Ever since we were younger, elementary aged, we are told to follow our dreams and go after what makes our hearts soar through the sky. We would tell those around us that we wish to grow up to be a dancer, a famous athlete, a singer, or in my case, a fairy princess. All of these answers are acceptable at that younger age, but once you start to grow older, the question is no longer, "What do you want to be when you grow up that makes you happy?" but rather, "What career can you go after to live a sustainable lifestyle?" Well, I do not believe that your career shapes your overall happiness in life. You can still strive to do what makes you happy and live the lifestyle you've always wanted to ever since you were younger.
Happiness is such a broad term within itself that even the typical Webster's Dictionary doesn't give a decent definition for what happiness itself means. We become delusional by what it truly means to be happy due to the commercials we watch, the magazines we read, and the people we associate ourselves around. I hate to break it to you, but happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is an experience full of grace, love, and gratitude.
We base our lives around a cookie cutter shape, being who we think we ought to be, rather than who we truly are. We grow up asking many questions, not afraid of failing, living life as if it could never hurt us. Then at some point, we are told that we need to think a certain way to be accepted at a nice college, go into a "successful" career that will give you a safe place to land when you go out into the "real world."
Our passions are no longer in the equation and we eventually lose ourselves in the process of becoming who others want us to become molded into, since they did not have the courage to take a risk and follow their dreams. Well, it's not too late to go after a happy life; after all, it is you who makes it. At any time of any day you can decide to stop living a life of "normal" and go after what your heart has always wanted.
Often in life, people self-sabotage themselves. No one else is standing in the way of your happiness other than yourself. Always remember that if you're in an unhappy circumstance, there are always other options available to you. For example, if you don't like your job, then you shouldn’t feel like you have to stay in it for the money. This goes for relationships, life direction, and friendships alike. To be happy you must help others, but also make decisions that are independent to your own personal happiness.
Learn to let go of what you think your life should be like and the expectations others have for your life and what it is supposed to look like, and start celebrating it for everything that it is.
