I'm 37, I own a home, I show up, I make dinner - and some nights I sit in the kitchen after everyone's asleep and feel like a stranger who got very good at the role - Silicon Canals

"Success can feel like the world's most comfortable straightjacket, where the checklist of adult life looks good on paper but lacks genuine connection to living."

"Thich Nhat Hanh's concept of 'habit energy' illustrates how we can become so efficient at living that we stop actually experiencing our lives."

"Recognizing automatic patterns is one challenge, but breaking free from them to truly engage with life is another."

"Despite achieving stability and success, there is a lingering feeling of disconnection, as if the individual is merely executing a role rather than living authentically."

A sense of disconnection arises despite achieving conventional milestones like a mortgage and family. The individual feels like an actor in a role, executing daily tasks without genuine presence. This feeling is linked to the concept of 'habit energy' from Buddhism, where automatic patterns hinder true life experience. Although the life was chosen deliberately, the individual grapples with the challenge of breaking free from these patterns to reconnect with the essence of living.

Read at Silicon Canals