“It’s a lot to live up to. These pressures of achieving. From the moment you’re born, you’re pounded with the expectations of what you need to actualize in order to become a success. Go to college. Get married. Raise a family. It’s what you’re supposed to do. The plans you’re supposed to make. The life you’re supposed to live. Diverge from the norm and you’re frowned upon. Questioned. Shunned. There’s something wrong with you if you’re not interested in improving yourself. If you can’t make a commitment of marriage. If you don’t want to have children. So people earn a college degree so they can get a good job. They work at a job they hate just to earn a living. They spend two months’ salary on an engagement ring. They pop out a couple of kids they don’t really want just so they can fit in. Because it’s what their parents did. Because it’s what society expects you to do. Because it’s safer to take the same path everyone else has traveled. Truth is, no one’s listening to Robert Frost.”
-S.G. Browne
Back roads. Small towns. Unknown territories. Language barriers. Undesirable neighborhoods. These are all things that you would typically try to avoid while traveling…wouldn’t you agree? Have you ever stopped to think though, that attempting to sidestep these aspects of travel may actually be hindering you from experiencing something life changing? Passing by that little hole-in-the-wall restaurant may have caused you to miss the best meal of your life. Opting out of venturing to a country where a different language is spoken may cost you some of the most enjoyable company you have ever encountered. Unforgettable memories may be sacrificed because you were afraid to stray from the beaten path. How well traveled can you really be if you continue to pass by places where no one dares to go?
Now take this approach, and use it to look at the picture of a prosperous life. What do we, as human beings, have to achieve in order to be deemed successful? Well, first of all, we go to college. We get a top-notch education. We become doctors and lawyers…teachers and engineers. We are given all of the tools necessary for an accomplished life. We visit all of the hot spots. We fall victim to all of the tourist traps. For some, it works out perfectly. For others…there is still no sense of fulfillment. What happens when we become one of the latter? Are we destined to live life constantly wondering if there is something more?
What if some of us are simply meant to take the road less traveled? When we realize we aren’t meant for the typical 8 to 5 desk job, we are basically given permission to pursue a life of sharing out talents and passions, and reaping the benefits that can come along with them. Making a career out of simply being yourself doesn’t have to be a dream. It can be a reality. What could possibly be more rewarding than discovering your true purpose, and helping others by sharing it?
You can be a writer, or a baker, or a crafter. You can own your own business. You can be your own boss. With a flawless plan and a little fierce determination, you can easily follow a forgotten path to a life full of meaning and achievement. It all begins with getting out of your comfort zone. Otherwise, you may be missing out on the trip of a lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment