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When you came into this world this game was already established.

All of the rules were set in place. A path was laid out before you, and as you grew, you slowly became indoctrinated into that world, into that game.

It was a game not designed by you, but you played it anyway. You played it because it was what everyone else did.

Then at some point along the way you started to realize that something was wrong, kind of like Neo in the Matrix, you sensed that something was seriously flawed with this game.

Not only did you not have much of a say in the way you were living, you also began to sense that you were seeking success that didn’t exist. It was an endless chase.

A carrot on a stick always one step ahead of you.

Always another job. Another house. Another promotion.

It eluded you. Endlessly.

Then you woke up

You started to realize that you didn’t have to live this way. And you began to test your assumptions about what was possible, and what wasn’t. You found that many of the rules in the game were breakable without any negative consequences. They weren’t rules at all really, more like agreements.

You noticed that when other people “leveled up” in the game not much of anything changed. They thought they were growing, but it was more like fake growth than anything. The things in their life were more like fake plastic trees than living things.

Every event completed to collect trophies, each won in an attempt to complete a master checklist in the game.

However… the checklist is never complete

When you’re playing someone else’s game, there is always a sense of incompletion. You can always do it better, faster. There is always a way for you to compare your success with the success of others.

It’s a slippery slope down that rabbit hole.

Here’s the deal… it’s easy for me to talk about creating a life on your own terms. It’s easy for a bunch of people to create a big song and dance about opt-ing out of a template, creating your own path, blah blah blah.

And the sad reality is a lot of people replace the game of conformity with a game of non-conformity. Nothing’s really changed, has it?

If you really want to create a life of freedom, there is no formula. Sorry.

The truth about systems

The truth about systems is that you were not born to follow one.

You can’t follow a system for not following systems. You feel me?

Anyone that tells you they’ve created a system for your happiness is probably full of it. It’s the honest truth.

However, I didn’t write this to just make you depressed. I can give you a small but potent bit of advice: surrender.

No, not surrender in a passive, fatalistic way. Surrender in a powerful, really submitting to your path way.

• What was it you were born to do?
• What do you feel excited about, in this moment?

Listen. Then surrender to that. Have the courage to see where it leads you.

Living on your own terms is hard. It’s a lot easier to have someone else tell you what to do. But you weren’t born to play someone else’s game, now were you?

(Photo credit: Stairway to the Sky via Shutterstock)

Jonathan Mead helps people quit their jobs, and get paid to be who they are. He's the founder of Trailblazer, the number one training on quitting your job to follow your passion.