Reflecting on: The Little Things

Realization

It was the third time the alarm clock was going off. “I just want another five minutes” he said while turning his back on the clock. “But I need to wake up or else I’ll be late to my morning meetings” he thought to himself. He woke up, took a shower, pet their cats, had coffee with a toast and turned on his work laptop.

After his nine to five, Derek attended his boxing class, which he loved by the way, but he was feeling a bit off today. He finished class, took a shower and went for a walk by the beach with his wife at sunset. After that, they enjoyed a good dinner at home and went to sleep.

Next morning, Derek woke up and he felt really sad. He didn’t know what was going on, but he felt off. He attended work, hit the gym again and spent some time reading and chatting with friends. But still, he didn’t feel good.

“It’s like nothing I do makes me feel fulfilled. I need to change my life. I feel empty.” he thought one day after several days feeling the same.

Breakthrough

He had been working at the same company for five years now. He knew all processes around and was one of the top employees, everyone would ask him for guidance, and was seen as a legend by all juniors joining the company. And yet, he didn’t feel satisfied with his job. To be honest, he didn’t like his job at all, but he studied hard for it at college at a time when he didn’t know who he was, and it paid well. So why would he leave? He even had a family now – a wife and two beautiful cats.

Derek had dreamed of his current life for years when he was a young adult studying, and yet he couldn’t understand what was wrong about it. Everyday felt the same: wake up, work, lunch, gym, dinner, sleep and repeat five times a week. The guy was good looking too and a lot of people looked up to him. He was an achiever.

“I don’t know what can be wrong. I don’t understand it. I have all I once dreamed of” he was telling his wife one night during dinner. “I think it’s simple, honey. You are not enjoying the important aspects of it: the little things” she said.

That left him thinking for a moment. “How so?” Derek replied. “I think you focus too much on achievements and less on enjoying what you already have. Sometimes you just need to slow down and look at life from another perspective”.

Progress

Three months later, Derek was the same good looking fella, with the same old job and the same life he had three months ago. But something was different in him: his day-to-day attitude.

Instead of snoozing the alarm three times, he would try to wake up at the first rang – I said try. He would find himself trying to enjoy slow mornings, with a good coffee, a good toast and the looks of his cats trying to steal some of that good bread for them.

At work, he would feel more fulfilled, having realized that he had great colleagues – which he already knew, but didn’t value as much. He would make more time for coffee breaks now instead of focusing all day on work.

Those boxing sessions? He was crushing it all the time now and even made some friends in the class. And those sunset walks by the beach? He was already enjoying them, but always worrying about the future or tomorrow’s work.

But, okay, how can this change of attitude have such a great impact?

Reflections

Derek did some great findings those three months. He started being grateful for all the people, things and love he had in his life, enjoying ten times more every smile, laugh and empathy gesture shared with his loved ones.

In those three months, he came across the eternal question: Why are we here? What is our purpose? The answer is easy: no one knows. And another fact is that in 200 years from now, no one that you know or that will ever know you, will be alive, so we might as well try to enjoy our time alive and find joy in it.

With this realization, Derek thought “It’s about time that I start learning more about airplanes”, since he always enjoyed flying and was completely fascinated by it – “and even learn more about Physics!”. The guy had been always fascinated by all the megastructures the human species had built over the years and he wanted to know how they were even possible. Have you seen the Burj Khalifa or the International Space Station? Those things are Engineering wonders if you ask me.

On a personal note, I’ll try to be more like the new Derek and find joy in my day to day, because in the end we are not as f*cked as we think we are. There’s always something to complain about and there will always be. Once you solve a problem, another one will come. That’s life.

Be thankful for what you have and try not to lose yourself in this fast-paced mediatic world. And if you do, don’t worry, we all are lost in this life, we just think we know what we are doing. The only thing keeping us sane is the love we see around us.