Who Are You and Why Aren't You Happy?

Are you happy in life? Are you doing what you want and are you satisfied that your life is going the way you would like? Many people who I ask that question say no. They feel trapped or they feel as if there is no where to go and nothing they can do about it. Many of them go to work each day to a job that they hate and say they would give anything to do something else. When I ask what, they don’t know.

I have spent my life time doing various jobs. I worked in a state mental hospital, worked on a survey crew out in the woods, worked in a factory, and I am now an ordained minister, Yoga and meditation teacher, and Reiki practitioner. I have worked with all kinds of people and heard what they had to say about their lives.

One of the things that I found most prevalent was that these people had no idea who they were or what they wanted. They knew that they were unhappy, but when asked, they didn’t know what they would do that would best exemplify who they were. Some had vague dreams about being this or that, but nothing concrete, nothing that they could definitely say they wanted to do.

The first thing you need to do is understand what makes you happy. I love speaking to people in large groups and teaching. To some that would be worse than death by a very slow means. My son likes to work on cars. To me that is one of the most horrible things I ever have to do. We all are different and trying to fit ourselves into someone else’s mold is a sure fire way to be unhappy. There are thousands, maybe millions of people who work at jobs because they think they must. Their family got them in there, or they owe the company. Whatever their reason, they feel stuck at a job that they don’t like.

A question I often ask, and it is a good one if you take the time to really think it out is, if you had unlimited funds, what would you do. Now many people start off saying they would go to Tahiti or some other frivolous thing. What I try to encourage is that they think beyond their adolescent mind and think about what they would really do with their time. When they do, the ideas start to pop up. They might say they would go back to school and become some long held dream, or they might go into business.

After getting them to dream a little, I ask them why they are not doing that. Now, of course, come all the excuses. That is just what they are excuses. If we truly want to do or be something and we want it bad enough, we will do it. No, we might not become world famous at it, I didn’t say that, but we will do it to some degree.

The key to being happy in life isn’t having a million dollars, but doing what you want. It is about having the freedom to do what you love to do. If you can make money at it, so much the better! It is about knowing who you are and being faithful to that vision. Integrity in our personal lives is very important!

Why not try it yourself? Do some soul searching and discover who you are and what makes you happy. Then find a way to go out and do whatever that is. Don’t let yourself make excuses. Go be the best you, you can be!