You’ve all had that longing. Where you are resentful towards the life you have. Standing on your patch of brown grass or dirt. Staring over the fence at the field of fresh, green grass, full of life, joy and sunshine.
But here’s where you’re getting it wrong.
That patch of grass needs just as much maintenance as yours once did. In fact, maybe even more because you’ve got to cut grass, you can’t cut dirt.
Now let’s use a real-life example – a job. Most people don’t love what they do. It’s the top 5% of the population that love what they spend their days doing.
If you’re working in a job that you don’t love, then there are two things you can do according to create change.
- Go out and do what you love.
- Find a way to love what you do.
For most people, doing option 1 is difficult and requires time to set up. Option 2 is a more immediate fix to the problem and will turn your dirt into the proudest piece of dirt you’ve ever stood on.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
– Maya Angelou
It’s quite simple. In fact, life is quite simple. We as humans have the tendency to over complicate life in order to justify our difficulties and the stories that come with them.
What happens if you simplify your life? You’ll end up losing your story or alibi and that can be scary.
Let’s take the greener grass and start looking for the truth. It takes a lot of work to keep the grass green. It needs fertiliser, frequent water, mowing, topping up dirt to even the ground under the grass, and the right amount of sun. Too much sun can burn grass, too little and it won’t grow.
The dream job you want will be difficult. It will come with challenges. You will have to deal with other people who are competing for your position. You will need to work hard at keeping your new job, you will probably need to prove yourself as worthy of keeping it.
If there’s more income that comes with it, you’ll end up paying a higher tax rate and then chances are you’ll end up increasing your lifestyle, like most people, and have to maintain that lifestyle because it seems so necessary to you.
These are the maintenance issues that come with the greener grass you’re dreaming of. This applies to all things in life – relationships, business opportunities, travel plans, starting a family, buying a home, etc. There are no free lunches in life. So don’t fool yourself into believing you’ll get one.
Whatever it is in your life that you believe is your greener grass, stop and check, what are the responsibilities, downsides and maintenance aspects of this new opportunity for you?
And don’t bother trying to tell me that there are no downsides. Doing this exercise doesn’t make you pessimistic, it makes you wise. Time to wise up.