Becoming What You’re Not

Inherent in much of the fabric of entertainment is the idea of escapism.

Whether conscious or not – games, movies, television, and even music bring out parts of ourselves that allow us temporary reprieve of our daily circumstances. They can also alter our brain chemistry and how we respond to situations in the moment.

Like, when you walk out of a superhero movie that moved you and suddenly you feel like more of a badass – though nothing’s actually changed.

A similar thing often happens on social media, albeit insidiously, as you scroll through your feed and find yourself envious of what others have or are doing that you aren’t.

At the end of the day – for many of us – our feelings simply come back to the idea that we’re not particularly content with who we are, what our lives are like, or what we’re doing.

And at the same time, it feels like it’s impossible to change – though you can pull up YouTube and watch miraculous transformations any time you want.

The trillion dollar question is why is it so hard, and what can we do about it?

Real Change

Part of why entertainment as escapism exists, is because it’s easy.

For most of us who find comfort in that concept – it’s relaxation and fun. It’s not truly a big deal or harmful.

But, it’s also temporary change. For a few hours, you bring out the Master Chief in you, or Batman, or a sports superstar, or whatever else you choose. As soon as you turn it off – the illusion stops until you start again.

It may sound silly to read (it feels a little silly to write) – but your brain chemistry changes while you do not.

That outcome, ironically, gives us the answer to why it’s so hard to achieve your dreams or live a different life.

Getting what you want out of life requires an actual change. A real, fundamental change in your person – your attitude and your actions.

The skinny-fat kid starts lifting weights and getting more active
The Wal-Mart employee starts learning Photoshop off-hours to do art
The musician goes back to school to get a degree in electrical engineering
The shy, small town kid starts speaking at meetups and small events

Each of these changes (all real people I’m not naming) required an actual shift from the person – routine, attitude, and action. Their daily lives physically weren’t the same as they used to be.

Much of the difficulty you and I have with this is that our self-perceptions are firmly established, and it potentially requires uprooting who you believe you are to change and improve yourself.

That’s hard.

It’s also necessary.

It’s also why there’s a million different routes to change and why there’s no “one size fits all” method.

For me, a prime motivator has always been people telling me I can’t. For another friend of mine, if he feels you’ve outdone him – he won’t stop working until he’s better than you. For others, it’s meditation, challenges, gamification, community, visualization, whatever.

The point to this is short, and simple.

To become what or who you want to be – it’s going to require real change. Before you get there, you will have to see it for yourself and you will have to believe it’s possible. It will probably start as a really small flame of belief.

The trick is never letting that flame die permanently. The good news is that it can be re-lit any time.

Resources For You

In the spirit of change, here’s a handful of resources I’ve been looking at recently. I’d encourage you to check them out and embrace their energy and information into where you want to improve yourself.

Music, Art, and Programming Courses – free to audit
Kadenze.com

Sound Design, FMOD, and Unity Videos
Scott Game Sounds

Sound Effects Challenges
Jesse Holt

Music Theory
LightNote

Learning Digital Signal Processing
Seeing Circles, Sines, and Signals
DSP Guide

The Most Awkwardly Information Programming Videos
The Coding Train

Creativity and Music
Andrew Huang

Business and Art
The Futur

Audio Programming Guides with Amazon Books
Will Pirkle

JUCE and additional Audio Programming
The Audio Programmer