by Donnie Darko

This post was written on November 17, 2015

The year started off well. I had a new girlfriend and a new job. I had committed myself to a stable existence – supported by the idea of a long term relationship a stable career. The future seemed set. There was one problem – things were too comfortable.

Fast forward to the end of the year and I am single again and starting a new job in a field I am unsure about. Life has a funny way of reminding me never to get too comfortable.

Perhaps I am fortunate. Most women would plod along in a relationship into marriage and the comfort and boredom may have become stifling for me. Perhaps my would-be wife would become bored and drop me, leaving me in a financial sinkhole. It is hard to say what could have happened.

The job I had a year ago had become more of the same. What is that cliché definition of insanity? I may have taken a big risk, but the fear of the unknown is better than the assumption that forever will remain the same.

What is odd is that I took action to do something about my career, to prevent me from putting my life into the hands of things I can’t control. I tried to take back my career and make decisions for myself. Instead of just staying put and hoping for the best. I did not do this in the relationship. Once things got past the dating phase I moved into a comfort phase that assumed everything would keep going down a straight line. This girl that made the decision to end the relationship, while I don’t agree with her logic, I agree it was probably for the best. This reminded me that I can’t take anything for granted. The only one that is going to look after yourself is you, so be prepared for any change and make sure life is constantly moving to be more resilient when life pushes the “surprise” button.