Since launching my own blog, I’ve started following dozens of other blogs and I gotta say, sometimes I feel like I’m reading the same blog posts over and over and over again. I never realized there were SO MANY self-help, find-your-passion, The-Secret-will-change-your-life blah-blah-blah blogs out there and here I am, trying to carve out a niche for myself by writing on the same topics. Brilliant. Sigh.
One blog type that I’m getting sick of is the “10 Simple Steps To {Fill in the Blank}” or “20 Tips to Achieve {Blank}”. I understand the appeal – it would be awesome if life were that easy, if all we had to do was follow 10 easy do-it-yourself tips from some random person on the internet and we’d achieve eternal happiness, or find our life’s passion. That would be seriously fucking wicked. We’d all be floating on silver-lined clouds, eating pounds of chocolate amidst our piles of money, singing “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.” Again – brilliant.
Unfortunately, life is not that simple. And I refuse to write any semblance of a post that professes to have the answer to happiness or joy in its 10-easy-steps contents (although my Happiness Survey gets you pretty close, but I can’t take credit for that – technically you guys wrote that one). However, after giving it careful thought and consideration, I realized I do know of one sure-fire way to discover your true passion in life – you just might not remember it when you sober up.
Get Drunk.
I’m actually serious. Ever notice that whenever you’re at a social gathering, there’s always that one guy there that maybe works at a bank or a call centre, but as soon as he’s had a few drinks he cannot SHUT UP about how much he loves river-rafting or playing guitar or cooking or something else totally random? And he has limitless advice on places YOU should go river-rafting, or great open mic nights or secret recipes for to-die-for risotto? And you keep thinking to yourself, “Seriously – this guy needs to stop talking or jump in a river before I sever his tongue with a bread knife.” Well folks, that guy, could be YOU!
I spent a lot of my 20’s fumbling through my life, not knowing what I wanted to do. But I realized recently, that every time I got drunk (and a lot of the time when I was sober), I was almost 100% certain that I had the answer to everyone’s problem. I was particular adept at doling out advice when it wasn’t needed or when it wasn’t quite appropriate. My favourite phrase was “Well, if it was me… here’s what I’d do…” Sometimes it helped people (well, at least I think it did), and sometimes it irritated people (yup, I’m pretty sure it did). But ultimately, this realization became the reason why I started this blog. I realized I was really passionate about helping people and sharing my thoughts and advice.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not drunk every time I write. In fact, I don’t think I’ve written drunk yet (but I’ll let you know if I do). And I don’t think we all need to become raging alcoholics just to figure out our life’s passion. But think about the last time you got really into a conversation (drunk or not) – what were you talking about? What could you not shut up about?
Forget the 10-easy-steps to happiness– try my one-step of drunkenness. Just don’t end up in a 12-Step Program, ok?