I have to choose just one thing? I’ve bought into a lot of dumb myths in my time. I guess the thing that is at the forefront of my mind right now is the myth that we have so little control in our lives. You know, that myth about having to go to school, then go to university, then get a well-paid job, then buy a house, then get married and have kids, then spend years in a cycle of renewing your car/TV/dishwasher/whichever consumer item decides to break down next, until you finally retire and get to enjoy your remaining years.
That’s the path everyone takes, isn’t it? Surely that’s just the way life is! Except it isn’t. Over the past year, I’ve come to realise that we don’t have to consign ourselves to a life of drudgery and dreaded Monday mornings, a life spent living for each weekend, a life of keeping up with the Joneses, a life where we only get to truly enjoy ourselves when we’re nearly dead.
If that’s the path for you, great! Live your life, and make sure you’re happy. But if you feel as if your life script has been written for you, I’m telling you that you can pick up the pen and start making revisions. Cross bits out, scribble all over it, use big fat highlighters and pretty colours, with lots of excited exclamation marks!
This is your life. It’s only very recently that I’ve come to believe that there is another way. Too often, the decisions we make and the paths we take are shaped by the opinions of others and the expectations of society. If you haven’t seen it, you really should watch Adam Baker‘s TED talk…
Life is for living to the full. Throw caution to the wind. Chase your dreams. Just go for it.
That’s what I believe in now.
Over to you… What’s one dumb thing you used to believe in?
I'm Rebecca Hunter. 20-something misfit. Self-proclaimed mindfulness maven. Quarter-life crisis survivor. Lover of words. Lifelong bliss junkie. A bit of a geek.
I too believed in the myth that I had to go to college, get a good job, get married, buy “stuff”, get a mortgage, work forever then retire and die.
Now I know there is an alternative, and it’s a huge relief! I now feel free, like I’m living life having been told a wonderful secret, yet also feeling a bit sad there are too many people in my life and all around me that don’t yet know the secret–that life doesn’t have to be a prison of expectations. Thanks for the great post and for the link to Adam Baker’s TED talk–it’s a good one.
I love how you describe it as a wonderful secret. It really is! But it shouldn’t be a secret. I know what you mean – I just want to shout from the rooftops that it doesn’t have to be this way.
It’s funny that you posted that video. My bf and I actually watched (he listened) while we drove cross country after we had sold all our stuff to travel and we couldn’t be happier.
A life of travel… That just sounds idyllic
How’s the travelling going? Am I right in thinking that you’d stopped off in Florida…?
It’s a fantastic video isn’t it? I just love his message.
A great post on a great blog – thank you.
Reminds me of this graffiti:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/101800124194210937689/albums/5706698728192246113/5706698747678504482
Thank you Kevin! I really appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment.
I love that photo you shared. It sums up life pretty accurately! Well, until you realise that life doesn’t have to be that way…
[...] harks back to my recent post on dumb myths. The dumb myth that I specifically believed in was the one that tells us there is one [...]
[...] harks back to my recent post on dumb myths. The dumb myth that I specifically believed in was the one that tells us there is one [...]