Most of our suffering is useless.
Eckhart Tolle wrote a line in Stillness Speaks that I often think of:
“Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.”
He is of course referring to the mental suffering that so many of us go through every day. The constant mental chatter that takes away our attention from the present to the voice that’s never satisfied.
A reader recently shared something with me that I think a lot of people can relate to:
“I’ve been contemplating a career change and starting my own business. Would love if you write about courage to take a risk, succeeding, pivoting when needed, financial freedom.”
Right?
It’s really overwhelming if you think about all the areas of our life that need our attention.
Career, family, finances, relationships, health, friendships, hobbies, and most importantly, your mental state.
I live a boring life. I’m 39, and most of my days look exactly the same.
I work from a small office, take walks, see my family, lift weights, read, and write. That’s about it.
And I love it.
My 19-year-old self would scoff at this. Even my 29-year-old self would. “Is that all there is to life?” he’d say. “You’ve got to be out there. In the middle of the action!”
What action?
I think I watched too many TV shows and movies.
Working hard won’t make you rich.
I know that’s not what we’ve grown up hearing. We’ve heard the opposite.
It doesn’t work that way, though… At least not the way we’ve been promised.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Even if you work hard and you don’t get rich, the work gives you something else.
Something most people overlook because they’re too busy waiting for the paycheck. And it’s worth more than the money.