Sometimes life feels just fine… until someone else tells you it isn’t. You’re going along, happy with your decisions, and suddenly a friend, family member, or random stranger on social media starts handing out opinions like coupons at a grocery store.
Maybe you want to live a certain lifestyle—be vegan, move up to the mountains, or work at that nonprofit you love. Maybe you want to be a foster parent to a dozen kids, or maybe you want none. Maybe you’ve chosen a career that isn’t high-paying but is fulfilling, closer to home, or simply allows you to spend more time with family.
Basically, you just want to do you. But for some reason, everyone around you feels the need to second-guess your choices.
Of course, I get it—there are some decisions that are just plain wrong (lying, cheating, stealing, killing—yeah, don’t do those). But outside of the obvious stuff, when it comes to everyday life decisions, it feels like everyone has an opinion.
Your friends might say, “Why are you vegan? Meat is amazing!” Or, “Why live up in the mountains? The city is where the action is!”
Your parents might push for that high-paying career in tech, law, or medicine so you can buy the big house, the luxury car, and provide for a family.
And strangers online? Oh, they’ll tell you to ditch your 9-to-5, start a business, and chase “generational wealth.”
It doesn’t stop there—they’ll have opinions on the clothes you wear, the people you date, and basically how you live your entire life. But here’s the thing: who knows you best? You do.
I lived like this for most of my life. I grew up in a good neighborhood with a competitive school district. Pressure was the norm—you had to compete for the best grades, the best colleges, the highest-paying jobs, the nicest houses, cars, and kids who could probably write code before they could walk.
All that pressure distorted who I really was. For the longest time, I wasn’t okay with what I actually wanted: a simple life.
The truth? I don’t care for fancy cars (can’t drive anyway). I don’t want a mansion; I just need a roof. I don’t care about designer clothes, fine dining, or the latest gadget. What I want is affordable housing, a reasonable cost of living, and a community where people value connection more than the number in their bank account.
So here’s the real question: What do you want in your life?
I finally realized it doesn’t matter what others think. Yes, friends and family mean well, but at the end of the day, I’m the one who has to live with my decisions—not them. We can thank them for their advice, but we still have to follow what’s right for us—and if you’re like me, what God wants for us too.
We all have an authentic self, and it deserves to be front and center. Maybe your authentic self is serving others in a third-world country, maybe it’s starting a business, maybe it’s living a simple life with a spouse, a few kids, and the essentials. Whatever it is—it’s yours.
Don’t let others dictate what makes you happy. Only you know that truth. And even if it takes some digging, that authentic self is in there, waiting to shine.
Blind Can You Can 
Leave a comment