Changing Your Life: What Instagram Forgets to Show You
Behind the perfect postcards, changing your life sometimes hides waves that are far from gentle. Arthur’s summer by the sea taught him that between dreams and reality, the horizon line is not always where you expect it to be.
Ah, summer. That suspended moment when everything slows down, when you finally allow yourself to breathe, to think, to dream bigger, softer. Arthur, a respectable Parisian executive, settles in with his family by the sea. Between the children’s laughter and the caress of the salty breeze, his mind drifts to a calmer “elsewhere,” an “elsewhere” scented with freedom and the promise of regained happiness. He even starts to picture a complete change of life.
Dreaming of Dropping Everything: The National Sport of August
And yes, of course, the moment his feet touch the warm sand, he starts imagining the perfect scenario: no more 6:30 alarms, no more grimy, overcrowded commuter trains — just mornings spent reading, afternoons walking along the shore, with the sound of the waves as his soundtrack.
Then there’s that childhood friend, the one who dared. The guy who ditched it all to live on a boat, regularly posting pictures of sunsets that make you want to toss your company badge straight into the Seine river.
One evening, over drinks, they sorted things out.. The friend, endlessly enthusiastic, talks up the joys of life at sea, tells Arthur to follow his passion, and urges him to leap. Arthur listens, torn — seduced by the call of the ocean but held back by a small inner voice whispering that maybe the sea doesn’t wash everything away.
The Flip Side: When the Postcard Smells Like a Scam
Because yes, the friend on the boat has a few secrets of his own. Freedom has a price, and spoiler alert: it’s not paid in sunscreen alone. There’s the isolation, the fickle weather, the loss of reference points… and that tiny little detail called “paying your bills“. But of course, he doesn’t mention that on Instagram.
Arthur realizes this life suits his friend perfectly, despite all its constraints. But for him, the dream starts to crumble, giving way to a harsher truth: what sets one person free can just as easily trap another.
And with a kind of bittersweet honesty, he catches himself no longer wanting to leave his office — that anchoring point warmed by the familiarity of the coffee machine and those bittersweet bonds woven with colleagues.
Summer: The Perfect Season to Ask Yourself the Right Questions
Watching his children play on the beach, Arthur feels something click: his happiness doesn’t necessarily depend on a radical change. He doesn’t need to live on a sailboat or in a wooden cabin to be happy. What he wants is more balance, meaning, and maybe a bit more sea air… but not at the cost of losing everything.
It reminds me of a MOOC by Professor Richard Shell on the true meaning of success, which I encourage you to check out (it’s free). The key takeaway: success isn’t an absolute reality — it’s a personal positioning. What makes one person happy can completely disenchant another.
And above all, whatever choice you make, there will be a price to pay. Every option has its downsides, and that, curiously, is something Instagram tends to leave out.
Moral of the Story: Don’t Confuse Escape with Escapism
Arthur will return to Paris. But he will not have the bitterness of someone who gave up. He will return with the conviction that he will, little by little, build the life he truly wants. Maybe one day he’ll work from the coast, or launch a project steeped in sea breeze.
But he won’t blindly chase a dream that isn’t his.
Because deep down, what he’s looking for isn’t the sea — it’s the freedom to choose.
And, between us, he already has quite the treasure. He has the laughter of his children… and a whole box of butter biscuits they haven’t quite devour yet. And that, in itself, already tastes like happiness!
