I have been pondering thoughts provoked by this article since the day you released it, Julia. I've read it at least 3 times as well as the other two parts.
I have worked in the corporate world and I was going to be promoted to a technical director role at the age of 24 but I felt that that wasn't what I was looking for. I was an insecure overachiever. However, something inside of me signaled that I wasn't going to be happy.
So I took off to another country to pursue a Masters degree, on a scholarship, beside the one I already had merely to have more time to think about my options.
Soon enough, I dropped and went on to start my own startup.
When my startup failed, I took some odd jobs and was looking for my vocation and that was were I realized that I did't want to work for big companies because that meant that my achievements and contributions weren't going to be easily noticed. So I decided to instead work for SMBs preferably teams under 20 employees. Yes, I was still an insecure overachiever.
At the age of 32 and after totaling some 15 different jobs, I finally reached the status of COO in a Germany company. And boom, that wasn’t what I was looking for either. This realization made my life long depression coupled with anxiety even worse and as a result I was hospitalized.
“The price you pay for residence in Shoudlandia is that it crushes your soul”, that is so true. Oh man, that is so true.
Thank you so much for this thought provoking guide to unravel the inner side of our being.
Thank you for sharing your story so vulnerably! It resonates a lot with me. After getting my MBA I returned to my consulting job and had achieved all that I ever dreamed of - but I was more miserable than ever. If you're in achieving mode, it's easy to tell yourself that once you have that which you're chasing, you will feel differently. When that doesn't materialize (and it never does), it's truly soul crushing. I felt so hopeless and confused. The Buddhist philosophy of attachment has helped me in making sense. So glad to hear my words have resonated with you. Thank you for being here 🙏
Thank you for your reply, Julia. Can you recommend a book about Buddhist philosophy of attachment? And if you even decide to write a book, I'll be the first to pre-order it :)
I wish I did, but I learned about it first hand from a monk while staying in a monastery in Nepal 😊 I will have to write about it one day! I haven't read much about attachment specifically, but "Why Buddhism Is True" is a great book on Buddhism more broadly.
Quote: your ego is “a good servant but a bad master”, in the words of Alan Watts. The ego cannot guide you into purpose. That’s a job only soul can do. Soul sets the vision, ego executes it.
This reminds me of a podcast by Brianna Wiest titled "Let the Heart tell you What, and the Mind tell you how. I need to re-listen to that podcast. And as always, thanks Jules for a great article!
Beautiful, articulate words Jula and I can't wait to see where you take this.
I have spent the best part of 25 years since graduating with a BSc and MSc in Subjects I didn't really care for, or feel emotionally drawn to, because it seamed like the safe option at the time and I knew it would provide a fallback means to make a living.
In the intervening time Psycedelics, Taoist Practice and laterally Shamanism has aided and supported me to stay truer to my correct path and my Souls ideally intended destination.
Your writing always brings elements of David Abram or Mary Reynolds Thompson to memory in the way that you reveal the subtle dependence of the human condition, and propose wise counselling in a means to becoming g whole again.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Mark! I haven't heard of either but the works of both of them look intriguing, I will definitely have to take a look 😊
Are there any resources on Taoism that you recommend? I read the Tao Te Ching which very much resonated but would love to dive deeper into Taoist philosophy.
I think one of the main problems with Taoism is that it's such a massive Subject Area that it's quite difficult to give constructive advice on where to begin.
There's quite a split in the literature between the Classics and that which is more geared directly towards the Internal Chinese Martial Arts, ( Tai Chi Chuan, Zing Yi Quan & Baqua Zhang) though both are inextricably linked through the Core Qi Gong Microcosmic Orbit Energy Circulation Meditation Method and Practice.
Certainly given you've read the Tao Te Ching, ( The Way and it's Power) you'll probably get a similar connection from Zun Tzu - The Art of War. ( Thomas Cleary Translation is one of the most straight forward initially.)
After this with regards to the more general Taoist Classics I would look to possibly the Classic Shambala Translations by Thomas Cleary & Eva Wong initially.
If considering any of the Internal Martial Arts as a way to Healing and experimentally understanding the Tao Te Ching then anything by Stuart Alve Olson, Bruce Kumar Frantzis Yang Zwing Ming or Damo Mitchell would be a reasonable place to start.
Sorry if this seams a little vague, however there really is such a huge volume of work under Taoism that it makes it difficult to know where best to advise that one starts.
Please revert back to me if you are looking for any specific advice on a particular Author or Translation from within this Subject area and I'll certainly respond if I have any possible insight that may prove helpfull.
With regards to Mary Reynolds Thompson's work on, "Reclaiming the Wild Soul" or either of David Abram's Books I dont believe you'll go far wrong with any of these.
As mentioned please revert back if necessary and will be happy to advise if I can.
