You’ll be Happier Living Your Life, Doing what Fulfills You

Saying “I am a VP at Google” is bound to get admiration and approval from other people you interact with .

Being able to say you have a insert big title  at  Famous Company
will no doubt make you a success in most people’s eyes.
Go to a cocktail party and every one will label you successful, accomplished.
Go on a date, you’ll be seen as achieving, smart.
Make new friends at the gym and they will be impressed.

Yes, yes, yes. There is a lot of positive reinforcement to achieving career success.
It is a good thing.

But is that the only indicator of success & self worth?

Does your job make you truly happy in your heart?
Not the money or fame you get but the actual job.
Happier than doing what you love?
Happier than spending time with the people you love?
Do you know what you love doing?

There is more to life than your job.
Life is more than getting a huge title at big company.

Doing what fulfills you, what is important to you may mean
making unconventional choices and taking an unpopular path in life.
Others will judge you.
Don’t let their superficial judgement make you feel less about yourself.
Do what fulfills you, what makes you happy.
You’ll be happier living your life than someone else’s life.
You can skip to the illustrated story here. or keep reading…. =)

“Live a good life. And in the end it’s not the years in a life, it’s the life in the years.”
Abraham Lincoln

If you have a passion, nurturing and staying connected to that passion is important.
It keeps you motivated and happy.

You might have a great business idea, a better way to do something, a superior product.
And you decide to leave that comfortable corporate job to start your company doing just that.

Maybe you have a family and you realize how quickly the kids are going to grow up
even if they are a handful and take up so much of your time now.
You may want to consciously spend enough time with them before they reach the age
where they only want to hang out with their friends and lock themselves up in their room.

Hopefully you have a list of things you’d like to do or learn.
When I spoke to someone about leaving their job (which was making them miserable),
the person exclaimed “What would I do with all that time?”
I felt sad for the middle aged person who lived long enough,
had gotten all the big titles at a major company but was empty inside and had no interests.

If you’re middle aged and have nothing you want to try or learn or interests to pursue,
You have no idea who you are or what you are about.
You just chased the other rats in the rat race and got ahead.

Some of us in a moment of revelation or sign of insanity, take a plunge
and decide other parts of our life are important enough
to break away from the lemming masses running over themselves to get the bigger title, better job.

If you are one of those people, Good for you. Keep doing it!
Don’t let others who snub you get you down.

If you have a dream of someday doing something others call “crazy” ,

Keep working on it and when the time is ripe, make your dream happen!
It’s not going to be easy but take a deep breath, find the people who will support you (those are your true friends) and go for it.

The trouble is most measure and judge others by their jobs and tittles.
They see it as the main sign of how successful, wealthy, and accomplished you are.
They fail to understand there is much more to life than the job or title.

Of course, such people only want to associate with successful, wealthy people.

Why waste time with people who won’t benefit you by introducing you to
other important people or throwing you a piece of business?

That person who chose to pursue a passion that pays little.
They are nothing, unimportant, possibly a failure.

Well, REALLY?

Over the weekend, I had to tolerate such people around a dinner table.
They didn’t want to talk to me, and give me the evil eye every time I said something.
In their eyes, because I no longer had a big title, I was inferior and a failure and they made that very clear.
I’ve seen them a couple of times and they’ve snubbed me.

Did it hurt? sure.

I told myself, I wasn’t going to let their superficial values and judgement cloud my own sense of self worth.
Even though I was stuck at that dinner table for hours, I chose to enjoy my food and drinks.
I laughed the night away, I spoke to people who seemed to mind less (I was in a superficial crowd).
I amused myself. Amusing yourself is always a good skill.

We all have different circumstances,
we grapple with different sorrows in our life that nobody knows.
We battle with different challenges that others do not understand.
Others do not understand our pain or moments of despair.
We have different passions, different priorities.
Some are narrow minded, some see the bigger picture.

Despite not knowing you personal situation, these people want to judge you and your life
based on their narrow, superficial criteria.

Don’t let external disapproval make you feel less about yourself.
In fact, having the courage to take an unconventional path is more than these people will understand.
Just because others view you with disdain doesn’t mean you have to take on their negative view about yourself.
They may snub you in your face, lift your head up high.
Know why you are doing the things you choose, accept the limitations of the situation.
Remember what you love about what you are doing and your goal,
whether it’s completing your first novel or staying home to look after the kids.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your life. Life has its ups and downs.
Anyone who doesn’t understand that and fails to have compassion,
will one day learn that very lesson the hard way and
find the like-minded superficial company they keep abandon them as well.

Even if you’ve lost your job or are in a less ideal job,
use that time to do other things you love, things that bring you joy.
It doesn’t have to cost money.
It can be as simple as spending more time with the kids,
borrowing that book you always wanted to read, learning a new hobby/skill.

Look for training and development programs where you can improve your skills
or learn about that area you always wanted to.
Keep living, find the things that make you happy and,
keep persevering to get to where you want to.

To live a meaningful life and do what you love,
You may make unconventional choices and take an unpopular path in life.
Others will judge you.
Don’t let their superficial judgement make you feel less about yourself.
Do what fulfills you, what makes you happy.
You’ll be happier living your life than someone else’s life.

Do what you love, Live your life, Be happier

imgur.com/gallery/V6KoHbF

Related articles

• Eleven Things Science Shows Will Make You Happier Every Day (forbes.com)
• 12 Secrets to Being Happy (Dailymail.co.uk)
• How to be Happy (mayoclinic.com)
• 10 Science-Backed Ways to be Happier (Bufferapp blog)
• 7 Steps to Becoming a Happier Person (WebMD)