Have you ever had someone check you out at the grocery store or wait on you in a restaurant that made you feel like they would rather be doing anything but helping you? Me too.
I think about these people who act like they have something better to do because I have been that person and you probably have been too. I think we have all lifted our ideal life to unhealthy levels to where nothing else we are doing, or the people around us, mattered.
Everything in relation to the ideal, rather than accepting the reality, for me, felt demeaning or outside of what I thought was what I was “called to do” or “was my purpose”.
I have attempted to live the dream, the ideal life and I failed. I’ve stayed at home, worked on writing projects, made videos, tried getting speaking gigs and creating courses. That was my ideal life, oh and making money while doing it, that was also ideal. Now, at 52, and delivering HVAC supplies to local AC companies, I ask, “Do you have something better to do?” the answer is “No, I don’t. So I might as well settle in and do a good job.”
I have nothing better to do than feed my family, pay my bills or invest in retirement. Focusing on priorities makes anything I do a little less like failure and a little more like responsibility. It’s a game changer in terms of my mental health and finding some joy in what I can do rather than what I cannot do.
I didn’t give up writing, making videos, etc. I just gave up on it being the optimum life and accepted it for what it was, a side hustle that will, most likely, not become my full time work and, honestly knowing that, is a relief.
Do you have something better to do? If you do, you should probably go do it. If you feel strongly about it, maybe it’s time to take your shot, do the work, stake your claim. Doing your thing beats being miserable or making the people around you miserable. Don’t worry, if you fail, there will alway be the thing you didn’t want to do in the first place, but you’ll return to it a different, more humble person.
If you want to explore your “something better”, check out some wisdom I gained about loving what you do, and failing, from a young lady who loves roller skating.