Are you where you pictured you would be?

Photo: CC0 Public Domain, silverstylus

Lately, I’ve been reading a book that has made me think deeply about my life and ask myself questions that I do not even understand all of the answers to just yet. I put out one of the questions I had thought of on Twitter earlier to get feedback from friends: When you were younger, is this where you pictured you would be in your life at this age?

The wheels in my mind have been turning at a rapid pace. To answer the aforementioned question myself, that’s an easy, “No.” When I was younger, I presumed that I would be married, have children and be part of a happy family nucleus. That’s one of the things that I have dreamed of my entire life. I never imaged at the age of thirty-one, I would be sitting here even pondering that pesky question, that there would be the absence of tiny feet running across the floor or spills that didn’t need my attending to.

Sure, I can ask myself if I took a wrong turn, or if I did something differently that maybe things would have been dissimilar for my future. However, we can’t control what happens to us… we can only control how we react and I think I’ve done a really great job with how I’ve reacted to the situations in my life. I have been through a lot but also I have learned from those experiences. I have done so much growing. I’ve taken a lot of risks. Not everything works out, but at least I can say that I’ve tried because I believed in myself and thought that my dreams and goals were worth it.

My career aspirations are another aspect of my life that I got wrong as a kid. I have always been a hard worker—even having three part time jobs (while also holding a bachelor’s degree) at one point trying to just get enough money because I needed a newer car. Workplace politics are one thing that I completely despise. I’ve been a victim on more than one occasion. What I have learned is to not give up on what I want. Growing tired of feeling like I did not have opportunity to showcase my skills, I decided not to rely on anyone else and established my own business. My own business will give me the opportunity to help others meet their goals, even if nobody else wanted to afford me the opportunity to do it as their employee. I know my success is not going to be immediate and that it is going to take me awhile to build my own brand before I can transition into doing it full time. I’m going to continue to aim for the stars.

Despite not being where I may want to be in my life, I’ve never given up hope for myself because I know what I am capable of and what I have to offer. I am extremely proud of the person that I have become and cannot wait to share that with a family one day, and to continue to let my skills shine through my career.

But… what makes it different for some people? How do they get so lucky and get their dream jobs? I can attest mine was not due to lack of work ethic and I believe there are probably a lot of people out there that can echo that sentiment. Why do some get to meet their significant other while they are young to enjoy life with longer?

We can continue to ask ourselves, “What if…” questions and the truth is that maybe if we did do something differently, our path may have been altered slightly. That does not necessarily mean everything else that we have experienced would have been the same—the good, the bad… nothing. The most important thing that we can hold onto is the belief that we deserve to be happy and that every day when we wake up, we are inspired to keep working toward the things that we want in our lives—no matter what they are. I know one day I’ll have a loving family and that my career will be blossoming, but for now I keep working. I work on me, I work on my skills… because once everything falls into place, there is not a force that will be able to stop me.