Push Through with Purpose

How the worst moment brings the clearest direction.

👋 Hiya, job sneaker!

Joe watched an empty two-liter bottle of Faygo Arctic Sun skip down the alley behind his house like it had somewhere to be. The alley was always littered—styrofoam takeout containers, broken toys, soggy cardboard. Even if he cleaned it up, more would respawn, like clockwork.

He stood at the bedroom window, sweatpants sagging, his favorite gamer shirt—a faded black tee with pixelated hearts—clinging to one last thread of optimism. If the shirt actually reflected reality, he’d be one heartbeat away from a game over.

Behind him, his wife walked in, already showered, dressed, and halfway through her first cup of coffee.

“Do you have time to feed the dogs? I want to log on early,” she said.

“Yep,” he mumbled, not even pretending to hide the fact that he’d taken a hard left down Hardly Working Way months ago. There’s a quiet rebellion that forms when you know your employer has no ambition for your skill set.

Then came the flooded kitchen. Again. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned, his socks already getting to work with the cleanup. Déjà vu from a year ago—busted pipes, sunken ceiling, the shit smorgasbord all over again. Problems didn’t come knocking anymore; they had a key.

Weeks passed in a haze of presidential campaign sound bites and half-naps on the couch. Joe was either watching the news or just trying to sleep through it. The couch had officially become his command center for spiraling.

His wife, with a concerned tilt of her head, suggested a change. “You’ve got to find a new job. Something that actually challenges you. I’m upgrading your LinkedIn account to Premium.”

That was just the kick in the sweatpants he needed. Joe knew to skip the job board trap and go straight to tracking down hiring managers, sending them short, sincere messages alongside his résumé.

Then one day, on his favorite Discord server, he scrolled past a post: Want to move to Finland? A stunning lake photo, birch trees reflected in water, so still it looked painted. He laughed. “Yeah, that’d be nice,” he thought. He’d never even been on an international flight. Hell, he barely left the block those days. Still, something made him reply to the ad—just for fun, just to feel something.

To his shock, the guy replied. They jumped on a video call that same day. They clicked instantly. Turns out the company was filled with expats from around the world—people who’d taken leaps Joe hadn’t even dreamed of. Maybe they knew something he didn’t, so he kept the conversation alive.

And then the offer came. A real one. For a real job. In Finland.

Panic joined the party. “How do we even get there? What about all of our stuff? The dogs?” Change being too hard had always been a trusty excuse to stay put. But the employer offered relocation services. Friends could take most of their things. But the dogs? That was the line in the snow.

Then the election results dropped. And the stress he thought had peaked? It just achieved a high score. Suddenly, moving halfway across the world felt less like a daydream and more like the reset button he’d needed to press all along.

They called the vet. “Trazodone,” she said. “For the dogs. It helps.”

They mapped out a plan: drive from Detroit to NYC. One direct flight to Helsinki. Less time for the dogs to be trapped in the airport or on a plane.

Two days after the election, Joe finished accepting the offer.

Finland buzzes in a language they don’t yet understand, but beauty doesn’t need translation. They walk the cobbled streets, the dogs surprisingly calm, as if they too know it’s finally okay to exhale.

Joe spots a lone cigarette butt on the sidewalk. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the otherwise pristine city.

He bends down and picks it up.

The door prize? Pain without purpose is just suffering—and suffering is exhausting. It’s no wonder we shut down and check out. But if the reason to take action is strong enough, tenacity and resilience can take over. So don’t just dismiss an off-the-wall idea during your job search. Just remember to first get serious about your why, so you can turn potential breaking points into stepping stones.

Be bold out there,

✌️ Kirby