... my story, part III
“You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes”
You may have noticed that I use many movie references in my texts. The reason is quite simple. Often enough, what we see on the big screen is just as insane as our own reality. Sometimes, it is as bold as can be so you can’t possibly miss the point. And sometimes, it is much more subtle…
The Red Pill is a reference taken from the 1999 movie The Matrix, written and directed by The Wachowskis, a duo of unusual siblings. The idea around The Matrix is that civilization as we know it is in fact a lie, a huge sham set in place by intelligent “Machines”. It is set in a very dystopian future, where we human beings are used by these machines as power supplies, living in small pods. The Matrix is this so-called life that we “think” we live, but is in fact only in our imagination.
Following ? If you have not seen that movie… it’s a must.
So, back to the Red Pill. In a few words, Neo, the main character of the movie, is offered a choice. to be taken out of his so-called imaginary life by taking a Red Pill. Doing so will reveal the harsh reality of where humanity is, of his own reality. He also has the choice of taking the Blue Pill. Thus, he would forget about having had this choice and would revert to his current life situation.
"...I kind of took the Red Pill myself"
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.”
This is a line taken from The Matrix. It better explains the difference between the two choices. I simply LOVE this analogy that, given some proper thoughts, represents EXACTLY what we often face in life. Make the difficult changes or stay the same.
I know I had that choice. Back in 2017, I kind of took the Red Pill myself. The choice was not easy. Far from it! The unknown is filled with uncertainty. Yet, it also contains all sorts of marvelous surprises. With a dead-end job, a serious health problem, and a total lack of motivation and belief in what I was doing, my reasons were strong enough to take the leap. This job was slowly killing me and I needed to act on it.
At age 56, I was not yet financially secure enough, with the belief that I had back then, to take an early retirement. See, we are told by most financial institutions that to have a decent way of living once retired, you need to have a steady revenue of around 80% of what your salary was just before you retire. I call BULLSHIT on this statement. Well, let’s say that I think there are other ways around this. All my life, I have been a heavy consumer, surrounding myself with “things” of all sorts, things that I didn’t really need. So easy to get caught in the spiral of having to get the latest phone model, the bigger computer, the shiny new car, and all that jazz.
“There is something absolutely liberating in getting rid of all the clutter in one’s house.”
So my first mission has been to simplify my life. I made it a project to get rid of all excess things that I was carrying around and made a vow of asking myself before any new purchase “do I really need this?” All of a sudden, my daily expenses were down significantly. There is something absolutely liberating in getting rid of all the clutter in one’s house. And, the financial stress that I carried for years was all of a sudden not that heavy. I knew I could live on much less than the “recommended” 80% rule and still be extremely happy.
This was the first step. But it was not enough. I also needed to take a good look at my health habits and make some adjustments. Getting rid of excess stuff is one thing… getting rid of excess weight is another !
I guess the planets were aligned when, in the summer of 2019 while on a trip to Bali, Indonesia, I met a guy that would change my life for the better. His name, Dai Manual. At first sight, both Karine and I fell in love with his enthusiasm, knowledge and positivism. Dai is an amazing life, health, fitness and business coach. He showed us how to take the first steps towards a healthier life, by eating properly, adding a little bit of exercise to our daily routine and being mindful of our alcohol consumption.
What started as a small energy boost, a few kilos shedded from my waist and a general feeling of wellbeing quickly became a way of life. We were following his recommendations and were getting results… fast!
9 months after we had set on that new path, I had adjusted my bodyweight from a hefty 129 Kg to a much more comfortable 94Kg. For a 6’1 guy, I was now in the zone, let’s say !
I look at Dai like Morphéus, the man in the movie The Matrix, who offered Neo (me) the Blue Pill or the Red Pill. Glad I made the right choice and took the Red Pill.
