Wall Street Journal Bestseller
Much of the advice we’ve been told about achievement is logical, earnest…and downright wrong. In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker reveals the extraordinary science behind what actually determines success and most importantly, how anyone can achieve it.
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You can reach a point in life where you think, “I am never going to achieve what I thought I would.”
Yeah, dark, but far from uncommon.
You’re not where you expected to be. There’s a sense of needing to make up for lost time — but it seems there’s less time than ever. Life has gone from feeling like an epic unfurling adventure to a sterile bureaucratic treadmill. Endless deadening responsibilities, but there’s no longer a narrative guiding it all toward victory and fulfillment. The numbing predictability gives birth to a corrosive sense of boredom.
You want to send it back to the kitchen: Please tell the chef this is not the life I ordered.
Or maybe you did get what you wanted – but it’s just not all you thought it would be. And so you ask yourself the question:
“Is this all there is?”
(For the record, I don’t recommend putting that phrase on an inspirational fridge magnet.)
Are these feelings a midlife crisis? Well, when you feel the need to ask that question, it kinda answers itself. It’s like a spiritual awakening — but in reverse.
Maybe you’re not even in midlife. Doesn’t matter. The feelings are the same. It seems like it’s too late to turn the ship around. The accumulated decisions and compromises have locked you in. Your life seems like something that happened to you. “How did I get here?” You feel trapped.
YEEEEEEEESH, that’s depressing.
Okay, some of you may be thinking: “Eric, are you feeling okay? Good God, I’m not having a crisis but your description might give me one.”
Sorry for the “Scared Straight” presentation. (And I’m doing just fine, thanks.) But we have an issue here that everybody knows about but nobody gives you an answer to. Plenty of discussion about youth. Many references to the “Golden Years.” But then there’s that BIG area in the middle where many of us are. Not much guidance. Figure it out. Best of luck.
Adulting is hard. We all get tired and start to question life. We all wonder if we’re really doing it right. And if we’re not careful, it can reach crisis proportions where you find yourself motorcycle shopping. Maybe you’re in the midst of it, maybe you’re on your way out of it, or maybe you can see it on the horizon, but we could all use help doing some existential troubleshooting in the muddy middle of life.
Yeah, time to roll up our sleeves. We’re gonna get some solid insight from a few books on the subject: Middle Age, Life Reimagined, and Midlife.
Okay, adults. Time to start adulting. Let’s get to it…
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT WHAT ERIC BARKER WROTE, CLICK HERE...
