January 22, 2015 - Written by: Erin Johnson

Get Real: My Journey to Escaping Escapism

Autumn 2013 was one of those times when I was filled with the sweet feeling of youthful optimism. I had just moved back from London after business school and was hopeful about the future. There were so many amazing jobs to apply for! New places to explore! Oodles of gratifying social experiences to be had! The world was mine.

However, by the following spring I was singing a different tune. After submitting job applications and hours upon hours of research, I concluded that my beloved hometown wasn’t the greatest place to pursue my career field. And at the time I had no money to relocate. In fact, I barely had the funds to do anything and spent 98% of my time at home. I was frustrated and bored.

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So I began to daydream and created an alternate reality. In this reality, I was back in London or some other large city. I had a cool job at either a major ad agency or one of those hip boutique agencies that’s named after some random word, like Avocado or Onomatopoeia. I could also afford to go out with friends and we’d have weekend brunch, eat fro yo, and do fun mind-expanding things like going to poetry readings. Or clubbing.

Additionally, I began to Netfix binge, surf the Internet more than usual, and take on extra projects to help distract me from the day-to-day.

I was an escapist.

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Escapism is a part of being human. It’s a natural defense mechanism to help us cope with life’s not so charming moments.

It can be good. Imagine how many artists use escapism to create the world’s great masterpieces? And engineers often mentally retreat from the present and into a future shaped by their technological creations. Plus, activists use some level of escapism to envision a more just society, which has led to countless social advances.

Yet escapism isn’t always beneficial. It can morph into substance abuse. Or cause a person to max out their credit cards in order to buy things that provide fleeting joy. It can also lead to greater consumption of mindless entertainment. Like watching marathons of The Real Housewives. And visiting Rich Kids of Instagram to see some jerk pour Dom Pérignon on their cereal.

But the greatest consequence of escapism is that it can cause us to neglect our true needs.

We can become so wrapped up in a fantasy that we fail to make any real change in our lives. This prevents us from having any lasting happiness.

In my case, I found that my dream world wasn’t helping me to further my goals. Also, my Netflix and Internet habits were taking up time where I could actually be productive. Plus, a couple of the extra projects that I took on were unrealistic in and of themselves.

However, I did find an antidote: gratitude.

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Despite not being thrilled with my present, I had to ask myself ‘Well, what am I grateful for?’.

I lacked a full-time job, but was grateful for the time and ability to work towards a venture of my own. And though I still dreamed of moving, living in my hometown had its perks. I was thankful to meet people who were willing to help with my venture and who have a level of support that would be unrivaled in other cities. Plus, I could spend more time with family. Although I was broke, I was also grateful that my parents were nice enough to treat me to a $6.99 lunch buffet on the occasions that I did leave the house.

Overall, gratitude gave me the drive to improve my present.