What to do with your life.
“What should be done with my life?” A lot of people have asked me this question. My answer is pretty simple: “Whatever brings you the most joy. You are here to live for YOU and what makes YOU happy in your life.” I’ve come to find that a lot of people think that they have to find some divine mission in order to feel good about their lives. That’s not true. All you have to do is define what makes you happy and proceed to take part in things that bring you the most joy. You might enjoy being an accountant or prefer being a stay-at-home mom. Your job is to just take part in things you enjoy in life. Plain and simple.
But Ezra, isn’t that selfish to live for my own joy?
No! Actually your doing mankind a service when you proceed to live a joyful life. If more people put an emphasis on their own joy there would be no such things as codependent relationships. We would all be to busy doing the things we love and would not need others to be a certain way in order for us to be happy. Besides, people who have a deep love for you would want you to go out and live life the way you want to live it! People who try to make you feel guilty about living life the way you’d like to, aren’t usually happy themselves. They need you to be a certain way because they want to feel better. If they would just start to live life for themselves they wouldn’t put so much pressure on you to conform to their ideals. This kind of pressure usually comes from parents who aren’t living the lives they truly want to live. Because of this they don’t have the ability to teach you how to do so either. You have to find your own way.
There is nothing wrong with you wanting to go out and live life the way you want to. If you aren’t intentionally causing anyone any harm, then you are fine. This is YOUR life and you’re entitled to live it any way you please. It’s your divine right. You have no excuses to say you can’t go out and start living your life the way you want to today. Nobody is stopping you from being and doing the things you want in life. That’s just an illusion. In the process, you may lose some friends, but you will make new ones that are more like the new person you will become. The friends that will fall by the wayside are people who would like you to continue living your life in a way that makes them happy. They aren’t living the lives they really want to live so deep down they don’t want anyone else to either.
God’s Real Plan
A lot of people say that living life for themselves is not the will of God. In all actuality- it is the will of God. The All Creating Force known as God wants you to be eternally happy. And this Force has given you free will. You can choose to live your life in a miserable fashion or live your life in the way that makes you most happy. This being isn’t sitting on a throne judging your every action. (God has better things to do with his/her time. Trust me. The only person that can judge you is yourself, and I suggest you judge yourself well for wanting to live life the way you’d most enjoy. If you can accept that it’s OK for you to want what you desire, then God can step in and start giving it to you. Once you’ve accepted that it’s OK, then can you have it.
If you sit down and really start to contemplate what “God” is, then you will start to come to your own conclusions. God has perfect love, and something with perfect love created you out of joy. Do you really think that this perfect being created you to live a life of sacrifice and obligation? No. This being created you because it joyfully wanted to do so. You are free to joyfully live out your life the way you’d like to because you were created from joy. God blessed you with the ability to be as miserable or as happy as you’d like. No one else but you have control over that. You will always be able to pick from a joyful life, miserable life or somewhere in between. The choice is always yours, and you’re free to do what you want with your life.
Where to Begin
If you haven’t really been living your life for yourself then it will take some getting used to. It will get easier and easier with time. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- When it comes to making any choice in your life ask yourself, “What will bring me the most joy in this situation?” If there is someone else involved ask yourself, “ What will bring us the most joy?”
- Learn to make decisions for yourself. It’s OK to ask for others’ input but make sure you end up making the decision out of joy and not obligation or guilt. Everything you do should be for the joy of it.
- If you experience yourself losing friends, just accept the change for the time being. New friends will show up that will be more like the person you’re becoming now. They will be focused on living their own happy lives and want you to have a happy life as well. These new friends will be more helpful, and you’ll feel like they are benefiting you.
- If you have children you will be teaching them by example what it means to live your life in a joyful manner. They will grow up to be successful happy adults because they know what it means to be truly happy.
- If you’re in an unhappy relationship, don’t be surprised if you guys break up. The good news is someone new WILL come along that is much better suited for you. Your old partner will also be matched up with someone new. If you weren’t really happy to begin with just go ahead and welcome the change. The new partner will be a complete joy in your life and you won’t have to do any sacrificing with them. They will be focused on their own happiness and so will you.
I want you to know that your life might start to under go quite a few changes as your start to live your life for your own happiness. The changes may even be a bit disturbing however the changes will not last forever. At the end you will be welcomed with a completely new life. New circumstances, places, friends and even family. Embrace the change and wish the old life the best!
What is this stuff?
