Dear LMN,

… First of, you seem to have accepted the mental state you are. At least you are not in a state of denial, just hoping that life will improve one day and plugging along. Being aware in my opinion, is winning half the battle. I am in IT too and this type of work can create a mental state that you have mentioned. After a while, it’s difficult to remain challenged. I agree with Matt and Ruminant. Buddha brain is a great book. About reading books half way, read Satya Nadella’s interview after he became the Microsoft CEO, he says that he bought more books than he could read…so you are not alone 🙂 keep your chin high, and be grateful for your family, your supportive wife especially. I know, easy to say, but I went through the same funk for a while. I also took some free meditation courses with Deepak Chopra, started reading about how the mind can play games with you and am still improving every day. I also started speaking and writing a positively. Instead of speaking “I am not challenged at work”, I started THINKING and SPEAKING “I am grateful for what I have, how can I get better? What is out there in the world that I do not know about?” I started volunteering at local community chapters and giving back what I have learnt, I enjoyed talking with people about my experiences and listening to theirs…

Life is precious, and we have one chance, let’s make it worth it…

Good luck and keep smiling,