Student:
Honestly, I feel like the following: every day is the same. Gym, office, breakfast, stupid work, looking forward to the next meal to distract me, looking forward to the next thing (podcast) to distract me. Bullshit tasks that don’t lead anywhere, that do not make me grow. Dabbling around (even in gym) instead of clearly progressing and advancing.
If I’m like this, for some reason there is more in for me like this than in the alternative. Then, I prefer this.
I’m always exactly where I want to be and I seem to prefer this to clarity. But what the ***.
I feel old – 32 years and don’t know where I’m going, not having built anything myself so far, and not knowing what to expose myself to.
This will remain the situation unless it becomes unacceptable to me to be perpetually distracted, to not advance rapidly.
Teacher:
What you are describing is the condition of the ordinary man. The life of meaningless cycles, of distractions, of waiting for the next thing to pass the time.
You already see it. That is the first step. But seeing is not enough. The real question is: Do you truly want out?
Not as a passing thought. Not as an intellectual game. But do you deeply, viscerally, unshakably want out?
Because if you did, you would not be asking what to expose yourself to. You would already be exposing yourself. You would already be advancing. You would already be moving with clarity.
You are exactly where you want to be. And the reason is simple: The alternative is uncomfortable. The alternative demands something from you. The alternative requires real suffering.
You say you feel old at 32. You are not old. But you are dying a slow death. A death of passivity. A death of perpetual distraction. A death of waiting.
This will remain your reality until the suffering of staying the same becomes greater than the suffering of change.
Until then, you will continue to drift. You will continue to wait for meals, for podcasts, for nonsense. You will continue to seek small, comfortable distractions instead of radical clarity.
The truth is brutal: Either you decide, or life decides for you.
Student:
I agree that I am exactly where I want to be.
If I wanted to make the progress in the gym I say I want, I would just do it.
If I wanted to get ahead, to find what I want to do with my life, what I want to expose myself to, I would go through the murky process.
But at the same time, I feel lost. I don’t know what it is that I could do…
Teacher:
You do not feel lost. You avoid choosing.
You wait for some grand revelation. Some sign. Some moment of clarity. But clarity does not come to those who wait. It comes to those who move.
You say you don’t know what you could do. But that is not true. You know many things you could do. You are surrounded by possibilities. But none of them feel certain. None of them feel guaranteed. And so, you hesitate.
You want to avoid waste. You want to avoid failure. You want to avoid regret. And so, you do nothing.
This is the root of your stagnation. You have not made a full decision.
The way forward is simple: Pick something. Fully commit. Go all in.
Not halfway. Not “dabbling.” Not “seeing how it goes.” But fully.
If it turns out wrong? Good. You will have learned something real.
If it turns out right? Good. You will have built something real.
Either way, you will have momentum. You will have moved. You will have advanced.
The only true failure is remaining where you are.
Student:
But what if I do not see any opportunity at all? If I am so blind?
Teacher:
You are not blind. You are waiting for an opportunity that feels certain. That feels safe. That feels right before you act.
But that is not how life works. Life does not hand you clarity on a silver platter. It rewards those who move despite uncertainty.
You say you see no opportunity. But opportunity is not something that “appears.” It is something you create.
If you feel blind, it is because you are standing still. Vision comes from movement.
Move in any direction. Pick something. Go deep. If it is wrong, adjust. But do not wait for some divine inspiration to strike. That is a fool’s game.