Do you live the life you want to live?

Are you happy with your life? Are you living your dream? Would you change anything if you could?


During my entire adult life I've dreamt about doing something different with my life. I want to see the world and do my best to make it a better place. However fear is holding me back and I always seem to take the safe path.

I'm not unhappy. In a few weeks I'll be moving from the miserable small town I live in to the big city where I used to live six years ago. I'm extremely happy about this move. I'll continue with my online studies there. I study web design and computer graphics related subject at different universities through the internet, which I'm also happy about.

Although, deep down I know this isn't the life I want to live. I don't want to go on day to day on a routine. What would truly make me happy is to see the world, to travel. But I'm too afraid to leave everything behind and head out into the world alone. And most importantly, I lack the funds. Don't tell me I should hitch hike or couch surf because that's not my thing. I want to travel independently and alone.

It just feels like life should be more than ok. More than settling with the second best thing. My twenties are almost over and quite frankly I didn't do much with them. It saddens me, this constant feeling and thought in the back in my head that it should be more than this.

 

I am enjoying life and have had been having plenty of fun lately.


I wish I was more social with people and didn't wait for people to come to me and I wish I could work as hard as I play.

 

Somewhat, but I know it could be much better.

Part of it atleast. I love my job and it allows me to take time off pretty much whenever.

Yes, two things.

I'm actually in the same boat as you. I want to see the world and I'm shocked that I still haven't. Time keeps drifting by, but I know I can make it happen by simply setting a date.

 

Yes, I am. It took me 50 years to do it, and it had a lot to do with meeting a cool chick who shared similar dreams. If you want it, at some point you have to jump without a parachute.

 

Go for it - what have you got to lose? A word of warning though - I have been to a lot of places and done a lot of stuff but it doesn't matter where you are or who you're with routine creeps in at some point. It's how life is. You have to try to balance the routine with what lights your candle at the time!

 

Scary thing, with the uncertainty of the future. I'm game though, wish me luck !

 

Good luck!!!!

 

I have to believe that nobody lives the life they want to live subconsciously. I feel that if we lived the life that we really wanted to live, we would be deemed schizophrenics and not be able to function in society.

We can get to a point where we are comfortable or even ecstatic to be in a social role, but I think we would crumble when we realized our actual motives for doing whatever that role entails.


Just to add: I am (or at least I believe that I am) very happy to be doing what I am doing. I have layers and layers of thoughts forming walls around my inner me. I think this is true to some degree for everyone. I had a realization recently. All these things I thought I loved for myself and how it helped others were just distractions. These things distracted me from the truth that the untouched, pure, uninfluenced me would rather not pursue any kind of career and just exist. I obviously cannot do this with the time and money I have invested. So, I will let those walls reform and accept this role that is actually rather fun and rewarding to the me that was influenced by society. Oddly, I feel the need to be more ambitious in this role and be more of a go-getter (not financially, but more in terms of personal growth).

 

If you're unencumbered by responsibilities for anyone but yourself, you're free. I had a couple of years of that when younger and did a lot of traveling. And I live the life I want now but like someone above noted, it took a few decades.

In between, things like marriage and children and mortgages rear their heads and you just have to put yours down and do what needs to be done. Then, if you survive the child rearing and have any health and money left, you might enjoy a few more years of just doing whatever the hell you feel like doing, when and where you feel like doing it.

That's where I'm at now and I love it.

 

:iagree: Well said! :cheers2:

 

Are you happy with your life? No, I never have been, don't plan on it any time soon

Are you living your dream? I live in my personal night/day mare

Would you change anything if you could? I would change the fact I want to kill myself, that would probably change the above statements considerably.

 

I'm sorry that you are going through what you are going through. I've had a couple of long depressions in my life and know how much it sucks. Sometimes you feel like man I should just end it. It's a shitty feeling.

The thing is everything is in a constant state of flux. Nothing stays the same. I still get depressed sometimes especially during the winter months. I'm pretty sure it is lack of sunlight. Sometimes a doobie does the mind good. Getting away from people can be a good thing. Sometimes when we can get away from the meaningless bullshit that life heaps upon us every day it puts things into better perspective.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

 

Your right nothing does remain the same thats why I try not to dwell on certain things for to long, most feelings will temporally pass.
Also yes a nice bit of weed does the mind well.

