I caught up with a friend this evening who, last year, quit his job and moved to a small town. He sounded happier than he’s been in years.

I told him that he was sounding great, and he replied “yeah I’m so happy here even if it doesn’t live up to society’s expectations”.

This struck quite a chord with me. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to come to terms with some of my own career decisions that have been good for me but have gone against the expectations. Either those of my family, friends or society as a whole.

The pressure of expectations is as much external as it is internal. Some of it is due to what people think we should be doing. But much of it is ourselves, and what we think that other people think we should be doing.

It’s easy to fall in to this trap, particularly if you don’t know what you want. You examine the expectations and try to line yourself up to them if you can.

But ultimately, this isn’t benefiting anyone.

The best way to make decisions is to learn to separate yourself from these thoughts. And the best way to do this is to decide what you want and what you need first.

This doesn’t mean running away and ditching capitalism.

You may be in need of a decent salary, or a house. And if you want those, then pursue them.

As long as your driving force isn’t to please someone else. To meet up to expectations that really don’t matter.

My friend is exactly where he needs to be. He’s doing what he wants to be doing and has found a way to make that sustainable. And it’s beautiful.

So don’t worry about the expectations. Cause they’re, probably, mostly in your head.

Image was taken in Moullie Point two weeks ago. We were sitting on the see-saw at the time 🙂

Blog: 209/365

Song of the day: Ocean Floors – Headphone Activist