It took me a long time to really understand what that meant.
I strived for years ‘working for the man’ – well the Government to be precise – and trying my hardest to be the best I could be.
I’ve been run over. Hospitalised on more than a few occasions.
Regularly abused, assaulted, and generally gone home feeling like I’m just treading water and never really helping anyone. Including myself. For any of you who keep up with UK politics, the decimation of certain Public Services has seen some utterly disillusioned people – good people – leaving the jobs that they believed were a calling.
I spent all those years trying to get ahead, and trying too hard. I convinced myself that if I could just get a lucky break then the stress and the unhappiness would fade away. If I could make promotion then the money would make everything better. If I could just get recognition then the heavens would open, I would be sprinkled with unicorn dust and ride home on a rainbow.
Big waste of time.
Money won’t make you happy and bring instant success.
Happiness, however, and I mean truly being content in yourself and your life, will lead to success. Success often leads to more money.
So you see the vicious cycle that some people are in; trying to get ahead and making themselves unhappier by the day, when simply stepping back and re-evaluating life could bring them some inner peace and with that would flow said unicorn dust and the aforementioned rainbow transportation.
On the subject of happiness, I must draw the parallel with confidence. Confidence was a big thing for me; the confidence to tell people I write, the confidence to let people read it and then the confidence to publish.
I sat at my laptop, eagerly refreshing the pages and waiting for a review. I finally had to admit to myself that maybe, just maybe, people liked the stories. A raft of four and five star reviews flooded in.
Closely followed by a couple of one’s and two’s.
I told myself, “That’s ok. Not everyone will like it.”
Negative reviews don’t hurt my feelings (I’ve got over it) and in fact I welcome criticism. Some of you fine people have emailed or messaged me to let me know where certain parts of the story had gaps for you, based on your knowledge and experiences (an email from someone with extensive Military experience has even led to an upcoming event in book 4! – You know who you are!) and I wholeheartedly welcome that.
All of these things make me better at what I do, and help me stay focused and happy with life. Thankyou.
In my convoluted logic, I’ll leave you with another overused and often empty platitude:
Money doesn’t buy happiness.
(But it will buy a jet ski, and I’ve never seen anyone on a jet ski who didn’t look ecstatic!)