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Welcome to the Rat Race

I’m sure you’ve felt it too: the burden on your shoulders growing heavier. Your head is pounding, you have knots in your stomach, but you have no idea why.

If you wake up every morning to your alarm screaming on the bedside table, half-dazed, not even knowing where you are—then I’m not telling you anything new when I say: You’ve fallen into the rat race.

You’ve been sucked in by the whirlwind of everyday life, the grayness that eventually switches you to autopilot too.

Sound familiar?
I bet you have your routine down.

You get up, wash your face, put on the coffee, drink it, morning shower, get ready, and go. You head to your workplace, perhaps stopping at a bakery or café if it’s on the way, grabbing a sandwich and maybe another coffee, which you gulp down en route because one isn’t even enough to wake up both your eyes, let alone comprehend the world around you.

Another same old shoddy and gray day begins as you walk through the door. It’s always the same monotonous work. And you can pretty much check off the list of things you tick off the same way every day.

• Everyday bored, gray faces. Check.
• Your boss, who has a meltdown every 5 minutes while expecting reports from you—including tomorrow’s, even though you haven’t received yesterday’s numbers yet. Check.
• The constantly complaining colleagues who are never happy with anything but refuse to change a thing. Check.
• The loud talkers and laughers.
• The slackers, just waiting for the day to end.
• The annoying colleague who’s always in the way.
• The shouting, constantly noisy machines and the radio playing the same songs over and over every day. Hmm… Check.

I Want to Change! Where Do I Start?

You’ve landed in a loop you’d love to break out of, because you’re absolutely sick of it. But there’s the other side of the coin.

Where to go from here?
What do I want to do?
This is what I know, I’ve been doing it for X years.
Should I start learning something new again?
What will others say?
What will they say at home?
Do I have enough self-confidence for this?
What if I regret it?

To this, I can only ask… Have you tried yet?

I doubt it. Have you ever done anything to make your life different from what it is now?

If not, then what are you waiting for?
Why all the overthinking?

If you feel like you are going crazy in your everyday life, and it’s coming out of your ears, and you’d rather take a 180-degree turn and just walk out the door without ever looking back, then what are you waiting for?

I know these problems too, you know. I am perfectly aware of what it’s like. I also procrastinated for years, putting off the question. What I am writing to you about now is not a scenario cooked up in an armchair; it is completely authentic.

The restlessness, the burnout that comes with trying everything to make your days exciting, but it simply doesn’t work because you’re already a nervous wreck.

This takes its toll on your well-being, your mood, your soul, your physical performance (yes, sexually too), your relationships—and practically everything.

It drags you down. It suppresses you. It demolishes your self-esteem. It undermines everything you’ve built up until now and levels it to the ground. That is, if you let the story get this far.

If you notice in time and heed the advice of those around you that something is wrong with you, that is a warning sign that you have developed a vibe that is different from you.

“You weren’t like this. Something has changed. There is some negative energy around you that has left its mark.”

I think you know it too.
Of course you know.
You complain about it daily.
To your partner at home.
To your parents.
To your friends.
Even to your dog or cat (or whatever pet you have).

The problem is what you experience and what drags you down every single day. You are in an environment that not only fails to reinforce you but directly pulls you back and down into the depths, because it is not in its interest for you to become more.

I truly envy those companies where you can work together as a team.
Where there is team spirit, motivation driven by a common goal.
The motivation that if you work well, you go together somewhere for a quality team-building event.
You go to further training together, company holidays, and the Christmas bonus isn’t just a friendly pat on the back, saying, “You did a good job this year, thank you!”.

Companies like this are rare, but they do exist.
For many, it might be like Columbo’s wife. Everyone has heard of her, but no one has ever seen her.

You have to believe that with the change, you too can find an environment where motivation is real, and where your work is not just a tick on a list.

Think! – Get Pen and Paper Ready

If you feel it’s time to change, then it’s worth thinking about where to go next. I guess this is the question that occupies you the most. Well, you’re absolutely right.

Actually, there is nothing else you need to do before getting up from your workplace—although it really doesn’t matter when you do it, the point is—to have a pen or pencil and a piece of paper or notebook with you.

Got it? Good!

Now write down whatever comes to mind. Everything that comes to mind.

