You may ask, “Is choosing your life that easy?” I guess it is about perspective. I mean it has to be something you really want.  Also, I know that sometimes you think you know what you want, but you are unclear how to get it.  For example, at a young age, you may have dreamed of growing up, becoming a big time executive that would travel the world, live in exciting places, have a wonderful home and a cool car.  As you grew into adulthood, things changed; you may have married, had a child, maybe you didn’t college and now you feel that none of what you dreamed of as a child happened for you.  You may feel less valuable because of it.  You don’t talk to your friends because they are in the same boat and you feel that that won’t understand your desire to do more with your life. You may have even heard someone say, “Life Happened” when you ask them about what their dreams were.

Yes, life happens for us all but that doesn’t mean that we have to forego our dreams. I know people who are in their 50s, 60s and older still going after their dreams. I was 49 when I got my PhD. I was in my late 20s when I got my Bachelor’s degree. So what?  The idea that you don’t have a say in your life is wrong thinking.  You have a say in your life. You can choose to live where you are, and live a life of regret, or you can choose to push past your fears and pursue the dreams you buried.

You may believe in fate (your destiny is set) but even the Bible tells us that humans were made with free will; we were created to make moral choices and we are responsible for those choices. If you or I chose to put our dreams of traveling the world on hold to raise a family, that is okay. If you or I chose not to have a family so that we could travel the world, that’s okay too.  The point is, it’s our own choices and our choices lead to how our lives are shaped.

When I have been frustrated with my personal or my professional life, when I have felt that I was not living what I wanted, I chose to change the direction I was going. My life hasn’t always been easy and I have certainly hit bumps in my professional life and sometimes in my personal life. I choose to live the life of my dreams in spite of those bumps. You can too.