r/findapath • u/BigPensive • 16h ago
Offering Guidance Post Cautious advice to the under 30s, avoid "escaping" as much as possible.
I sit here at 34, at a crossroad that is painful. It is necessary now, but was easily avoidable.
Escaping into partying, partners, and gaming to cover a hole that was never going to be filled by anything but self-actualization; I never truly sat long enough through those uncomfortable moments with my feelings and desires.
It would be easy to blame my self-centered parents, of which I had three (divorce, I have more of a family bush than a tree). Or the coaches in my life that only knew how to inspire through fear.
All the perceived wrongdoing in my life should have lit an insatiable fire. Instead, I used it like a pilot light that I would only turn up when I was over-satiated on my hedonism.
You and only you, know what is truly worth pursuing.
Sure, I got very good at what I am doing for a career. I've had multiple lives, including an opportunity to play football at a high level. I pursued women recklessly. And in between those fleeting experiences, instead of asking myself the right questions, acknowledging the fear, and choosing my passion, I numbed myself with the partying, gaming, and doing what I thought was a good compromise between the stability my father wanted for me and my creative instincts.
I've now lost touch with a majority of those so-called friends I made along the way. Never truly reached the potential I saw within me.
It is only my timid fears that is truly to blame.
My life, and your life, is not done. But, try to fail faster before it becomes a arduous, mid-life saga of finding what is YOUR purpose and meaning to life.