A good friend of mine sent me a video message today calling me out for being disengaged.
My first thought was they can go to hell. But then I mentioned it to my wife, who said point blank maybe my friend was on to something. I sat there stupefied; I mean what the crap?
After some thought, it turns out they were more right than I’d been willing to admit.
I guess my good friend (who was a NASA mathematician) might know some stuff. She even told me in the video message there was some tough love coming right before the part about disengagement. It was kind of like a slap across the face when the realization hit me.
Immediately I felt thankful for friends, family, and colleagues that tell us what we need to hear, and when, with exacting clarity.
It’s also kind of amazing.
Two years after realizing I was squandering my life, many things have changed. I got back in shape, got promoted, had another baby (well my wife did technically), started a side hustle, joined an online writing cohort, wrote for 432 days (and counting), and got back to becoming the person I always thought I could be.
And yet, I just got called out for lack of engagement.
To be absolutely sure, the level of my complacency has been raised.
But now more than ever, progress will require energy, discipline, and action. And a firm realization that what got me to this point isn’t enough to get me to the next one. That’s where the growth is, and it’s a challenge I’m more ready for than ever before.
Because I didn’t come this far just to come this far.
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