• What would you enjoy doing?
• What skills do you have?
• What is your level for this or these things you’d like to do?
• What do you need to learn?
• How much do you love it?
• Can you make a living from it?
• How well do you know this market?

Write down everything that forms in your mind. Believe me, it will help. Start writing. You’ll be surprised how much will come out.

Thoughts. Ideas. Feelings. Solutions to various problems, even ones you hadn’t thought of.

I have written an article about this before, you can read it here.

Once you start writing and let everything that wants to come out of you flow, you will not only see the picture much clearer and all that you have to deal with, but you will also notice how much lighter your soul has become.

In many cases, all it takes is a spark to realize what you would happily do as a full-time job.

It can usually be traced back to a previous hobby, or an area you wanted to deal with before or were interested in, but didn’t want to get started because either someone talked you out of it, or perhaps you couldn’t go in that direction for some reason.

Sometimes our school results prevent us from moving in that direction, but sometimes, influenced by others, you let go of what truly attracts you.

Don’t Let Others’ Fear Manipulate You

If you were to choose an area that others wouldn’t necessarily dare to, notice that the questions immediately arise (I mentioned some of them above).

• What will others say?
• What will they say at home?
• Will you be able to make a living from it?
• Is there demand for it?
• Where will you find the time and energy to deal with so many things?
• Are you sure you’ve thought it through?
• Are you sure you want to give up a fixed thing for an uncertain one?

I think one could list even more emerging questions.

These questions generally come up because others don’t dare to take steps of this caliber. Probably because they themselves would fear for their own skin. They too are afraid that they wouldn’t perform well because they don’t even try. Of course, there are those who have tried, but either didn’t put in the appropriate amount of time and energy, or the whole thing was frustrated by external reasons, so I don’t want to judge anyone before someone takes offense.

Obviously, there is also the fact that those close to you fear failure for you, especially if you are more sensitive than average, lest you suffer an injury that affects your whole life.

However, let’s not forget that this is genuinely kind of them.
But this is YOUR Life.
It’s YOUR Decision.

YOU are in the loop with your own things. No one can know what is in your head, how you feel in your skin, or what influences you face every day.

Advice for the Decision

If you decide that you’ve had enough of your current life situation and definitely want to change, I would suggest the following to you. You don’t necessarily have to follow these; everyone paves their own path, but advice and experience are always welcome.

Assess where you stand!

1. Emphasizing the Crossroads (One Day vs. Day One)
   
   Make a decision. Weigh your options, and figure out what is best for you. Life asks you the question again and again every morning: Will this just be one day among many, or finally Day One when you make a change? Will you let the autopilot control your everyday life, or will you take the wheel and start living your own life?
   
2. Tangible First Steps
   
   After brainstorming, some practical steps can follow: How can you break the chains little by little?
   – Today, write down 3 things that make you feel alive.
   Tomorrow, find out how this can become a small side project (and perhaps a business later).
   A week from now, try something out from it.
   
   Always write down everything, because you can further develop it, and in the end, you might even bring out something quite fantastic.
   
3. Releasing Mental Blocks
   
   This part is usually the hardest. You have to almost completely let go of the experiences you’ve had so far. You need to reshape your thinking. The way you approach things.
   
   The questions above stress you out. Whether you want to or not, you will obsess over them because they were planted in you much earlier. Sometimes you will question yourself, mostly at the beginning. Naturally. After all, you have no experience, you haven’t seen anything from it yet. Excuses will come that you’ve used before, only here there will be stakes involved.
   
   – “I don’t have time.” – Everyone has the same amount of time: the question is what you use it for.
   “I lack confidence.” – Confidence is not a prerequisite; it’s a result. It’s born when you take the first step. You’ve certainly tried to convince yourself otherwise before. It’s time to change.
   “What will others say?” – They are not living your life. You will be the one lying in your own bed every night. And frankly, who cares?
   

Final Word

There are no Day Ones in the rat race. There is only an endless, gray One Day.

You decide how long you want to keep running.
Everyone reaches a point in their life when they decide: they stay with the old, or something new begins.

Whether today will be just one day for you, or the first day—that is entirely up to you.

The decision is in YOUR hands. It’s up to you what you do with it.

Go for it! Good luck!

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