One of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone is called “A Nice Place to Visit”. It involves a thief who is fatally shot and finds himself in a place where he gets anything and everything he wants. He doesn’t encounter any resistance at all and he doesn’t even have to try to get his way. Figuring he must be in Heaven, he initially loves this place and enjoys everything it has to offer. After about a month, however, he grows weary of knowing that things will always work out in his favor and misses the rush that comes with uncertainty. He tells his guide that he doesn’t belong there and would rather be in Hell. In response, his guide replies that this is Hell and then laughs at him as he realizes his fate and tries desperately to leave.
This episode wonderfully illustrates an important point: getting everything you want without having to exert any effort would soon become boring and unfulfilling. I get a great feeling of accomplishment when I learn something new as well as whenever I reach a new milestone along the way. That feeling inspires me to keep going until I reach my goal, even if the journey is long and difficult. When I get where I want to be, I can look back on how far I’ve come and take satisfaction in what I’ve accomplished. However, if everything came naturally to me and I didn’t have to practice or fail along the way, I’d quickly grow bored and long for something challenging to do.
I recently started thinking about this episode because my life is way easier now than it’s been in a long time. A lot of the stress and challenges I once had are gone and it feels like I’m on an extended vacation, even on days that I go in to work. This started as a nice break from my previous job and schedule, but now it feels like things are too easy for me and that I’m starting to get soft. This may be why I had a lot of low-level anxiety last week and felt stressed even in calm situations; without sufficient challenges, I’m finding it harder to adjust to difficult or unexpected events and avoid taking things personally or make assumptions.
It helps that I’m still working on learning or getting better at several skills, including unicycling, dancing, and Spanish. That keeps some familiar challenges in my life and lets me see the progress that comes from regularly practicing them. Additionally, I try to keep in mind that this season in my life may be here so that I can rest. Maybe it’s here so that I can shake off the previous season and prepare for the next one. Sometimes I have to slow down and this may be one of those times. And now that I have more time and less overall stress, I can work on some of my bigger life goals in ways that I couldn’t before. So moving forward, I’m going to focus on enjoying this calmer season while still taking care of myself and working on the things that are important to me. I think that’s a good balance and the best way to handle this time in my life, which could turn out to be a stepping stone to something amazing.