“We slip into the lives that are laid out for us the way children slip into the clothes that their mother lays out for them in the morning.” – Jed McKenna
About a month ago, I was forced to do the unthinkable:
Watch a professional baseball game.
I swear I did everything I could:
I whined, I kicked, I screamed (okay not really)…
But it was my best friend Tim’s bachelor party, and that’s what he wanted to do.
So I bit down on my mouthpiece and committed the most selfless act of my lifetime:
Sacrificing three hours of my life to watch grown men stand around in the grass.
Yes, once in a while they swung a club at a tiny white ball while the drunken mob in the stadium yelled as loud as they could.
But mostly, they just stood around.
It pains me to think that I’ll never get those three hours of my life back…
But it was a special occasion, so I did as the God of friendship commanded.
To soften the blow, I decided to make the trip a scouting mission:
A social safari where I could observe our species in the wild, and hopefully pick up some teaching material along the way.
It wasn’t long before I found what I was looking for.
While searching for our seats, we bumped into a group of old friends from high school.
It was a pretty standard catch-up (“how you been, where you living, what you up to…”) until one of them dropped a hammer:
“I’m married now, second kid on the way…
…So today is my fun.”
Whew.
No argument on the first part — congrats, and all that.
But that second part:
Today is my fun.
That one hurt.
Now, if baseball games are your thing — bueno.
Live it up, enjoy.
But what about the other 99% of life?
The beautiful family, the inspiring work life, the endless self-discovery?
It scares me to think about how many people live for the 1%:
The fleeting commercial breaks from the main event of their lives.
How many enjoy their bachelor party more than their marriage?
How many enjoy their weekends more than their work?
How many enjoy their holidays more than their home life?
How many settle for a life that is 1% enjoyment, 99% drudgery — when the opposite is so readily available?
We live in a phantasmagorical creative playground where nearly anything we can dream up can be made real.
And yet (to paraphrase today’s quote)…
Many of us slip into our lives the way children slip into the clothes laid out for them in the morning.
So I carried this thought home from the game to share with you as a cautionary tale.
To remind you that it doesn’t need to be that way.
And, that 99% of your life can and should be of your own design.
Yes, it takes work, vision, and grit.
(of course it does)
But most of all, it takes a choice:
To not settle, to not compromise, to toss back the life society wants us to slide into, and get to work building our own.
And I, for one, can’t wait to see what you create.
– T
