Most people are not living.
They’re serving time.
They wake up to an alarm they hate, commute to a job that bleeds them dry, surround themselves with people they can’t stand, and call that “life.”
The only thing keeping them from losing their minds is the thought of Friday night, a long weekend, or a two-week vacation.
But if the highlight of your existence is not living it…
You’ve already lost.
You don’t need more escapes.
You need to destroy the need to escape.
Here’s how:
1. Stop using breaks as a reward for misery
If you live for vacations, you’ve accepted a deal where 90% of your life is a warm-up for 10%.
That’s like eating spoiled food every day just to “earn” dessert twice a year.
Vacations aren’t bad - but they shouldn’t be your lifeline.
If you need them to stay sane, your core life is broken.
2. Audit your Mondays
Your Monday is a mirror.
If it’s heavy, slow, resentful - that’s your real life showing.
A good Monday doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it does mean it’s yours.
Ask yourself: If this was the only life I had, would I still choose it?
If the answer’s no, start tearing down the parts you dread.
3. Fire people before they rot you
One toxic person can make an entire good life feel unlivable.
You’ll think you hate your work, your city, your goals - when the real cancer is the person whispering in your ear.
Cut them out fast.
The longer they stay, the less of you will be left to save.
4. Build around what fuels you
Most people design their life backwards.
They start with the job, then squeeze their passions and peace into the scraps that are left.
Flip it.
Start with the work you’d do even if you were rich.
Start with the people you’d still call if you were dying.
Start with the habits you’d keep even if no one could see you.
Then build everything else around that.
5. Torch the “secure” plan that’s killing you
There’s no point holding on to a burning house because you’ve lived there for years.
Security isn’t safe if it slowly eats you alive.
The job, the city, the “logical” path - burn them if they make you dream of anywhere else.
The loss will hurt, but staying will kill you quietly.
The goal is simple:
Wake up in a life you don’t want to escape from.
A life where Monday feels like your territory.
Where joy isn’t booked in advance.
Where you don’t need “time off” to remember you’re alive.
Most people will never get there.
Not because it’s impossible - but because it demands they burn the life they’ve been told to protect.
Until next time,
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 | A guest post by
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Good advice
I’m retired now, but I did love my job. I was an early riser then and I still am. Up at.4:00, coffee, read, scroll, stretch, crazy stretch with stewing so popular now, feed dogs , shower, all before 7:00. I own the morning. And the like Admiral McCristal said, “make your bed”.