Going against the conventional wisdom a good life is problem-free, your pursuit of a dream life involves actively choosing better problems
I always say life is an array of problems.
As soon as you solve one you will get a new one. But a better one. You level up.
A successful and wealthy life means having better problems, not having none.
If you are broke, your goal is to be rich: “Then I can solve all my problems”. But you will just get new problems:
- how to invest,
- how to trust new people,
- what house to buy,
- where to go on vacation,
- how to stay wealthy
When you are happy you still have problems. But you have a different view of them, and you see them as challenges to grow and struggles you consciously chose.
“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it life”
— Robin Sharma
A Life Without Problems Is Boring And Dead
Imagine life is a game. We love playing computer games, or board games.
Why do we like playing those games?
Because they are not boring, they are fun and challenging.
As a former game developer, I can tell you there is a thin line between too challenging and too boring. You have to be in the area in between: you keep your players entertained but not too challenged so they give up.
Life is like a game.
We play in it, and if we don’t have any problems it’s boring. But also comfortable, which is why a lot of people get stuck:
- in their boring job
- in their comfortable house
- in the well-known neighborhood
- with the same like-minded people
We need a little bit of a challenge to get excited for life again. A life without problems will not make anyone happy. Just comfortable and content.
This doesn’t mean you have to quit everything and move to a different country. But some bits of change to get out of your comfort zone will make your life exciting again.
- take a different route or transportation to work
- go shopping at a different grocery store
- try new food
- go on vacation to a new country
- try a new hairstyle
- take an online course and learn something new
- watch some YouTube videos on topics you know nothing about
Whatever you are doing: get out of your comfort zone
My goal is to be embarrassed by the person I was a year before, and it has been ever since I quit my job during my quarter-life crisis. I wrote the story about it almost 1 year ago and my writing improved so much that I’m a little embarrassed.
I love to learn and improve, so I’m taking online courses, reading a lot, and watching documentaries.
This doesn’t mean I’m traveling around the world the whole year and eating new food every week. One step at a time I’m exploring different cultures.
We don’t have to go all in to change everything immediately. Small steps out of our comfort zones are good, and better than nothing.
This also doesn’t mean that you have to be full of energy and excited every day. I’m not, and that’s good. I’m an introvert and I don’t have the energy to go out every day to experience something new.
I prefer my home. I write and I read.
Everyone can choose their own steps out of their comfort zones.
The important thing: you find challenges to level up your life and be excited to continue this game called life.
“Most people die at 25 and aren’t buried until they’re 75”
— Benjamin Franklin
Find a Struggle You Want to Focus on
Not every challenge or struggle is for you.
I struggle to be in a full-time job chained to a desk for 8 hours a day, independent of the workload.
I love challenging projects and being creative, whenever it needs to be done and with breaks.
As I said before: life is an array of problems.
You choose what challenges you want to focus on. Not all problems in life have to be yours.
I focus on my challenges:
- writing online
- increasing my following
- doing creative Instagram posts
- finishing my master’s thesis
- being healthy
Those are the struggles I want in your life. Everyone has different struggles.
And the problems I don’t want in my life I let go:
- finding the cheapest prices
- living with flatmates
- being on time at work
- struggling with back pain because of sitting all day
- gossiping
- discussing politics
- a car
Those are just examples from my life.
You shouldn’t have the same priorities. You are your own person and you need to find and choose your own. Else society, your partner, or your family will choose for you.
Find the struggles that bring you nearer to your goals.
Just like writing online helps me take a step toward my goals every day.
Conclusion
Life is an array of problems.
If you solve one, you will get a better one.
But it doesn’t stop! And that’s a good thing because you don’t want your life to be boring, right?
What are the struggles you want to have in your life?
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