Aversion

My 10-year-old kid cannot stand being bored, but has not yet really mastered the art of scratching the itch. We’re working on it.

She’ll say, “I’m bored.”

“Find something to do.”

“There isn’t anything.”

“Draw. Make something. Go run laps around the back yard.”

“I don’t want to do any of those things.”

“I can’t help you then.”

I get it. I do. I can’t stand being bored either, but there are a million things to do, and I always find one. I mean, I know I’ll never get to retire, but if I do, I’m not one of those who’s going to miss going to work.

My default state is one of reading. I read incessantly. I read news, blogs, books, reviews. I soak up the internet like it’s my stream of consciousness. I know random shit about random shit because I read so much.

All day, every day. If I’m not writing, which is what I do for a living, I’m reading. At home, I read some more. I would say, 60-70 percent of my waking time is spent reading. Most of my “disposable” income is spent on reading. Kindle books, mostly, but I have a subscription to Medium, because the part of me that is invested in self-loathing likes to read all those self-help, motivational stories Medium is so good at. The ones where they tell you how to be more creative, boost your productivity, and look good in your selfies.

I know people are getting paid by Medium. I haven’t really looked into how deeply enough. Probably should, given what I read today.

There was this article about how you need to stop being bored at work, to risk stability and find your next job. It was this story about a comedian who was so afraid of the 9-to-5, he turned to stand-up before killing himself.

That was it. That was the whole post. TAKE THE RISK.

And sure, I get it. Being risk averse is professionally … awful. Trust me. But what the shit, dude. There was nothing constructive in the article. Dude got paid to write it. It’s, I dunno, 300 words long and offered no actionable information. Just … take risks or kill yourself?

I think the thing that bothers me, apart from the fact that it was basically a total waste of time to read, is that this is what’s going for quality content on the internet. That the headline was a bait-and-switch, peddling hope and offering the PT Barnum exit.

I try to read better than that. You are what you eat, after all. And technically, I paid for that, I think (trying to remember if it was part of the members section of the email …).

A good friend of mine tried to convince me to make a go of making money blogging. Just last week, as a matter of fact. I’m not sure I could do any better than the guy who writes clickbait headlines for cash, and that bothers me. I’d want there to be some, you know, substance to my bullshit.

As it stands, I’m only very proficient in writing rants … like this one, which is maybe all bullshit and no substance.

But my point is … I’m annoyed a brother’s getting paid to say nothing. Maybe I would’ve thought of it first were I not so risk averse.

#suckless