Loving Life on the Roller
Why the pursuit of comfort kills your potential
Listen here.
I wrote a version of this blog in 2024. I’ve updated it for today because I still think it’s relevant. That and I just ate a healthy dog from Trader Joe’s. I hope you enjoy it.
We were driving up to Kansas City recently and stopped for gas. I had always seen the hot dog display at gas stations, but for some reason, it caught my eye more than usual today. I mean, we all know they are bad for you, but who isn’t tempted by the sight and smell of cooking hot dogs, especially a jalapeno cheddar smoked sausage? Throw on spicy mustard, ketchup, relish, and go for it. Or maybe you’re waiting for the pork chile verde taquito to roll past the “still cooking” sign to experience the best that QuikTrip has to offer.
I wonder if any of you are like me. Do you ever feel like one of these poor hot dogs? Year after year passes, life spins you around and around, and you get more and more cooked the older you get.
Yeah, but Tarek, I love life on the roller! I don’t have to make decisions! I roll out of bed, roll to work, roll home, roll to the couch to watch Netflix, then roll to bed, and do it again and again...
I get it. Because I lived a long time on the roller. I just didn’t realize it.
Once a year, I was scrolling through old annual performance reviews on my computer. I keep digital copies of all of them, going back years. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe I thought they’d help me measure progress, or I’d spot some recurring theme that would be a big unlock for me.
Here’s what I actually found: the phrase “great job” showing up over and over again. Year after year. Great job, Tarek. Exceeds expectations. Strong performer.
And basically zero constructive feedback.
Now, before you think I’m complaining about getting good reviews, hear me out. That’s not the point. The point is that “great job” with nothing to work on is the corporate version of the hot dog roller. You’re spinning. You’re warm. Everything looks fine from the outside.
But you’re not growing. You’re cooking. And maybe getting a bit overdone on the inside.
I had been so assimilated into the rhythm of corporate life that I mistook motion for progress. Every year looked like the one before it. Same type of goals. Same type of feedback. Same comfortable temperature. I didn’t notice because nothing hurt. Nobody was telling me that something was wrong. In fact, they were telling me the opposite.
That’s the thing about the roller. It doesn’t feel like a trap. It feels like we’ve arrived.
When I looked at those reviews side by side, spanning years of my career, I couldn’t tell them apart. If you shuffled them and removed the dates, the work details might be different, but I wouldn’t know which year was which.
That should bother anyone. It bothered me.
I started asking myself an uncomfortable question: When was the last time I was actually challenged? Not busy. Not productive. Challenged. When was the last time someone looked me in the eye and said, “Here’s where you need to get better”?
I couldn’t remember.
And that’s when it hit me. The absence of discomfort wasn’t a sign that I had arrived. It was a sign that I had stopped moving and, in reality, was moving in reverse.
I think a lot of us are on the roller right now and don’t realize it. You’re getting the positive feedback. You’re hitting your numbers. People respect you. Your calendar is full. You’re comfortable.
None of those things means you’re growing.
I’m not going to give you a 3-step framework to fix this. I don’t think that’s what this needs. What I will say is this: if you went back through the last 3 to 5 years of your life, your reviews, your goals, your routines, could you tell the years apart?
Be honest with yourself.
If the answer makes you uncomfortable, good. That discomfort is telling you something. Don’t ignore it like I did for too long.
The great news is that your future is entirely in your control. You can escape the roller and make an impact on the world you were created for. I’m cheering for you.
See you next Sunday.
If you enjoyed this post, the best compliment I could receive would be for you to share it with one other person. Thank you.
The difference between being challenged and being busy and productive speaks volumes. I lived on this roller for years like you. This is where the discontent comes in, and when you begin to ask yourself if there is something different out there. Not a new job, not a new office, just something that will help you feel like you are alive and contributing - challenging yourself instead of "Getting a bit overdone on the inside." Thank you for sharing this perspective.