Head east on Santa Monica from the 405 and you’ll see it, Westholme Ave. It sounds like the name of a human starting zone in a fantasy MMO: Vaguely British, bland, lots of boars. You find yourself traveling through it for every new character. You don’t have to, but there’s no other way to get you the same experience and gear. 

What I realized later is that the zone is a metaphor for life. You can opt-out of it, but if you’re going to progress, you’ve got to run Westholme. Everyone has a few areas in life when they’re firmly in Westholme territory. Some places where many people find it:

• Career. It’s easy for your job to become a drag. For some people, work is just a paycheck. But, if you’re in the field you want to make your life’s work, you can easily find yourself in a position that’s a stepping stone. You may also find that you need to wait for an opportunity to advance. 

• Health. A wait time will likely be involved if you have a health goal. You may need to do some regular work or tell yourself no regularly. You may go a while without seeing the results of your work.

• Learning anything. As Jake the Dog says, “suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something!” But when your skill doesn’t yet meet your taste? That’s a struggle. It can be tough to keep working when you’re there.

These are all perfectly valid things to feel stuck in. The key is not to get too comfortable there. Just because you’re in a rut doesn’t mean you have to stay there. So how do you stay uncomfortable in a place where your brain wants you to check out? And where does Running Westholme, the site, come in?

RW is about giving you tips, ideas to chew on, and more, all in the hopes of being a bit of an XP boost. We want to make Westholme feel more effortless, more fun, and less lonely. We’re not going to tell you that we have all the answers. But we do want to help you find them.

If you think of a way for us to do that, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via Twitter or our contact page. Best of luck with your quest, fellow adventurer!