Failure Is Just Another Story

Lost In The Algorithms — Odyssey # 56

Mid-toast at a birthday party, a buddy leans in with that look — the kind that says he’s about to drop a life-altering bomb. “Dude, I’ve got the perfect girl for you,” he announces with a grin that could light up Vegas. “It’s time you settled down, got yourself a wife.” His words, tossed out as casually as the clinking of glasses and the swirl of laughter fills the room.

As much as I revel in my friends’ happiness, these events always stir up a bizarre cocktail of reflections. It’s not that I lack anything; rather, it’s how I perceive myself in the grand narrative of life.

My internal monologue often reads like it was penned by a playwright with a penchant for self-doubt and scant appreciation for the complexities of my storyline.

Now, flip the mirror towards you.

How often have you found yourself measuring your life against someone else’s highlight reel? Thinking whether you’re where you “should” be?

It’s a common script many of us unknowingly adopt.

Perhaps the answer isn’t as complicated as we think. Maybe it’s about adjusting the lens through which we view our existence.

Step one: ditch the societal timelines and the oppressive weight of other…