I totally agree with your premise here about the problem, but I admit to feeling a little ick when this conversation from here acts as if we all have one singular purpose that we but have to find in order to have a meaningful life. I think it works that way for some of us, but I think it's possible that we have multiple purposes in life based on what season we're in and this idea that we have to find that ONE THING keeps many of us chasing dead ends. I really enjoy a lot of Plotkin's work, but admittedly feel like he gets stuck in this trap too.
Regardless, I loved this intro and am excited for what's to come.
And thank you for the introduction to "shouldlandia!" I've taken to calling it "the shoulds," but I "shouldlandia" is better because it implies a place where we get stuck living.
I'm so glad you brought this up, Sara! I 100% agree, many get hung up on it, and I repeatedly fall back into traps. Waiting to uncover my one big purpose in life, missing parts of the puzzle along the way. Thanks for the reminder, I'm working on the follow-up pieces right now and hope to reflect this notion accurately.
Beautifully written - I deeply resonate with your story. Likewise found myself in an overachiever career path out of "shoulds" and more deeply, a need to prove "I am enough."
From day one, I questioned "Is this it?" Every day onward would be some form of that question. Every day my soul hurt. A few months in, it'd boil into me asking myself "What the fuck am I doing with my life?"
But when you question your purpose, you create space for life to unfold the answer :)
Just recently subscribed to the journey, and what a first letter to receive! I'm a fan and excited to be on the journey with ya!
Thank you for sharing your story and writing a post that keeps me engaged and wanting to read what happens next. Like many others, I can relate to what it feels like to not have a purpose. As a serial entrepreneur I consider myself to be one of those “lucky few” who has been fortunate to get paid to do what I love. Yet when what I “love” starts to shift I have found myself falling into the unfulfillment trap - repeating patterns and following goals that no longer feed my soul and feeling lost because I don’t know what’s next. Looking forward to seeing how your journey unfolds.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tom. Constant course correction is a huge component of soulcraft (and the ego doesn't love it), I'll write more about this specifically in the coming pieces!
Psychedelics have certainly been a guiding force for me personally, but most people have no experience with psychedelics and have no idea where to begin.
I have been pondering thoughts provoked by this article since the day you released it, Julia. I've read it at least 3 times as well as the other two parts.
I have worked in the corporate world and I was going to be promoted to a technical director role at the age of 24 but I felt that that wasn't what I was looking for. I was an insecure overachiever. However, something inside of me signaled that I wasn't going to be happy.
So I took off to another country to pursue a Masters degree, on a scholarship, beside the one I already had merely to have more time to think about my options.
Soon enough, I dropped and went on to start my own startup.
When my startup failed, I took some odd jobs and was looking for my vocation and that was were I realized that I did't want to work for big companies because that meant that my achievements and contributions weren't going to be easily noticed. So I decided to instead work for SMBs preferably teams under 20 employees. Yes, I was still an insecure overachiever.
At the age of 32 and after totaling some 15 different jobs, I finally reached the status of COO in a Germany company. And boom, that wasn’t what I was looking for either. This realization made my life long depression coupled with anxiety even worse and as a result I was hospitalized.
“The price you pay for residence in Shoudlandia is that it crushes your soul”, that is so true. Oh man, that is so true.
Thank you so much for this thought provoking guide to unravel the inner side of our being.
Thank you for sharing your story so vulnerably! It resonates a lot with me. After getting my MBA I returned to my consulting job and had achieved all that I ever dreamed of - but I was more miserable than ever. If you're in achieving mode, it's easy to tell yourself that once you have that which you're chasing, you will feel differently. When that doesn't materialize (and it never does), it's truly soul crushing. I felt so hopeless and confused. The Buddhist philosophy of attachment has helped me in making sense. So glad to hear my words have resonated with you. Thank you for being here 🙏
Thank you for your reply, Julia. Can you recommend a book about Buddhist philosophy of attachment? And if you even decide to write a book, I'll be the first to pre-order it :)
I wish I did, but I learned about it first hand from a monk while staying in a monastery in Nepal 😊 I will have to write about it one day! I haven't read much about attachment specifically, but "Why Buddhism Is True" is a great book on Buddhism more broadly.
Quote: your ego is “a good servant but a bad master”, in the words of Alan Watts. The ego cannot guide you into purpose. That’s a job only soul can do. Soul sets the vision, ego executes it.
This reminds me of a podcast by Brianna Wiest titled "Let the Heart tell you What, and the Mind tell you how. I need to re-listen to that podcast. And as always, thanks Jules for a great article!
Thanks, Dee! Love Brianna's work and will definitely check out her podcast.
Beautiful, articulate words Jula and I can't wait to see where you take this.
I have spent the best part of 25 years since graduating with a BSc and MSc in Subjects I didn't really care for, or feel emotionally drawn to, because it seamed like the safe option at the time and I knew it would provide a fallback means to make a living.
