Immortality Project
Is the carrot out of reach? After giving your heart and soul to an effort and results are not there, most responsible adults hang on. Try a little harder. Stick it out a little longer. The light at the end of the tunnel must be just around the corner. But there comes a time you cut your losses and move on.
It could be that there was no overarching vision. No mission that is bigger than you. Or, there was one but you have become disillusioned and you think you see through some veil of lies.
Or perhaps this indicates that you didn’t like the process. That you are only in it for that carrot at the end. And that your priorities are misplaced.
But to you, there is only an illusion of a carrot. And it’s always just out of reach. And at the end of the day, all you are left with is a big juicy nothing burger. Spent, filled, but unfulfilled. You feel duped.
**
I was a hang glider pilot for nearly 25 years. During one flight I got to 10,000 feet above the ground. My longest duration was a flight of over 7 hours. I felt like a real bad-ass. Why did I do it?
It was the exhilaration that initially drew me. But there was also the subtle desire for attention and admiration. Spectators were almost always present. And there I was, the guy “up there”. The guy that really knew what he was doing. The daredevil that was the envy of the groundlings. Each time I floated overhead or I swooped by, I would whoop it up and feel like I was getting another 15 minutes of fame.
But in participating there is a focused attention, a sense of really being fully present in the moment. Especially at times when the danger is closest, like take-off, landing, or flying very near cliff faces or trees. It is after moments like those that the rest of life comes into a different perspective.
You begin to think, “how will I be remembered?” What is my “immortality project”? For my 15 minutes of silly fame? This “illusion” that enabled me to feel heroic for if but a brief moment?
**
That brings me back to the carrot.
If you are a believer in the vision and mission, part of an “immortality project” that you have subscribed to, then the carrot is always within reach. It is the fulfillment and satisfaction of being part of something much greater than yourself. Some would call it building someone else’s dream. But it could be your own dream also.
But if there is no mission or you are not buying it, then carrot or not you will remain unfulfilled. Getting the carrot reward may keep you fulfilled for a while, pay your bills, and fill your bank account, even give you the opportunity to get good at doing silly things like hang gliding, but it will leave you empty. Like you just sucked down that big juicy nothing burger.
Cut your losses. Find your immortality project. Be part of something for which you will be remembered.
Go and do!
