In Sept 2004 I had just moved out of a trendy neighbourhood apartment, and into a nightmare.
The loft that I moved into was 3000 square feet, had huge windows across the entirety of two of the four walls. It was huge, it was a disaster area, and I had moved in willingly… because of “potential.”
Has this ever happened to you? You change your situation to one that’s worse, because of the possibility of more? Well, we believed in this apartment because of how huge it was, but it required an insane amount of work. The walls were painted as though a schizophrenic blind man had chosen colours, and there was stuff everywhere.
The front room was the worst of all. It was as large as my current apartment, but had literally become a hallway to the other parts of the place, with garbage and detritus on all sides. Looking back at pictures before we cleaned up is revolting. It was amazing people lived this way– the whole room was basically abandoned.
When we cleaned it up, the difference was huge.
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Your world is a corridor if…
Here are some non-exhaustive examples. Take them as departure points. If you have any of these problems, seriously consider cleaning up that part of your life so you can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.
Your emotional/social world is a corridor if:
You never meet anyone new.
You believe any organization is going to save you in any way, or has the only path to happiness.
You say “so, what do you do?” when you run out of things to say.
Your professional world is a corridor if:
You have gotten every job with a resume or CV.
You have only made money with a 9-5.
You are climbing a corporate ladder.
Your physical world is a corridor if:
You cannot lift your own weight or climb a tree.
You cannot perform basic functions in the maintenance of a home (including cooking).
Your base mode of transportation is a car (then, your world is literally a corridor).
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Last night, I was making a dessert with coconut flour at my parents’ house when my girlfriend left me in the kitchen by myself. I started kind of panicking out about screwing up, but kept going, because I wanted it to be nice, etc. Sure enough, 10 minutes later, things were fine.
But I needed to learn that by trying, and by being left alone.
Everywhere where our world is a corridor is a chance for a richer, more competent, better life. But we need to know it, and believe that we can. The modern world is highly specialized and it’s easy to fall into those traps and, as a result, lead a life that is entirely ordinary. But they can be broken through, and like the front room of my old loft, we are always the better for it.
Do you recognize yourself in the lists above, or do you have your own? Share them below.
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