You need a side quest. Not because it will cascade into something life changing. Though it might. Not because it will unlock doors. Though it could. But simply because it will open your eyes. One thing I've noticed about life is that the path you choose has gravity. It’s light at first. You start out feeling like the range of paths in front of you is limitless. But with each choice, the gravity builds. Even if you like the path, it can start to feel confining. Limiting. Almost claustrophobic in a way. There's gravity in the form of sunk costs. The feeling that you’ve spent years building a version of a life that can’t be abandoned now. It’s your salary. Your expectations. What other people think of you. Your resume. The identity you’ve formed around all of that. You can see the alternative paths, but struggle to make the case to leave the one you're on. The more damning gravity is completely imperceptible. It builds as you progressively lose the ability to see the alternatives in front of you. Each year you spend narrowing in on one thing is a year that builds the gravity that blinds you to everything else. It’s a sort of gravity you never even feel. Because it’s not that the change feels too heavy. It’s that it never occurs to you in the first place. You can’t choose a door you can’t see. That's why side quests are so important. Because they open your field of vision. You see new things. Expose yourself to new, unexpected stimuli. Inputs you didn’t plan. Ideas and people you’d never encounter. None of that is inherently or immediately valuable, but a broader field of vision promotes an awareness of the doors that exist all around you. You need to become a beginner again. Join a run club. Learn the piano. Take up painting. Try woodworking. Plant a garden. Teach yourself to cook. Whatever. It slows you down. It’s a small rebellion in a world that wants you to do everything with some purpose in mind. You need a side quest.