Daydreaming about a new life helps make our real one bearable, until it doesn’t. We dream of freedom but tether ourselves to practicality.
Plenty of people reinvent themselves without wrecking everything in the process. They do it surrounded by friends. Start trying new hobbies, maybe change careers—show up as in-progress versions of themselves like it’s nothing. All the while, taking care of their responsibilities. Probably even supporting their loved ones in the process. I simply didn’t understand how that could be possible. But I’ve also seen Into The Wild, so I knew how things turned out when Chris McCandless went searching for a new life… not super promising.
We love to root for the underdog. Those kinds of movies we’ll rewatch time and again. We cheer loudly for reinvention with our words, but do we actually mean it?
It doesn’t seem like it.
Keep reading:
What Creative People Won't Admit About Starting Over by Derek MacDonald
Wanting a clean slate doesn't mean getting one.
Read on Substackonward.
-dmac