Recently, I have been listening to a lot of Ben Rector (I highly suggest that you give him a listen… he’s great), and while obsessively listening to his Spotify playlist, I came across a song called “Crazy” off of his newest album, “Brand New.”
This entire song revolves around a day in the life of a “normal” couple. Within the first verse of this song, Ben says,
“Do you ever get tired of turning on the radio and asking yourself, 'Who lives that kind of life? Cause I don’t.' I need an anthem. I need a song that I can sing. So raise your glass if your life is crazy… Crazy normal.”
This specific verse got me thinking (and gave me the desire to raise my glass). Listening to this song in its entirety, there is never any sort of vibe that Ben is unhappy with his life. So, yes! His life may be “normal,” but who says that “normal” is a bad thing? (Not me!)
Most people view being successful as having a nice, big house, brand new cars and lots of money. I view success as, well, being happy. Now, don’t get me wrong, having nice things is not a bad thing whatsoever, but it is not the most important thing in life. When looking back on your life, you’re not going to reminisce on the cool phone you had in your 20s or that new iPad you got right after it was released. You are going to reminisce on the moments you had with your loved ones.
A lot of people fear the idea of not being successful. The idea of not being financially stable is terrifying, and with this fear, career paths are chosen. Most college students today are so intent on making sure their career pays well and that they will be able to afford an exciting life, that they do not stop and think about whether their planned career will make them happy. In today’s society, money is the driving force and happiness is not.
Many people believe that money brings happiness. Obviously, it does not bring sadness, but there is so much more to life than the money you make. You could wake up one morning with millions of dollars in the bank and still be unhappy, and that isn’t fair. People tend to forget about the little aspects of life that bring them happiness, like riding your bike on a crisp spring day or going for a long drive with the windows down and music blasting during the summertime. A lot of people believe happiness is a destination when it is really just a way of traveling.
As Bertrand Russell once said,
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
So my advice to you is do something that makes you happy. Do not do something just because you believe you should be doing it. Study what you want to study, draw what you want to draw, and write what you want to write. Do what you love and love what you do and everything else in this crazy (normal) life will be worthwhile.
