I fucked up a decade.
To others, it seemed like success.
Good job with decent income: I was just a regular dude.
But I never wanted to be regular.
I was a grade A student and quickly noticed that school doesn't have a lot in common with real life. It transitioned from easy to lazy.
It was certain they'd never get to the topics I wanted to learn and I couldn't imagine working a "normal" job.
Got distracted and consumed by YouTube, Netflix and games, started skipping school.
Still managed to learn coding on my own which turned into a decent career. Decent.
Obsessed with work, which was fulfilling for a while, I picked up many vices, ignored and destroyed my body:
- Drank weekends away
- Smoked pack a day for a decade
- Zero exercise, McDonalds diet (never learned to cook)
- Gaming (10,000+ hours) and binge-watching were still there
At 28, everything crumbled:
- Overweight with zero muscles
- Unmotivated to go out
- Unfulfilled by my job
- No creative outlets, hobbies or skills to pivot
My sense of self became so small and limited, I didn't even know who I was anymore.
Positive change didn't happen overnight:
Started with just 1 push-up. From a table — couldn't push myself from the floor.
Learned to cook, because diet was impossible without it.
Gave up smoking, games and other distractions.
But here is the most important change:
Writing and publishing my thoughts. It started for vanity (and it still is) and as a creative outlet.
But it set my mind in order, because it requires thinking.
And it all turns into a good habit: writing promotes thinking, and thinking prompts you to write, and the cycle continues.
The act of creation protects you from distractions.
If you're at an amazing point in life, share how you got there to help others get there too.
If you're at the lowest point in life, show how you got there so others wouldn't, share your journey to the top.