What did you dream of when you were 6?

69% of adult workers in the UK claim they’re not following their dream career path.

Think about it for a second – 7 out of 10 people are sufficiently bugged by their choices that they admit to “not following their dream”.

But why is it that we’re so constantly discontented? I don’t remember my grandfather complaining about “work life balance” or how his “job is killing his passion”.

Really, I think we’ve watched too much Oprah, and seen too many life coaches. We are being programmed to be constantly unhappy.

Our brains are designed to contrast, compare and compete. I guess it’s a natural part of our evolution – and probably the reason that we’ve made such amazing progress.

But in our modern, over-connected, information-overloaded world, that natural trait can become a liability.

The X-Factor syndrome

Trying to keep up with our peers isn’t new. Anyone who grew up in middle class suburbia will have tales of mums and fancy cars and bake sales and PTAs and all other kinds of silly competition.

But with social media currently permeating the very fibre of our society like a rampant, malicious bacterium, we are constantly reminded of the paths we never followed.

 

“Look there is Sally, on holiday with her happy family, and here I am, checking Facebook at 10.30pm with dark circles under my eyes and a lonely ready meal for one in the microwave.”

“Ah – there’s Clare – she’s like the HEAD of a global product line now. Wow. She’s flying all over the world clocking up one business deal after another. So glamorous. And here I am tweeting about dirty nappies and sleepless nights.”

At the same time we’re bombarded with images of crying teenagers on talent shows lamenting that “this is their one and only chance” and that they “never want to work in Tesco again”.

This scares me.

Never “grow up”

Ok, I kind of stole that line from Ray Bradbury. I hope he doesn’t mind.

Frustration and unhappiness are born when we focus too much on some vaguely defined ideal of perfection. Why is it that you don’t feel that this is your perfect life or dream job? Why not change it if it bugs you so much? And what’s stopping you from enjoying the ride, regardless?

 

I sit on trains and I see how people chain themselves to every tiny detail of their existence, all of the time – checking mails, sending messages, frowning as they browse through news feeds  and struggle just to keep up with the constant conversation in their heads.

I swear, if Osama bin Laden appeared on the London Underground one morning, serving pina coladas and wearing nothing but a red bikini, roller skates and a smile, most commuters would miss the spectacle because they’re frowning so intently at their boss’s email or checking Sally’s holiday pics on Facebook.

I too am guilty of this affliction, but I’m trying to teach myself to do nothing, more often. To unplug, switch off, look up and listen.

Kids do this instinctively – they simply take inspiration from whatever is around them, and they are unselfconsciously fascinated by it. Ok, and sometimes they have tantrums and cry for no reason. So I guess they’re not perfect either.

Welcome

I hope that you’ll enjoy exploring my photos and writing here.

You may find some of it entertaining, and some of it a bit absurd. I hope that you’ll tell me either way. More importantly I wish that together we can gawk at the world and admire it – for the simple pleasure of being alive and able to see and hear and talk and criticise.

A bit about me

I often overanalyse things.

I like making speeches, and I happily remember my time lecturing Economics in South Africa.

My grandmother taught me the two most important things in life: How to appreciate a glass of wine and not to care too much about material possessions (one unfortunate by-product is a shopping phobia that’s left my wardrobe seriously dated. I am a sad excuse for a gay man).

She also passed on a tendency to be unexpectedly emotional, and I fear that like her I may one day suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

When I dance I look like a stick insect on acid.

I love spending time in Berlin.

When I was 6, I wanted to be a pilot. My pride and joy was my serial collection of Airplane magazines and the little model planes suspended from every square inch of my bedroom’s ceiling. Given how my mind works now, I think the world is a much better (and safer) place for my lack of following that particular ambition.

My grandfather worked all his life and then lost everything when his company went bust, which meant he retired with nothing. This has made me eternally sceptical of capitalism – although as yet I’ve been unable to come up with a better solution.

I always fall asleep on trains.

Over to you

Enough from me. Before you browse away, I’d like to know a little bit more about you. What brought you here? What do you dream about? And what would you like to see more of on this site?

So please drop me a comment below to introduce yourself.