🖕🏻Flipping off ‘1D Humanism’

Before we begin: After publishing Reintroducing, Ava last Friday, I spent the following morning refining my vision of Ava and hooooooly has she changed. Her physical traits evolved, personality developed, and I found some new clues to the world she comes from—which is not our own.

As for today’s Whimsie…

Growing up, I cared about three things:

1. Hockey (playing, practicing, and watching)

2. Reading (I grew up with my nose buried in sci-fi and fantasy novels)

3. Video games (if I wasn’t on the ice, shooting pucks in the driveway, or reading, I was gaming—usually Call of Duty or the latest NHL game)

(Eventually I swapped reading for girls, as one does.)

As I aged into young adulthood, I stopped playing hockey, reading, and gaming. Even my interest in girls faded for a time—skill development, making money, and tending to the pressing business of staying alive took priority.

I convinced myself there was no time for play, nor seeking awe-njoyment.

As I wandered down the path of figuring out how to make my own money, I inadvertently cast aside many of the things that made me me. Soon enough, my identity was 100% that of being a bodybuilder and fitness coach.

Yippy-skippy.

I would spend years in this one dimensional existence before a career shift to copywriting, while simultaneously burning out on the meathead life—which forced me to seek deeper self-understanding and new dimensions of myself.

I didn’t want to be a 1D Human anymore.

I wanted to be interesting, dammnit—a desire fuelled by learning early in my writing/blogging days that if you want to have stories to tell and experiences to share, you absolutely 100% need must get out into the world and do stuff.

So I started doing new stuff alongside my gym sessions and copywriting work:

I picked up yoga, boxing, breathwork, and meditation…

I spent time living in the Dominican Republic, Greece, Thailand, ‘Murica, Holland, Italy, and Costa Rica while travelling through Mexico, England, Norway, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and Japan…

I took a stab at learning how to draw, began experimenting with creative writing, dove into playing competitive chess, and started a specialty coffee company—Thirteen Beans. I furthered coloured in the lines of my line with the interests and hobbies shared in play and awe-njoyment…

All done in service of amassing a unique collection of interesting experiences from which I could grow at least one neat story from.

Which is why last December, sheltered from England’s winter bite inside an uncharacteristically cavernous pub, I couldn’t contain the smile that spread across my face when Brett (hi Brett!) shared over the top of his pint:

“You lead such an interesting life, Alex.”

(I’d just finished sharing the details from my chaotic prior 48hrs: Which included flying from Canada to England, getting my hair cut in a stranger’s kitchen, dropping acid and raving solo in Brighton, then making my sleepless way to London for a pub meet with copywriting students.)

In that moment, I realized that leading an interesting life wasn’t merely a goal I wanted to achieve, but one of my greatest desires. And finally… One which I seemed to have fulfilled at last—at least according to an impartial third-party.

“Alexander, what’s the point of all this “interesting life” jibber-jabber?”

Well, I believe for anyone who fancies themself a storyteller or a creative in any shape or form, leading an interesting life is essential to your success.

Your unique life experience will bring forth ideas, broaden your perspective, unlock hidden insight and wisdom, add colour and tonality, uncover teeny-tiny details, and provide the clay for you to mould into great art.

Which you miss out on if you don’t get out into the world and live.

Of course, everyone’s definition of an interesting life and being a multi-dimensional human is different—and that’s exactly the point.

None of us are the same, nor have the same life experience. We all come from different places, seek different things, and have different interests… And I think you should sink your teeth into those “pieces of you”, as much as possible 🙂 

So tell me if you please—what does your interesting life look like? What enthralls and excites and inspires you?

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander Mullan