxed, unshaven, hobo-looking happy man than an over-stressed, over-worked, staring-at-a-computer-screen, successful-in-the-world’s-eyes man.
Watch out analog world. Here I come.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Wow! Spot on. I felt like I was reading from my journal. No really, best of luck with that.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:53 am
The problem, though, is that these things, or at least parts of them, have become so integral to my professional life that I can’t just simply walk away from them. Twitter, maybe I could live without, but email? I get jobs and contacts from Facebook – Yet I ignore the little clubs and apps that get tossed about every day.
While I would love to track down and destroy all the “time-wasters” that seem to plague my life, I find that they don’t always have a label, and instead of creating necessary productive time, I’m simply creating a vacuum that I’ll have to find some other way to make up for.
Good luck with you task, buddy, but I’m not sure I can follow suit.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Bravo! As successful as you’ve been with your marketing endeavors of late, it’s all for naught if you’re unhappy. I’m impressed–many people who are achieving the early success you are would have a hard time changing directions to any degree.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:04 am
As much as I love my social network, the happiest months of my life this year have been those when I was the most disconnected. Good luck and keep us posted.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Nate,
I think it’s called ADHD. Medication can help (it helped me but I can’t commit to taking it!!). We tend to be incredibly creative but have a tough time focusing on things. That’s why the Internet has so much allure and draw. Never boring. Always a distraction.
I like people with ADHD because I can relate best to them (like you!). I think it runs in my mom’s family. I found myself missing meetings no matter how hard I worked to remember them. Always late. Impulsive (I changed jobs every year or so). I had to find systems.
Good news is that as I get older I’ve improved. I’ve also gotten better at catching social cues. I still wonder if I should be on Ritalin sometimes. Sad but true: I think it would’ve helped my first marriage had I done that.
This is sounding a bit too confessional so I’ll stop. But I relate.
Blog on,
Janet