The Ordinary Days Count Too

One thing this year has made me realize is that I’m not actually living the life I’m trying so hard to build.

That sounds a little dramatic when I write it down, but lately, I’ve been noticing how easy it is for my days to become a routine.

Work. Gym. Go home. Play some video games. Think about the things I want to do. Tell myself I’ll get to them eventually. Sleep. Repeat.

There’s always something I’m working toward.

A career I want to build. Projects I want to finish. Things I want to create. Personal goals I want to reach. Even at the gym, there’s always another number to chase.

And then there’s procrastination—which, at least for me, has a funny way of disguising itself as waiting for the right time.

• I’ll do it when I have more time.
• I’ll start when things settle down.
• Maybe next weekend.

Before I know it, another week has gone by.

Sometimes I wonder how many days I’ve let pass without ever stopping for a moment and asking myself whether I was actually present for any of them.

Being 26

Twenty-six feels like a strange age.

I’m young enough to know that there’s still plenty of time ahead of me. I don’t need to have everything figured out tomorrow.

At the same time, there’s this quiet pressure that makes me feel like I should have figured something out by now.

• Where am I going?
• Am I doing enough?
• Am I wasting time?
• Am I actually building the life I want, or am I spending all my time preparing for it?

I don’t think I have an answer to any of those questions yet.

And maybe I don’t need one right now.

Taking a weekend off

With all of those thoughts lingering somewhere at the back of my mind, I decided to take the weekend off and go on a little adventure with family and friends.

Nothing particularly life-changing happened.

“And I think that was the point.”

For once, I wasn’t thinking about work. I wasn’t thinking about career plans, unfinished projects, personal goals, or whatever number I wanted to hit at the gym next.

The biggest question was basically: What are we doing next?

And it felt good.

We went places, ate, talked, laughed, and spent time together without everything needing to accomplish something.

There was no productivity attached to it. No progress bar. No goal to tick off afterward.

Just time spent with people I care about.

Not everything has to be a milestone

I spend a lot of time thinking about the future.

And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

I still want to work hard. I still have things I want to build, places I want to go, and a version of myself I’m trying to become.

But I’m starting to realize that building a good life and actually living one aren’t necessarily the same thing.

“If I’m constantly waiting for the next achievement before allowing myself to enjoy where I am, I could probably spend years chasing a life that I’m never present enough to experience.”

So maybe progress isn’t always about moving forward.

• Sometimes it’s taking a weekend off.
• Calling your family.
• Going somewhere without needing a reason.
• Spending an afternoon with friends.
• Or having an ordinary day and realizing that it doesn’t need to become anything more than that.

Life doesn’t always need a special occasion before we’re allowed to celebrate it.

Sometimes being able to wake up, experience the good and the bad, spend time with people we care about, and be here for another day is enough.

I’m still figuring things out. I’m still chasing the life I want.

“I just don’t want to forget to live the one that’s happening along the way.”

What I learned

Building a good life and actually living one are not the same thing. If I wait for the next achievement before enjoying where I am, I could spend years chasing a life I am never present enough to experience.

How it changed my thinking

I still want to work hard and chase the version of myself I am trying to become. I just no longer treat every day as a waiting room for that future. Sometimes progress is a weekend off, time with family, or an ordinary day that does not need to become a milestone.