Summary

The article discusses the limitations people impose on themselves through societal norms, specialized career paths, and the fear of stepping out of their comfort zones, advocating for a life of imagination, diversification, and personal growth.

Abstract

The author reflects on the childhood joy of building forts and contrasts it with the adult tendency to trap themselves in self-imposed prisons of routine and narrow career paths. They argue that life should be as open as one makes it, emphasizing the importance of diversification and learning skills that one enjoys, rather than just what is in demand. The article suggests that the fear of the unknown and the pressure to conform to societal expectations limit personal growth and creativity. It encourages readers to embrace their imagination, as it is a reflection of their potential and should not be bound by realism. The author also addresses the natural human tendency to panic in the face of adversity, advocating for calmness and rationality to maintain control over one's reactions. Furthermore, the piece challenges the traditional notion that elders always know best, highlighting the importance of developing one's own values in an ever-changing world. The article concludes by urging individuals to avoid feeling stuck by embracing the freedom to explore and take breaks when necessary.

Opinions

The author believes that specializing in a single career direction is outdated and that diversification is key to staying relevant in a rapidly advancing world.
They express that comfort zones, while alluring, can lead to missed opportunities and a lack of personal growth.
The piece suggests that the overemphasis on learning in-demand skills can lead to an oversupply and eventual devaluation of those skills.
It posits that imagination is the key to unlocking one's potential and should be kept free from the constraints of realism.
The author opines that panic is an unproductive response to life's challenges and that a calm approach is more conducive to problem-solving.
They challenge the idea that elders are infallible sources of wisdom, acknowledging that everyone is continually learning and that values evolve over time.
The article encourages readers to reject the notion of a predetermined life path and to recognize that they are capable of more than they might believe.
It promotes the idea that taking breaks and engaging in escapism can be beneficial for productivity and mental health.

The Average Person’s Life Is A Prison

Let’s break free

I loved building forts as a child —most of us did. What a chill life that was.

But we’re not kids anymore, yet we continue to make forts. However, the fort-play time doesn’t end with your mom wanting her couch cushions back, but rather in a pit of entrapment.

Sometimes, I would rather hear a scolding session.

Life is as open as you make it

Everything is as wide as it should be. No field is narrow and nothing has to be. Specialization, huh!

People used to stay in one career direction for their whole life. Times have changed. People prefer diversification now.

One career direction is insanity now. Everything is advancing at lightning speed. If you steer in one direction, you get redundant.

We limit opportunities for ourselves, I have seen it happen in front of my eyes, heck I love doing it. Who doesn’t enjoy their comfort zone?

Piss on jobs — create.

We limit life by learning in-demand skills. Sticking to what you like will open your life more than anything else. That is a fact.

It is ironic but true.

You learn different things through different people and you grow as time passes. What more is needed.

When in-demand skills are given attention, other skills become rarer.

Look at the past year. There was a lack of writers. People were going for social media marketing as it caught the most eyes.

Every day on YouTube I would see a new person make a course for it. It was amazing.

Now the space is less crowded than before.

At one point virtually everyone was doing it.

I thought this was an easy way to make money so I decided to cold call several business owners who might need my help to raise clients.

As soon as I would utter the words Facebook Marketing, they would cut the call as if I had given them a death threat. It was very funny.

People threw so much dirt on the niche, I felt embarrassed.

We are bounded by our imagination

Our entrapment is imaginary.

A million people tell us ‘this can’t be done and we accept it.

But that is what makes us like the rest. People who go to great heights have unrealistic imaginations.

Isn’t that the point of ‘imagination’? If imagination is realistic, why is it called that?

Your imagination shows the peak of your life. Why would you keep that realistic?

Imagination is the preview to life’s coming attractions Albert Einstein

The more unrealistic the better!

If there is one thing that should not be influenced by everything going on around u is our imagination. Hold that dearly, it tells you how much you are capable of!

Everything is ok— don’t panic

I panic easily sometimes. Things make me jump out of my seat.

It’s like, ‘Another thing went wrong, here we go again.’

One thing goes wrong and things start messing up like dominos.

I thought I was unlucky. I am not.

I am unlucky compared to Steve the lottery winner, but I am luckier than billions. I choose to look at the latter.

You could say the same.

Countless times I have panicked, then looked at the facts to know there was absolutely nothing to panic about.

And if things do start to mess up, panicking gets you nowhere. Be calm, that will allow you to construct a rational solution.

I found out that no matter what I do wrong, things are more in my control than out of it.

This was a revelation.

We are all bound to make mistakes, things are bound to happen without our control but we can always control how we react.

It was all I ever wanted to know.

Elders are not always right

From a very young age, we are taught to do what we are told to.

It is a limiting life.

A normal life consists of working till 60 and then retiring and doing what you want to.

Who said you have to live like this?

It was weird to know that elders can be wrong. When an answer to a question entailed the words, “I don’t know,” I couldn’t believe it.

I thought they were supposed to know everything.

That is the one fact about life that will never change.

Everyone is figuring stuff out. Noone has everything sorted. It is meant to be that way.

What comes from this know-it mindset that is dangerous is a fixed set of values in an ever-changing world.

Values change as you grow up. None of us can thrive off of someone else’s values. We are bound to disagree on something.

When we grow up, we discover our own values. If we live on outdated ones, we lock ourselves in a prison.

If you told people you wanted to be a salesman when you grow up, people would look at you thinking you are stupid. Now, it is one of the most sought-after skills in the world.

In fact, it always was. Just the perception of a salesperson was associated with keepers of retail stores.

Stop putting yourself at a full stop

We stuck ourselves in a box of limited options. Kevin hart rather passionately said, “People just don’t know how much they are capable of.”

It is true.

Feeling stuck is an option. I have felt demotivated over the past 2 days. It is ok.

If you want to wake up and do something totally irrelevant that is fine. Don’t let that dictate you though.

Everyone needs some sort of escapism. Sometimes what you need to do is take a break.

It works for me quite well, I am sure it will for you too.

When we feel stuck we put ourselves at a full stop. This discourages us, makes us feel unproductive.

Sometimes we need to build forts and mess around in them.