The Dog Who Catches the Car: The Cosmic Joke of Life
We have all seen this in life wherever we are. Driving down the street and we see a bunch of dogs chasing the cars down the road. We laugh. But then the question is what happens if the dog ends up catching the car. What would they do?
This is almost a parable of life. I spent so much of my life chasing money, career and reputation because that was what I thought you were supposed to do. Especially when you are raised in a poor but driven Taiwanese immigrant and tiger mom who has HUGE expectations of you. And I think I delivered albeit not at the levels I personally thought I would be. But what an incredible price that I paid for this. I put my career ahead of everything. My family, my hobbies, my health, my mental health. All made worse during the pandemic lockdowns.
Yet I came out financially strong at the end of 2020, despite everything. I literally am the dog that caught the car. And what happened at that point? Did I go and at least try to fix all of the issues?
NOPE. I hid from the problems and double downed on what I was good at and was comfortable with. I drove forward with my business. Investing, public speaking and plenty of business travel. Consequently, my family life unravelled in 2023, and 2024 turned into a massive train wreck. This was all raised during family therapy where my pride, anger and ego just made things worse. My life just felt like a massive sized joke. Empty. This is everything that I worked and sacrificed for?
I used to scoff at those who committed suicide and believe that’s a cowards way out. But I now understand the amount of pain and anguish these poor people feel. When things feel so awful that you just want it to end. You start to feel the world and your family will be better off without you. Especially late at night. These are dark places.
This is where you need to just go to sleep. Or call a friend. Or find some small pleasure or joy to look forward to. For me it was my books. And I keep the hope that I can reconcile and watch my kid grow up to become the amazing human being that she is.
For anyone going through this hell. You aren’t alone. Call a friend. Or Call 988 (in America). Hang in there. This will pass. Things will get better. Don’t deprive the world of your talent, impact and spark.