20 Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Dodo, Too
Yes – YOU can become a Dodo!
It’s time to start evolving into the person you want to be, living the life you’ve longed for all these years, instead of letting your happiness go extinct under the stress and drudgery of your everyday existence.
You don’t need to grow feathers to become a Dodo, but it helps…
1. Because some days you feel like you’re 100 years old
Sometimes you feel so drained and exhausted with the effort of it all, life seems like a dry, empty husk. What’s the point of even bothering to try?
2. Because you’ve wasted the best part of your life doing the wrong things
Maybe you’re trapped under a pile of regrets for all the things you didn’t do, the jobs you decided not to apply for, the places you didn’t go to and the offers you didn’t accept. You know deep down that lots of good things happened in your life, too, and there were plenty of times you made wise decisions and achieved worthwhile results. Yet somehow all you remember are the times you didn’t go for what you wanted, stand up for what you believed was right or say what was really bothering you.
3. Because you know you can’t turn the clock back
You may have made stupid mistakes in the past, but you don’t need to make a lifetime habit of it unless you choose to. You can never get that time back, or take up the opportunities you missed all those years ago, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create some more chances to do what you want in the future.
4. Because sometimes you feel so alone
Ever felt like you’re a spectator, instead of taking the main role in your life? That things are happening to you instead of making choices and feeling that you’re in charge of what happens?
You’re putting up with the way things are because it’s not unbearable and it’s easier than making changes. Hey, it’s not great, but who said life has to be one long thrill?
So you’re drifting at random through life, taking the line of least resistance. That sensation of detachment is part of an overall feeling of isolation which is your brain’s way of saying things are wrong.
5. Because you look around at the world, shake your head and think, ‘Is it me?’
Modern life can be bewildering. You’re starting to wonder if you’ve been dropped on a planet of humanoid aliens, or if this is all some kind of elaborate trick.
Television programmes are less entertaining than the adverts, comedy is nothing to laugh about and music is annoying and tuneless. Fashionable clothes manage to be simultaneously uncomfortable and unattractive, while food is so bland it’s hardly worth eating.
And it all costs ridiculous amounts – a family trip to the cinema and a takeaway dinner comes to more than your grandfather paid for his first house.
6. Because you can see how things have changed, and frankly you preferred them the way they were before
So many wonderful new improvements aren’t actually benefiting anyone except the people who are getting wads of cash by selling them. Changes in the law, fabulous inventions and exciting innovations in technology often aren’t really making life better for anyone.
People seem more strident and aggressive, kids are rude and disobedient and all the old social rules have been thrown out of the window. You just don’t know where you are any more – but you know you don’t fit in here.
7. Because you feel a deep dissatisfaction with the way things are going in your life
You can’t put your finger on the real problem, but you’ve got a sneaking suspicion it might be… well… you. And you’re sure that if you could just manage to change yourself somehow, you could get things back on track.
8. Because you’re not ready for a rocking chair just yet
You’re not old. Sure, you might have noticed a few wrinkles, but you don’t feel completely ancient and decrepit, except occasionally on Monday mornings. You’ve still got a massive chunk of your life ahead, and you know it’s too soon to quit on all your hopes and dreams.
9. Because you don’t see why an old Dodo can’t learn new tricks if it really wants to
You know there’s no reason why you can’t make some changes. You know you’re still able to pick up new skills, get fit again, try new things and blow a fresh, cool wind through your stale, tedious life.
10. Because your life isn’t great… but you wish it was
You don’t want to live the rest of your life squatting like a toad in a stagnant pool of boredom, never truly achieving your potential, saying, “I could have been…”
11. Because you deserve some fun and excitement – or maybe you don’t deserve it, but you want it anyway
You’ve almost got out of the habit of having fun. It’s been months – or years – since you had any new, exciting experiences. You can’t remember the last time you took a risk, met a new friend, tried a food you hadn’t eaten before or visited a place you’d never been. And you know you have to get out of this rut before you forget what it’s like to enjoy yourself.
12. Because you don’t know exactly what you want yet, but you know it isn’t this
You know it’s going to take a bit of time and thought to work this out. You’re unsure what you really want and how you you’re going to get it, but so what? You’ve reached the point where almost any change would be an improvement, so you can’t really get it wrong. Right now you need some cool ideas for stuff you’d like to do and some inspiration to get started.
13. Because you’ve got problems, but you can fix most of them if you try
You know if you tackle your problems one by one it’ll be more manageable, although you’re not quite certain where to start. There might be a few things you won’t be able to put right, but if everything else was good, they’d seem less important.
14. Because this time you’re determined not to give up trying for one minute longer
You’ve pulled yourself up for one final try, and this time you know it’s going to work, because you won’t stop until your life is sorted out. It’s not now or never – it’s NOW.
15. Because you’re ready to make the right changes
You know some of the changes you’ll have to make will be difficult and possibly painful, but they’ll be worth it. Your life will be so much better, and the effort will be easier with time. You can do this.
16. Because you could do with some help and support
You’re not sure you can achieve this alone, and you want some advice and the occasional pep-talk from someone who knows what it’s like. You’re looking for great ideas for things to try or techniques to use to help you to make those life changes.
17. Because you want to be strong, decisive and confident, but sometimes you feel like a lump of lard
We all have those days when it all seems like too much effort. You know when one of those moods strikes, you’ll be in danger of quitting, if you don’t have a way of inspiring yourself to get over it and keep going.
18. Because you’ve still got so much more you could achieve
You’ve got plenty of time to do some cool stuff.
My mother went up in a hot air balloon to celebrate her 78th birthday. Yuichiro Miura climbed Everest at the age of 80. Raymond Chandler’s first book, The Big Sleep, wasn’t published until he was 51. Richard Adams (Watership Down) was 52. Edythe Kirchmaier from California passed her driving test at 105. Gene Hackman didn’t even start acting until he was 30; Steven Segal was 35. Allan Stewart from Australia took a degree at the age of 91… and another one at 97!
It’s still not too late to try water-skiing, lose 100 lbs, kick your hoarding habit or learn to play the piano, so don’t assume you’ve missed the boat.
19. Because you want to develop the real you – the happier you
You understand it won’t all happen in a day, but you’re ready to start evolving your inner Dodo into the happy person you’ve wanted to be for so long.
20. Because you want a better life
If you really choose to revitalise your life, you know it can be done. Success and happiness are out there, waiting for you to grab them. This is the moment – and you’re going to seize it with both hands – TODAY!
The Emily the Dodo blog has ideas to inspire you to make those changes, quizzes to help you decide what you want and planners so you can figure out how you’re going to get it, along with life hacks to make it easier. Come and join me on the journey to a happy life. Start here: Purpose Quiz