Checking the box

We all live one life. We all start as infants. We all grow old. Some of us check the box. I recently heard this and wanted to write. Let's talk.After we are brought into this world and as we grow into our future selves we are shown experiences, brought into cultures, taught beliefs, and shown how to live. My upbringing brought me to highschool, where I participated in sports which then led me to the next logical step. College. I got a scholarship and headed off to a four year university. I then graduated and stepped into the NEXT logical step. Work. I worked for a large corporation for three years, working my way into a sales role managing millions of sales dollars and seeing clients, day in and out. Then one day I asked myself something I think many people don't. What was next? Where was I going? And the most important thing, WHY did I want that?So, I'm watching a chick flick (per usual) called That Awkward Moment. In the sappy love comedy with ups and downs there is a scene where Zac Efron is talking to the guy from that one boxing movie and they are talking about his wife cheating on him. He says something similar to this, "I married the right girl, I went to Med School right away, I got a good job, I checked all the boxes." It hit me (which is why I'm writing), how many of us have just checked the boxes? How many of us have done the things we were supposed to do? How many of us have gone through our lives and lived the way we were "supposed" to have lived?I want to ask you this, but preface it with a statement (or two). I believe that everything my life has led me to here, right now, this moment. The good, the bad, all of it. I have learned through each moment and I believe I am as well as you here where you are supposed to be (hopefully reading this article). I also believe that we are what we are plus the potential of who we could become. Thank you Jordan Peterson. In that the future of ourselves has the opportunity for growth. That growth comes in many forms. Whether it is mental, physical, or spiritual it all comes on the edge of discomfort. So many of us have gone through the same routines, the same conversations, the same lives without ever stopping to ask ourselves is this what we want? So, many people live in what is comfortable. We NEED discomfort to find growth.How do we do it? Small steps. One change today, to ultimately lead to more changes in the future. Start with a question, start with a feeling, start with SOMETHING. START. Because later becomes never. Put yourself in situations that are uncomfortable. Ask yourself the tough questions you have been avoiding. Am I happy? How do I define Success? Where is my life taking me? All these things that maybe have been in the back burner of your mind waiting to be vetted. Now you could be reading this and wondering who am I  to question anything you have done in your life? You're right. I am just some guy sitting in a dimly lit apartment halfway across the world typing this article, but... I am a guy who is looking to grow. I am a guy who is finding discomfort. I am a guy who questions the things I have grown up with and the things we have been taught. Why? Because I don't want to be the guy who buys a sports car thinking it will solve his problems. I don't want to be the guy who gets divorced because I never opened up to my wife. I don't want to be the guy stuck in a career that I continually despise. I don't want to look back on my life and say that I "checked all the boxes"... Do YOU?On purpose,Matt"They say you only live once, but if you do it right...Once is enough."