“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” I love that quote so much. So often, in my own life, I have fallen short of my own expectations. I have dreamed of my life going certain directions and when they didn’t, I was completely devastated. Looking back now, I have to say that I am truly thankful that I didn’t always get what I wanted.
I remember completing an activity in high school that required us to lay out our life in 10 years. I am quite certain mine including being married and having children by about the age of 25. I am 36 years old and neither of those things have happened. I spent so many years in my 20s angry as I watched friends get married and have babies before me. Now, I can honestly say that I am so thankful that I didn’t get what I wanted, in the time that I wanted. Now, watching my friends become mothers is one of my greatest privileges, I love watching them grow into that life changing role.
I am so honored and humbled to live the life that I have. The moment that I stopped comparing my life, and the pace of my achievements, to others is the exact moment I became truly happy. I realized that my life, exactly as it is today, is pretty dang amazing.
We miss it when we focus too much on where we aren’t, what we don’t have and what we haven’t yet done. When we shift our focus to being thankful for what is, everything changes. Life is beautiful and there is no timeline. Your timeline is beautiful, you are not doing it wrong. Live the life you have in front of you, don’t look too far ahead and for the love of all things, don’t look behind. Just look around, take it all in, and be thankful.
