What if the reason you feel stuck, burned out, or off course isn’t a lack of effort but the fact that you’ve been blindly walking in circles, absolutely convinced you were moving straight ahead?

Using the science of walking blindfolded as a metaphor for modern life, this episode "You are not lost. You are just asking the wrong question." unpacks how linear career paths, industrial-era education, and the question “WHAT do you want to be when you grow up?” train us to chase the wrong goalposts, confuse motion with progress, and sacrifice our creative soul. We explore why life is cyclical rather than linear, how Mark Manson’s Four Stages of Life better reflect the messy reality of growth, why transitions between stages suck ass, and how reframing the question from WHAT you do to WHO you want to become can help you stop walking in circles and start moving toward work and life that actually matter.

I’m curious...WHO do you want to be when you grow up?

→ let me know here in the comments

If you enjoyed this article and you don't want to miss my future essays, my actionable insights, and my soapbox rants about navigating the world as analog humans in today's digital hellscape, make sure to subscribe at zackarnold.com/substack.

In today’s Hot Seat conversation, Julie and I dive deep into what it really feels like when your creativity and cognitive clarity start slipping through your fingers. I talk through the hidden impact of dopamine-driven distraction, and we explore how removing social media can expose just how out of shape our brains have become. Together we dig into boredom as a skill, cognitive fitness as training, and the fears that surface when you step into collaboration and authenticity. If you’ve ever felt foggy, scattered, or disconnected from your creativity… this is the episode you need.

Want to learn more about working with me and having your own Hot Seat session?

→ Click here to learn more about The Arnold Academy coaching & mentorship program

This mini-episode taken from my latest article in the Digital Essentialism Series on Substack pulls back the curtain on the likes, comments, and compulsive urge to reach for your damn phone 205 times a day, all to uncover a deeper question: What might you be avoiding with your attention? From digital essentialism to deep work rituals, from messy garages to meaning, we dig into why we avoid the blank page, why we panic when life pauses, and why being “CrAAAAAAAAAAzy busy!!!!!” keeps us from confronting purpose, values, and meaningful goals. If you can only call something a distraction when you know what it’s distracting you from — do you really know?

If you enjoyed this article and you don't want to miss my future essays, my actionable insights, and my soapbox rants about navigating the world as analog humans in today's digital hellscape, make sure to subscribe at zackarnold.com/substack.

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