Happiness is possible

We're conditioned to accept a lot of things as "normal." Relationships that feel transactional. Doing things in our lives that we don't enjoy, just because our friends, family, or other figures in our lives expect us to do those activities. The idea of spending your whole working life in debt, probably broke, and working toward the slim chance of retirement at 65. Whatever it is, we have this notion of what normal life is - and, whenever we question it, we're met with that old trope: "It is what it is." But it doesn't have to be. We can change. We can adjust what we are willing to accept in our lives. What we consider to be normal. We can break free from long-held expectations of what we are supposed to do, be, or believe - and instead embrace the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the crowd isn't wise enough to choose the right direction. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others, trying to see if we can be first - and instead ask ourselves if we are going in the right direction, at all. Freedom often lies in the opposite direction. Don't be afraid to go the other way. Believe that a different outcome than what you expected is possible. Believe that it is possible for life to be filled with mountain top experiences. Believe that life doesn't have to always just feel like an ordinary slog from beginning to end. Believing that happiness can trump "mere existence" is the frist step toward transformation. Because we can't be forces of change, until we believe that change is actually possible, and deserved. - “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists... it is real... it is possible... it's yours.” Ayn Rand