Why I Like the End of the World
Yes, I admit it. I used to like thinking about the end of the world, even as recently as two months ago. It wasn’t in a depressing, wanting to end life sort of way, but more of a wanting to reboot society sort of way. Think more Tyler Durden in Fight Club, less Darth Vader in Star Wars. And I wish I could tell you that my reasons were noble, wanting to help mankind and all that. My reasons were much more selfish. Let me explain.
I love life. I really do. But for a long time, I didn’t like my life. I didn’t like my job, didn’t like where I was career-wise, didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t a full-time writer / author (I’d only dreamed about it for the past thirty-five years!). So, whenever I would watch a movie or a read a book about some sort of life-altering, world changing event that meant I wouldn’t have to work at my day job anymore, I was all in!
Two of my all-time favorite movies illustrate this perfectly: 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow, both directed by Roland Emmerich. There were other movies that had similar flavors such as The Core, Armageddon, and Deep Impact, but 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow hit harder for whatever reason.
The Day After Tomorrow is about the coming of a modern ice age, the story itself an unapologetic message about the dangers of climate change nicely wrapped up in an apocalyptic package. Ultimately, the entire northern hemisphere is frozen over, and the US must make its new home in Mexico (The Day After Tomorrow isn't light on the political and social messages either). Our everyday lives would have most certainly been disrupted.
2012 has a similar feel, but doesn’t even bother with thinly veiled messages, environmental, political, or otherwise. Playing on the idea of the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world, solar flares release some made up sciency stuff that heats up our earth core, causing massive shifting of the continents. California sinks into the ocean (of course), Yellowstone Park, essentially one massive super volcano (admittedly this true fun fact freaks me out a little), erupts. The continent of Africa rises thousands of feet above sea level, becoming the most prominent continent on the planet after everything is said and done. Everyday lives are absolutely disrupted, and our population greatly reduced, which I am not a proponent of.
For the record, I won’t say that these movies were pieces of art, they weren’t, they had their flaws. But they left me wondering what it would be like to not have to go to work the next day. What would it be like to have our everyday lives turned upside down, allowing us (me) to escape the day-to-day drudgery of what I had let my life become? All the mass destruction and loss of life aside, this is what attracted me most about those movies. So, what changed? My life had a reboot.
Several months ago, I decided I needed to begin making changes. My family wholeheartedly agreed. They could see how miserable I was, which by the way had nothing to do with my now former employer. It really was me. It had been me for a number of years. I left my job to work for another company in the same field, but for more money and allowing me to be closer to home. Essentially, I was breaking the cycle of insanity I had been in for ten plus years: doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. I was starting my reboot. But then the real reboot happened: my new employer let me go unexpectedly. That had never happened to me before! What the hell, man? It turned out to be the best thing to happen in a long time.
Since then, I’ve full on jumped into the gig business model. Instead of depending on one source of full-time income, I depend on multiple streams of income. And I love it! I determine what I do, when I do it, and how I do it. It’s a lot of work and I love that too because it’s my work. And now for the good part. I finally feel free to pursue the writing career I’d dreamed about since the beginning of conscious thought. As much work as it is juggling multiple side hustles, I don’t feel creatively drained when I sit down to write. Reboot accomplished! Without an ice age or global flooding. Nice.
So, what does that mean to you? It depends on where you’re at in your life. Are you where you want to be? Do you find yourself wishing for a zombie apocalypse or other life altering event to give you permission to make changes in your life? Hey. I get it, I really do. But don’t let yourself stay in the cycle of insanity, doing nothing and expecting things to change. It’s not too late. You’re not too old. You’re not too young! Your reboot may look completely different than mine, and probably will. But you’re not alone. And to help you out, here are three things to do today to get you started:
What does your re-boot look like? Dreams are nice, but they fall apart without a vision of what that dream means in the real world. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but what does a writer’s life really look like? Now I know. Or at least I know how it begins. And I’m willing to make changes as needed. Do yourself a favor and take some time to figure out what you’re really looking for, what your endgame is.
Start with a small change. Any small change will do. For me, I asked for a raise, something I’d never done in my entire history of employment (in all fairness, I’ve never had to). When I didn’t get the amount I’d asked for (I never expected to), I started looking at other sources of income. I updated my resume and uploaded it to various job boards. I also started looking into alternative sources of income. One thing led to another until I found myself here, at the beginning of my reboot.
Perfect is the enemy of done. Don’t worry about getting everything perfect at the beginning. It’s more important to follow through. Take this article for example. I don’t think it’s my finest work. It’s not my worst either. But it’s good enough and my ultimate goal was to finish what I started because that’s where I’ve had the most resistance up to this point. I know that the more I write, the better I’ll get at it, especially when it comes to writing fiction, which, in case you were wondering, is my end game.
Seriously, daydreaming about how an apocalyptic event would free me up from going to my day job is a tad extreme and dare I say a little nuts. I mean really, how hard was it to ask for that raise, anyway? Wanting a reboot however is a very real thing and something I bet a good many of us have thought about at one time or another. I don’t have all of the answers, but I can tell you about my journey. I can also tell you to start something. Anything! Make that first small change and step into that reboot you’ve been obsessing over since forever. And hey, let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear about your own life journey so feel free to leave a comment.
See you on the flip side.
Write On!