Shaved Head

“I want to shave my head”

A few years roll by…

“I really want to shave my head”

A few months roll by…

“I really really want to shave my head”

A few days roll by…

And then it happens again, this strange urge, that just keeps coming back.

Why oh why do I keep having this thought!?

Of course, each time I do, I test the waters with my wife.

“Terrible idea.”

“Why do that?”

“Please don’t.”

Haha.

She’s right… I have no idea why I would want to do that!

If you’ve met me in person, you’ll know that I tend to wear my hair on the longer side of things, and am blessed that I have plenty of it.

Indeed, I am lucky to have such a full head of hair.

But sometimes luck just doesn’t cut it…

The last time I’d had a shaved head was 15 years ago.

I’d liked it.

But never re-visited.

Then boom, New Years came and went, and I just could’t stop thinking about it.

The wife stress test again…

“Whatever makes you happy”

Nice.

I took that as a blessing.

On heading out to do some chores, I went straight to a barber, with the intention of the full clipper job right there and then.

First thing he says to me: “are you sure you want to do that?”

He’d looked at my nice quiff, combed to the side, and had done a double take…

“Yes”, my heart fluttered, “I am totally sure”

“Well I can only fit you in an hour from now”

Damn…

Instant gratification wasn’t going to be possible.

I had an hour to burn.

Plenty of time to reverse this stupid decision.

“No. Hang in there… If you don’t do this now you never will!” I thought…

I managed to distract myself with some new gym clothes, then back I went, seating myself on the bench next in line.

“Don’t be a pussy.. What’s the worst that can happen?…”

Another 10 minutes went by waiting.

As my turn arrived, my apprehension built, built, and built some more.

“Worst case: it grows back.”

What an amusing experience.

But something was driving me to stick it out.

I sat in the chair.

“Shave it all off please”

“How about a 3?”

“Sure let’s do it”

I couldn’t help but take a few selfie’s.

The clippers flew straight down the middle of my head.

My preppy hair-do in absolute tatters.

Carnage up top!

But the best bit: I had this big smile.

It felt amazing.

Indeed, I am grinning just now as I re-write this, as if I can tap straight back into the joy of that moment.

I felt the most liberated I had in ages.

As the clippers came to the end of the job, the guy in the chair to my right pipes up:

“I was thinking to myself when you arrived, you had really nice hair, what’s he doing here…!?”

“Ballsy” said the other barber.

We all had a laugh.

And I explained that for some strange reason, this urge to do it, had been building up in my mind for literally years.

Hah

I’d done it!

As I strolled home, I really was on ‘cloud 9’, smirking to myself with how fun that whole experience had been.

Then the big reveal.

I inched up to the top of the stairs.

And there were my wife and eldest daughter.

“What the hell have you done!”

They both laughed.

My wife: “I really like it”

Bingo…

“So do I”…

Which is still true this morning a few weeks later.

Best, Jake

Ps - I’ve been trying to follow my intuition on a more regular basis, which is hard, given how it takes you to places that often seem irrational to the rational mind. But as detailed here, the key is to follow how you feel, and tap into where you experience joy. A simple story I admit. A powerful depiction of how this plays out however. Indeed, my wife’s comments are a reflection of my inner rational mind in many ways, an interesting observation no doubt. Feel what makes you happy. Follow it!