Whether we have been asked this question of what we would like to someday be, or not, it is usually a passing thought for many of us well up into our adulthood. The world puts such a heavy emphasis on figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life by the time you are 18, so then you can begin your college years of accumulating debt to become what you believe you want to be at an inexperienced age. Often the reasoning of becoming doctors and lawyers is because they are high paying jobs and always in demand. Shouldn't the reason be because they are positions in society that can help others in times of need? They can help right the wrongs of the world? Wouldn't that be a more humanitarian answer to why you choose to pursue such a profession? John Lennon stated that he wanted to be "happy", and that is a direct reflection of most of the world. Teachers want to be happy. Volunteers, Doctors, and Lawyers too. Even religious zealots and terrorists want to be happy. I will admit they have a different idea of how to achieve happiness, but in the end they are still fighting for something they believe in because this idea they believe in makes them happy. We all fight for our happiness is some way or another. My answer to finding happiness is simple. The answer is having choices.
Choices are around you every single second of the day. You have simple choices that you make every single split second of your hectic days. These are choices that are, more often that not, done by autopilot on your brain. The choices that lead to happiness are larger choices. They are the choices that we consciously have to make to stay on track to having perpetual happiness throughout our life journey. I really started to understand the freedom and happiness that comes with choices when I lived in the United Arab Emirates and Bangkok, Thailand. Many universities that have international faculty will provide transportation to and from the university since foreigners will need to go through a process to obtain a license and vehicle legally in a foreign country. Many times due to personal financial difficulties some faculty simply cannot afford a personal vehicle. I was asked in each county on two individual times why I was using the provided transportation when I had my own personal transportation. It didn't seem strange to me at all, but when I looked at it from their point of view it became more obvious. The person who was forced to take the public transportation because they couldn't afford their own vehicle couldn't understand why I would still take the public transportation at times when I had my own vehicle. They had no choice but to take the provided transportation and they yearned for the choice to be able to take their own vehicle, if only they could afford it. Since I had the choice of which transportation to take, it didn't bother me to take the provided transportation on days that I was tired, the van schedule matched my personal schedule, or when I simply didn't feel like dealing with traffic. So ultimately having the choice of which transportation to take led to a greater happiness.
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The third choice you may also have to lend towards your happiness is the choice to be sensitive about what matters. My first day in a new class I was teaching I asked my Russian student if he would be upset at me if I said something bad about his mom. Of course his immediate answer was a resounding YES! I asked him to hear me out though. The conversation went something like this:
Dustin: Would you be mad at me if I said something bad about your mom?
Russian student: Yes!
Dustin: Do I know your mom?
Russian student: No.
Dustin: So why would I want to say something bad about your mom?
Russian student: I dunno, maybe to make me mad.
Dustin: Exactly, my intent would be to make you mad, but you have the choice to let me win or not.
Russian student: But if you say anything about my mom I would be mad.
Dustin: What does what I say matter if I have never met your mother, or know anything about her?
Russian student: I don't let anyone talk about my mom.
Dustin: So knowing that I would say something like that only to make you mad, you are willing to give up your happiness and let me win, although I know nothing about your mother and my words don't hold any value because of that?
Russian student: *has to now think if his happiness is worth giving up now that he understands the situation more.......
So, in the end, the choice is yours to maintaining your happiness. Live your life so you have more and more choices available to you. The more choices you have as solutions to any problems will allow you to never stop moving forward. Whenever a problem presents itself, choose the best solutions that you have created for yourself and go with it. If it doesn't work out, then make the next choice and try again. Life is as simple as that.
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