No you won’t. No one ever stops wanting things. That’s just human nature, which is actually quite useful at times; it insures constant movement, hopefully in a good way, and makes you change or improve. But it might have a few small downsides. I think you already know what I’m talking about. You won’t be happy once you get a pony. Yes, you will have accomplished something, but unless that something will actually affect your everyday life in a good/happy way, then it’s not worth it.

For most people today value has the same meaning as price. How much does something cost to buy or how much will I make from it. But they don’t understand the true value: happiness. If doing something doesn’t make you smile, whether as you’re doing it or once you’ve finished, then it’s not valuable. It might be necessary, and by all means, you have to do what’s necessary. I’m not saying quit your job. But you should quit your job if you don’t like it. You might feel secure just because it pays well and otherwise you’d be out on the streets, but is that really all there is? Wasting your life on the unimportant so you stay alive long enough to waste more? Fuck no. No one should ever get to work, and not want to do what they have to do every single say. Everyone has days where they just don’t feel it, but it shouldn’t be every day.

What then? Well, get a better job. But not immediately. Do it slowly, and make sure that you won’t end up homeless throughout the whole process. People change careers after age 35 more often than you would think, and you can still get hired if you try. If you show that you really want to spend hours a day writing articles for a local newspaper, people can and will ignore the computer science degree you have, and hire you. But enjoy every second of your life. Just because the idea of work sucks doesn’t mean it has to suck. Work sucks in general, and by in general I mean for most of the people, since they work at jobs they don’t want to. Don’t be one of those people. Be the guy who’s on the top of that chart, or at least be able to say “Hey, I actually don’t hate my job.” If you can’t say that today, about the job you have right now, then there’s something wrong.

But work isn’t all there is. People work 6-8 hours a day, which is only one third of their life. Well, do other things you like. If you like drawing, but every time you draw a tree it looks worse than your 6 year old nephew’s drawing, then fuck it, keep drawing. If you like something, you’ll get better at it. It’s true that nature and genetics play a big role in what you’re good at, but that’s only the potential. If you’re naturally gifted, that means you’ll learn easier. But if you’re not, it doesn’t mean that you won’t. So go learn how to play a guitar, or how to draw, or how to speak conversational French. But only if you like it. Fuck it if you don’t. Then it’s a waste of time.

This is getting way too long, so I’ll just sum it up real quick. Achievement doesn’t grant happiness, the road to it does. You’ll never reach where you want to be because you’re holding a carrot hanging from a stick in front of you; it moves with you. So try to achieve whatever you want, but make sure that you have fun while doing it. The simplest sign of fun is a smile. If you can and want to smile while doing something, you’re doing it right.

Best,

The Guy With a Pocket Knife