Normal

At this stage of life, a guy like me is supposed to "be in charge of things".  I should be a VP, a partner in the firm, the owner, the part owner, the manager, the supervisor, the senior clinician or whatever other title you can think of.

I'm 36 years old, married and have 2 little kids.  For some reason, there is a societal pressure for guys in my stage of life to move forward/move upward/advance themselves.  Why?

I know why.  That is what we're supposed to do.  It is normal.  Why is it normal?  Because everybody else does.  Your Dad did.  Your Grandpa did.  Your Great-Grandpa did.  Your friends are doing it.  It's just the way it's done.  Ambition and advancement is normal.

Do I want to be normal?  The "normal" American is thousands of dollars in debt.  The "normal" American is overweight.  The "normal" American is a nominal Christian, at best.  The "normal" American has little to no retirement savings.  The "normal" American isn't all that happy with their job.

Sometimes normal sucks.

On the flip side, do I want to stay exactly as I am, exactly where I am, doing exactly what I am doing?  Well, not really.  Change is fun...and interesting...and exciting.  Change can also be difficult and painful (everything worth having or doing is going to be difficult and painful at some level).

What I don't want is to follow a pre-estabilshed path because it is "what I am supposed to do".  As the old saying goes, "Would you jump off the Empire State Building if all your friends did it?".

I have a coffee mug by the Life Is Good people.  It says, "Do what you like.  Like what you do".  That has always seemed like pretty good advice.  I don't want to end up with a life where I wake up each morning and say to myself, "Why do I do this every day?  Get up and go to my crappy job.  Ughh."

Where am I going with this?  I am trying to avoid making a decision because it is what I am supposed to do.  Whichever path I choose, I will decide based on what I want to do.