For a long time, I thought the goal was happiness.

Big goals. Big dreams. Big plans to finally get there—wherever there was.

And if you’d asked me why I was chasing all those things, I’d have said something vague and noble-sounding: “Because I want to be happy.”

But here’s the truth I’ve come to learn…

I find happiness fleeting.

You can drink a glass of wine, scroll the right feed, take a bath, or hear your favourite song and—boom—you’re “happy.”

But was that it? Is that the reward we’ve built our lives around?

To me, happiness is more like a dopamine hit.

The Real Opposite of Happiness

The real opposite of happiness isn’t sadness.

It’s boredom.

Sadness can be deep. Human. Honest. It has texture. It means something mattered.

But boredom? Boredom is beige. It’s the slow suffocation of the soul. It’s scrolling through your life instead of living it.

It’s an uninspired “meh” on loop. (I lived here for many years)

But, if you’re anything like me, you don’t want just to feel okay—you want to feel alive.

From “Meh” to Movement

Even if you don’t know exactly what you want in life (most of us don’t), you probably do know what bores you.

That’s a start.

Boredom Is Kryptonite

If you find yourself stuck, stagnant, or indifferent, it’s rarely because you’re incapable.

It’s often because you’re pouring your energy into something beneath your creative abilities.

Pure hell forces action.

A divorce, a rock-bottom diagnosis, getting fired when you were already on the edge.

Waking up one morning and realising you’ve become someone you don’t recognise.

Pain like that doesn't let you stay still. It kicks the door down.

It forces your hand.

You move—because you have to.

But here’s the catch:

Most of life isn’t pure hell. It’s mild dissatisfaction.

It’s “fine.” It’s tolerable discomfort—just enough to stay stuck, but not enough to demand change.

And that’s the real danger.

Because “fine” is where dreams quietly die.

Not with a scream, but with a sigh.

Boredom won’t scream at you—it’ll whisper.

It'll say, “This is fine. Just settle. Keep going. It’s not that bad.”

But deep down, you know: it is that bad.

Because you were made for more than mild toleration.

You were made to light up. To follow sparks. To feel fire.

Three Tiny Tools That Help Me When I’m Stuck

1. Fear Setting

When I feel paralysed or uncertain, I do this:

I write down the worst-case scenario. In detail.

What could really go wrong? What would happen if you tried—and failed?

Then ask: what steps could you take to prevent that?
If the worst did happen, how would you recover?

And suddenly, the fear has shape. It shrinks.

I stop catastrophising and start moving towards it.

This is where the excitement begins.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

2. The Boredom Audit

This one’s simple:

Write down everything that bores you right now.

The meetings. The routines. The conversations. The content you consume. The work.

If it drains you, write it down.

Now look at that list—and start editing your life, start letting go and replacing it with the list above.

3. Quotes to Sit With

From moving across the world to attend university, to questioning whether or not to get married at 24, to signing up for an Ironman, to building No Ordinary Moments from scratch—some of the biggest, scariest, and most defining choices of my life have been guided by these two quotes.

The first, from Jerzy Gregorek:

“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”

And the second, from Tim Ferriss, which always stops me in my tracks:

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job?

The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn't conspire against you, but it doesn't go out of its way to line up the pins either.

Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.

Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it's important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way.”

These words have been my compass in uncertain moments.

If there’s something tugging at you, something meaningful, something real—lean in.

Make the hard choice.

Your future self is waiting on the other side.

Hope this helps. Have a great week ahead.

Kia Kaha & Love,
Chris