 

I completely understand this post. For the past 6 months or so I have been struggling with this concept and fighting, what seems to be, a losing battle.

To sum it up: I'm 24 years old. I've been working at my current job (a desk job, administrative) since before I even graduated college. There is no room for growth anymore - personal growth, job growth, fiscal growth. I'm overwhelmed with boredom each working day and the predictability of my life is putting a huge drag on my "outside of work" life and on my relationships with people - specifically, how I interact with other people.

The solution appears to me to be to quit entirely. To take a year off, reassess where I am, who I am and what I am doing. Maybe travel and experience life outside of the four wall cage which I am trapped in. But then what? Do I go back to working some boring, dull mindless job again? Making good enough pay, doing good enough work and never being challenged?

I feel torn between my sense of responsibility and practicality (earning money, keeping my eye on the goal of saving to buy a home and marry my girlfriend, keeping my resume for future jobs spotless) and my need for escape and reassessment.

I can, without a doubt, say that my hobbies outside of work are no longer enough to carry me over for the 45 hours per week which feel like an absolute head-drain. So now what? Is it time I put my need for personal growth ahead of my sense of responsibility and practicality for once in my life?

I feel as if I'm at a crossroads, with so many directions and so much uncertainty. I need just a little bit of a push from somebody in order to quit and "begin" my life. But most of the advice I've gotten from family and friends has been to stay the course, look for other jobs if I'm bored with my own and only quit once I've gotten another job. But that eliminates the interim. I'm the only one who feels that I need a "lost weekend" like John Lennon's in order to bring my life into perspective.

 

bowery44, if you don't like other's advice, try mine: Save enough money to support yourself for a least a few months and hit the road. Maybe your gf would be interested in coming along.

Yeah, it's possible that in a year or so you'll be sitting behind the same, or similar desk. So what? You'll have had experiences that will last a lifetime. You'll have new friends with whom to share time and stories.

And it's at least as likely that you'll meet someone somewhere and find yourself beginning a new career, maybe one better suited to satisfying the psyche as well as the wallet.

The only thing that's certain is that if you stay in the same place, doing the same things, your discontent is only going to grow.

You're young. Have some adventure. Open yourself to new people, places and opportunities.

 

Right now I would say I'm happy with some parts of my life. Some parts are stressful and painful, and they make me depressed, but there are other parts that bring me joy and it's enough that I cannot fairly say that I'm unhappy.

I'm not living my dream yet, but part of it I started to realize once I met someone who sees life the same way I do, supports and respects me. As for everything else, I'll figure out what my calling is.

And I would change my shyness for sure. It has held me back in a lot of opportunities.

 

Right now, I'm...satisfied.
I look forward to when I'm older though, and my parents are no longer there to stop me from doing the things I want- protest, rally, etc.
I also wouldn't mind having a bigger kitchen with everything I need...
But I'm enjoying my childhood while I have it- It won't be forever that I can use the excuse "My parents won't let me" to get out of things!

 

I'm too positive a person to stay unhappy, but that has actually proven to be the thing that prevents me from living my dream. I don't see my current circumstances as shitty enough to give me the ambition to get out of them.

I am happy, but I am not living my dream. I have a feeling if I were living my dream I would realize that I've actually been quite miserable this whole time and have just been in denial about it.

why, exactly? why not plan to be happy?

 

There's a lot of things I wish I had or did that I didn't. Not "material" things, but things like not being so scared in highschool and having a lot more fun. I'm new to the hippie mentality. I'm so used to be a negative person, but i've noticed a lot in the past few months that I bring a lot of negativity in my life on by being negative. Then I noticed (my mom being a hippie) that hippies have the right attitude toward life. I want that positivity. So I'm gonna try for it.

 

snap - that's about my philosophy and where I am too. Same age as you but still with teenage kids since I started late.

Did lots of travelling, lived in several different countries, had a few different businesses, lots of experiences and seen some of the most beautiful places our world!

Starting to plan for life after kids - if i have any money left.............still got ma health tho' (touch wood).

Simon :sunny: