When I was in my late 20s, I realized that I didn't want anyone else's life.

Parts of them sure, but the entirety no.

It's a weird switch from when we were young, and we have Magic Johnson, Kenny Griffey Jr., and Michael Jordan hanging on our walls when we met "adults," who we thought cracked the code on life.

I sat in my office and lamented that I used to fantasize about trading places with these people, which is now gone. It is only a cloud of smoke.

It felt like I lifted a 24kg kettlebell off my stomach, but at the same time, it made me sad. I called one of my friends and asked Nik, "Is there anyone whose life you want"? He said, "I don't want my boss's life or his boss's life." "You are right, no one's."

Sitting there feeling bittersweet made me recalibrate my scoreboards in life.

I'm not sure what brought the wave of emotion or the idea. It felt similar to when you realize there is no ultimate "winning in life" and no final level where we capture the prize and live happily ever after.

When we realize there is no finish line, we drop back into the present. We stop grading ourselves so damn hard.

We get to keep trying and playing. We get to run experiments and see what happens. There are no wizards, just the human experience of seeing what happens next. The best we get to be is the best us in the next moment.

The world's weight falls off our shoulders because we stop trying to be the next, anything other than the next us. It's gifts all the way down.