We have very short lives, and we don’t get much time on this earth.
Yet, we tend to not live it to its fullest potentials.
We tend to waste it on things we don’t really want to do.
In a world where social media dominates the norms and trends of society, it’s easy to forget who you are.
In a world where it seems that perfection is all that matters, it’s easy to fall in the trap of doing what everyone else is doing just because we fear being left alone.
With everything from flashy posts and news articles to following societal norms, it’s easy to start pursuing someone else’s dreams without even realizing it.
That’s what happened to me.
I used to do a lot of things just to be liked, just to feel like I belonged.
Which led me to feeling more alone and isolated instead.
I spent a looot of my time growing up by living a life not true to myself, by living someone else’s life.
Not one person specifically, but the entire generation.
Social media was a major culprit.
Because “everyone” was using it, anyone that didn’t, was weird.
Anyone that didn’t follow along with the thousands of memes floating around was considered stupid it felt like.
Social media is not the only one to blame though.
I’ve always had a very different perspective of life than most people.
And because of that, I’ve always been looked down upon with people thinking I’m not normal.
One very noticeable thing is that a lot of people tend to be chasing money, thinking that happiness comes automatically with it.
For instance, they could be studying for a large part of their youths to get a good career with a high income, thinking they’re on top of life at that point.
That’s totally okay because that’s the route we’ve been told to follow ever since we’re born.
Society as a whole sort of paints a picture of how one should live, and if not, they’re “not normal” I guess.
Instead, I chased other things, knowing that my time is worth more than money.
I found myself a job right after school with huge flexibility and a salary that just got me around because I wanted to control my time myself.
If I wanted to do something on a regular day, I would tell my boss I’m unavailable and do that thing.
I wasn’t making a lot of money, but I did enjoy my life a lot more because I could do things I wanted to.
I had a lot of control over my time.
One extremely common question I had to deal with when speaking to customers bugged me to bits, but it proved my point.
“Is this a side hustle you do while studying?”.
The job I had was not considered a “good job” for many people which themselves had fallen for the traps society has placed.
But I was actually enjoying what I was doing, and I actually had the freedom in life to do whatever I wanted to.
I simply answered them, “No, this is what I do”.
Their behavior certainly made me uncomfortable, but I realized the sad truth about life.
People tend to pursue careers and other things just because “everyone else” is doing it, just because they’re simply told to do so.
I guess if they’re at least studying something they enjoy, it’s more reasonable, but they’re still about to pursue a career like with limited freedom, like most other people.
Are you part of the “everyone” club and follow the routes that a vast majority follows?
Do you often find yourself spending your valuable time on things you don’t really know why you’re doing?
Then it might be time you start thinking about what it is that you want.
How to spend your time.
Again, our lives are extremely short, do we really want to waste them by living someone else’s.
Just because “everyone” is doing something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
And it certainly doesn’t mean it’s the only way.