Maybe Your Happiness Won’t Come From A Romanticized Fairy-Tale Life

The older I grow, the more I realize life doesn’t always play out how we anticipate it to. Not necessarily in a bad way, but just in a different way.

From a young age, we romanticized what our lives would look like. We clung to this idea of undeniable freedom and success. This idea that when we grow up, we can and will become whomever we want in life with minimal hurdles.

That it will all just fit together perfectly like a snug puzzle piece.

But along the way, we realized life doesn’t work out like this. Everything doesn’t magically fall into place. And we don’t always know which route to take. And that’s okay.

Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe predicting how our lives would play out to a T would be a disservice. Because the truth is, our lives change. Constantly. Unpredictably. And more often than not, these changes end up helping us for the better.

Besides, even if we wanted to, we simply cannot predict our future. We cannot predict that one day we’ll wake up and decide that the profession you once wanted no longer makes you fulfilled. Or that a city that’s been your home for years no longer feels like one. Or that the path you set foot on no longer feels solid.

We cannot predict our happiness from an outcome, because happiness does not come from one single route.

There are many.

And the more you focus on having this perfected fairy tale come to life, the less you focus on living in the moment. Finding out your own meaning of happiness. Creating a life curated by you, exploring your likes and dislikes, and making mistakes and learning through them.

There is not one single purpose you are destined to live out. There is not one romanticized life that will unlock undeniable satisfaction.

Guidelines are good. Structure is helpful. But it’s okay to go outside of them a bit. It’s okay to have different milestones that don’t align with your predictions. It’s okay if your life doesn’t look like you may have imagined it when you were 10. 

Let go of the pressure of expecting a certain life and instead focus on each day as it is. Focus on your short term goals. What you want to accomplish today. What people you want to surround your self with. What places excite you. What skill you want to learn.

Focus on today. What step you’ll take next.

And whatever you do, just focus on living. In the moments. Through the good, bad, and unexpected. Your life. Because ultimately, that’s what truly matters.