Happiness is what we all strive for in life. We are told, and often dictated by society, which way is best when it comes to how we should lead our lives in order to get the best outcome. Of course, we are all different and diverse in our ways of thinking and have opinions on how we should live our own lives but how willing are we to see things from another perspective?
Living a linear way is the most common approach we adopt to deal with life. This, for example, could mean studying hard while we’re young, working hard in our jobs and make sure we are married by a certain age. While all these benefit us in certain ways, it can sometimes lead us to unhappiness especially if we struggle to study, work hard in a job we don’t enjoy or reach that certain age and still haven’t met the right person.
A linear life has a tendency to dictate how ‘successful’ you are. It gives people guidelines that can’t always be met and don’t take into account that life is unpredictable and unexpected.
Why A Linear Life Isn’t Always The Best
Not only does leading a linear life put pressure on us to achieve goals by a certain time, it creates a mindset where we blind to other opportunities that are there for the taking. We tend to focus on the one path we set out for ourselves and we rarely venture away from the ‘norm’.
When we’re young, we usually rebel against walking in a linear path and we live more in the moment. We have more of a tendency to explore and embrace the journey more in order to find out about ourselves either consciously or subconsciously. But once we’re older, this often gets forgotten and we can easily slip into the rigid, expectancy of adult life.
The Regret of Living a Linear Life
Living a carved-out linear path can often cause regrets later on. We believe happiness will come once we’ve worked hard and created a nice pot of money and only then relax and enjoy life. We believe we’ll be happy when we’ve met our soulmate and checked off another goal on our list because that’s what’s expected of us.
It’s a big cliché when people say it’s all about the journey but that’s exactly what creates a full life; not having our heads down, sacrificing the now in order to fulfill the end cause. By doing this we can miss huge opportunities to grow and develop ourselves and give us the chance to obtain sufficient self-understanding.
Don’t get me wrong, living a linear life can suit some people and can provide a certain structure that someone can adhere to but if this is you and you’re not entirely happy with your life, it might be time to gain a different perspective and consider the benefits of living more in the present moment.
The Benefits of Living a Microlife
Living a microlife is all about living every day as though it’s your last day – that doesn’t mean quitting your job and going on a permanent holiday – it means finding the right balance in every aspect of your life. For example, don’t make your job your whole life, don’t make having money the be all and end all of your happiness, don’t be afraid to follow a different career path, or don’t settle for that okay relationship just because you feel it’s about time you settled down already.
The advantage of this more open way of living is that we are living in the moment and adopting a mindset where you expect life to change and embrace different paths that life has to offer you – that’s it’s okay to go off the beaten track. By contrast, a well-planned linear life can’t prepare you for the uncertainties that life throws at you nor can it prepare you for disruptions that inevitably come up.
So try and ignore the fear, change your mindset and perspective on how to live your life. Embrace each moment and create a balance in all areas of your life and most of all expect and embrace change – trust that the change or the different way of life is there to help you grow and live the ultimate happy life you deserve!
