happy

earlier this week, while waiting at the doctor's office, i had a chance encounter with another person waiting to be seen. i don't normally talk to people in the waiting room, but the person was being seen at my doctor's office for the first time and was a little nervous. this led us to stumbling onto the subject of finding your passion in life. the woman i was talking to referenced someone close to them having a life-threatening illness which led them to change their life's direction. i've always found it interesting what people decide to do when faced with such a difficult instance. the woman pointed out how she found it most interesting how people don't do what they truly want with their life until faced with such circumstances. this includes working at jobs you hate, being with or surrounding yourself with people you do not care for, etc. 

she then went on to tell me about how she was the manager of her department at a job that was okay but left her feeling unfulfilled. she often had to do tasks she didn't agree with and made her feel internally conflicted. she finally quit her successful job to find a job that has given her a sense of satisfaction and completion. she stated it was worth leaving because she was doing work that meant something to her. she didn't want to live her life working towards a future all the while making herself unhappy. life-threatening illness shouldn't be the impetus to live a happier life or at least a life that you actually choose. 

what she said really resonated with me. i have worked at several jobs that i could not stand to go to everyday i was there...and the weirdest part is that i was surrounded by people who hated it just as much as i did. but they had no interest in leaving or finding anything that could make them happy. each move i made was to help get me closer to finding something that would make me happy or, at the very least, satisfied. i even think the same about my relationships. ex-boyfriends and dates that flopped, blew up, or fizzled. it was hard making each change and move, but all for the best to making myself a happier me. we should keep pushing forward and keep choosing things and people that fill ourselves and lives with what makes us truly happy. because, let's face it, the future isn't promised either, so why not be happier now? why wait for a difficult reminder to signal us to choose happiness? just a thought and a kind reminder from a waiting room stranger :)