In the intervening time Psycedelics, Taoist Practice and laterally Shamanism has aided and supported me to stay truer to my correct path and my Souls ideally intended destination.
Your writing always brings elements of David Abram or Mary Reynolds Thompson to memory in the way that you reveal the subtle dependence of the human condition, and propose wise counselling in a means to becoming g whole again.
Mark. 🙏🔥
Thank you so much for the kind words, Mark! I haven't heard of either but the works of both of them look intriguing, I will definitely have to take a look 😊
Are there any resources on Taoism that you recommend? I read the Tao Te Ching which very much resonated but would love to dive deeper into Taoist philosophy.
Hey Julia.
I think one of the main problems with Taoism is that it's such a massive Subject Area that it's quite difficult to give constructive advice on where to begin.
There's quite a split in the literature between the Classics and that which is more geared directly towards the Internal Chinese Martial Arts, ( Tai Chi Chuan, Zing Yi Quan & Baqua Zhang) though both are inextricably linked through the Core Qi Gong Microcosmic Orbit Energy Circulation Meditation Method and Practice.
Certainly given you've read the Tao Te Ching, ( The Way and it's Power) you'll probably get a similar connection from Zun Tzu - The Art of War. ( Thomas Cleary Translation is one of the most straight forward initially.)
After this with regards to the more general Taoist Classics I would look to possibly the Classic Shambala Translations by Thomas Cleary & Eva Wong initially.
If considering any of the Internal Martial Arts as a way to Healing and experimentally understanding the Tao Te Ching then anything by Stuart Alve Olson, Bruce Kumar Frantzis Yang Zwing Ming or Damo Mitchell would be a reasonable place to start.
Sorry if this seams a little vague, however there really is such a huge volume of work under Taoism that it makes it difficult to know where best to advise that one starts.
Please revert back to me if you are looking for any specific advice on a particular Author or Translation from within this Subject area and I'll certainly respond if I have any possible insight that may prove helpfull.
With regards to Mary Reynolds Thompson's work on, "Reclaiming the Wild Soul" or either of David Abram's Books I dont believe you'll go far wrong with any of these.
As mentioned please revert back if necessary and will be happy to advise if I can.
Keep up the great writing.
Mark
That‘s super helpful, thanks so much, Mark!
Outstanding,I can’t wait for the next episode!
Thank you, Christin! 🙏
This is the first piece of your writing I have read and I'm loving it! Looking forward to part 2 😃
Thank you, Brady! 🥰
I totally agree with your premise here about the problem, but I admit to feeling a little ick when this conversation from here acts as if we all have one singular purpose that we but have to find in order to have a meaningful life. I think it works that way for some of us, but I think it's possible that we have multiple purposes in life based on what season we're in and this idea that we have to find that ONE THING keeps many of us chasing dead ends. I really enjoy a lot of Plotkin's work, but admittedly feel like he gets stuck in this trap too.
Regardless, I loved this intro and am excited for what's to come.
And thank you for the introduction to "shouldlandia!" I've taken to calling it "the shoulds," but I "shouldlandia" is better because it implies a place where we get stuck living.
I'm so glad you brought this up, Sara! I 100% agree, many get hung up on it, and I repeatedly fall back into traps. Waiting to uncover my one big purpose in life, missing parts of the puzzle along the way. Thanks for the reminder, I'm working on the follow-up pieces right now and hope to reflect this notion accurately.
Extra excited now!
Beautifully written - I deeply resonate with your story. Likewise found myself in an overachiever career path out of "shoulds" and more deeply, a need to prove "I am enough."
From day one, I questioned "Is this it?" Every day onward would be some form of that question. Every day my soul hurt. A few months in, it'd boil into me asking myself "What the fuck am I doing with my life?"
But when you question your purpose, you create space for life to unfold the answer :)
Just recently subscribed to the journey, and what a first letter to receive! I'm a fan and excited to be on the journey with ya!
Thank you, Dennis! "Living the questions", is that referring to Rilke? I'm writing about this notion in the follow-up piece right now 😊
Yes! Rilke has my heart. Can't wait to read the piece :)
Thank you for sharing your story and writing a post that keeps me engaged and wanting to read what happens next. Like many others, I can relate to what it feels like to not have a purpose. As a serial entrepreneur I consider myself to be one of those “lucky few” who has been fortunate to get paid to do what I love. Yet when what I “love” starts to shift I have found myself falling into the unfulfillment trap - repeating patterns and following goals that no longer feed my soul and feeling lost because I don’t know what’s next. Looking forward to seeing how your journey unfolds.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tom. Constant course correction is a huge component of soulcraft (and the ego doesn't love it), I'll write more about this specifically in the coming pieces!
Looking forward to the continuation of this!
Psychedelics have certainly been a guiding force for me personally, but most people have no experience with psychedelics and have no idea where to begin.
Thank you, Kade! Agree - that's part of why I started The Journey, I'm on a mission to change that 🙏