We’ve been told growing up to work hard in order to become successful. Sometimes, happiness isn’t taken into the equation. We get stuck with majors we don’t like and pursue jobs we don’t want just to be “successful”. Growing up in an Asian household, it was easy to see my friends and other Asian families narrow down their career choices to either doctor, lawyer or engineering. Sometimes, you see some pick Business. However, I’ve continue to see that no matter what majors are picked, I still hear statements that make me sad.
“I’m just studying this because my parents want me to.”
“My parents are paying for my college so I need to do what they tell me.”
“This is how I’m going to be successful even if I don’t like it.”
Why do we submit to these expectations others set on us? Why should we not consider our own happiness when picking a career? Let me break it down for you.
Let’s say you work full-time around 40 hours a week. You get up at 8am (maybe earlier), get ready and be at work by 9am. You get off at 5pm and travel home. It’s around 6pm. You eat dinner and now its 7:30pm. Maybe you watch a TV show. Maybe you participate in your city sports leagues. Maybe you grab dinner with friends instead of eating at home. All in all, you do this for 5 days out of the week for the rest of your life. If you want a full 8 hours of sleep every night, you only have about 4 hours of free time and that’s not even including time needed for running errands.
You work so much of your daily life. Why not be happy?
I was blessed with my mother, who always pushed me to pursue anything as long as it was sustainable and moral. She never pushed a particular career path and it really was a huge blessing. This year, I’ve even changed my current career pursuit in my last semester of college. I started taking on photography and fashion on the side. Now, even with a full-time offer for accounting signed after college, I’m reconsidering my path.
You never have to settle for anything that does not make you happy. We all walk this Earth to survive, but life is much more than that. We have the freedom to pursue our own happiness. We only have one life and if something called “work” takes up so much of our time, why should we have to wait until the weekend to be happy?
So reconsider where you are right now. Are you going to be happy spending 8 or more hours every day doing what you are on the path to? Or will you pursue things outside of expectations and ensure that you will set yourself up to be the best you? Because at the end of the day, nothing matters if you aren’t happy where you are. So challenge conventional education. Challenge the expectations of others. Take risks and go outside your comfort zone. It will be all worth it in the end.
Trust me.
