You Have What I Want And I Have What You Want

Humans are a funny thing.

I've noticed a lot of us create these fantasies, these perfect worlds to daydream about while trying to fall asleep, in our spare time, or what-have-you.

You know what your perfect job would look like, your perfect spouse, your perfect kids, your perfect weight, your perfect social groups, etc.

You pine and sigh, watching the people who have one or two of those things, envying them, wishing you could trade places.

And yet...they themselves aren't happy. What I find funny is that we are surprised to discover those we are jealous of aren't happy...even when we have things other people want and aren't happy ourselves.

For example, I submit a generic conversation between two women (I'm sure everyone has heard a version of this):

Female 1: "Ugh, if I could just lose those ten pounds, I would finally be happy."

Female 2: "Are you serious? I would pay money to look like you!"

Ad infinitum, inserting whatever gender or situation you please.

You may have the body you've always wanted, but your job might not be what you dreamed of. You might have a super-hot spouse, but you can't feel confident with them because you aren't at that perfect weight. You might have great kids, but you can't stand how your social life has panned out.

Most of us have something that someone else wants. We need to face the fact that our lives might not ever reach that perfect place, but if we have the power to change something, we ought to give it our best effort. We should rejoice in those good things we are blessed with and not waste our energy on envy.

That energy could be devoted to bringing an area of your life to a place you want it to be.