How to Have a Slow and Boring Successful Career

It’s not a new idea that people born in the times since, or just before the digital revolution have different brains than our predecessors. We lean towards stimulation, towards a certain variability in life. We fiend for the newest, the latest, and are constantly seeking the next great thing.

Concepts like FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) have developed as a byproduct. When there’s so much in the world to consume and enjoy, why settle for anything less than the best?

This sounds great. But it’s imaginary — just fiction. The best is usually cultivated via an Instagram filter, Photoshop, blatant lying or exaggeration.

The public’s attention has recently focused on the consequences of being in front of screens all day. Perhaps the attention deficit crisis does have implications for our day to day — we seem to have more stuff, but enjoy it less. Our desensitized brains clam up at the thought of anything lengthy — a 3 hour movie, waiting for that next bonus, a lifetime commitment. These things are scary because it limits our options.

What’s worse is the lack of contentment it breeds. As the saying goes, you’re comparing your practice footage to someone’s highlight reel. This comparison happening dozens or hundreds of times a day can’t be good for your mental health.