I’m often envious of the people who move off to a state that’s cross country. Or even a country that’s on a different continent. They seem carefree, completely independent, and just totally oblivious to the things that weigh down so many of us on the normal daily grind.
You see, the thing is, I know I’m a happy person who is independent and, for the most part, devoid of any sort of baggage that drags a lot of people down. I’m like the people who I envy that move off.
So why don’t I do it?
Well, I like where I’m at in my life. And I like where I live.
It’s not like I don’t have the capacity to just up and move away. I know I could get a decent job on one of the coasts, and I know I’d love the bustling nights that they provide with wildly various people to meet. I’d be fine and could manage my new life however I wanted.
But I enjoy my location, who I’ve surrounded myself with, and what I’m doing with my life. I have developed my sense of self-worth and independence through my own methods of trial and error, so I’m not in need of some far off journey that ends elsewhere. I’ll leave my cardboard boxes of old books in storage untouched because I don’t need to move away and pack up those cardboard boxes.
Too often, people move away for the wrong reasons. They think that somewhere else will automatically be “better” for them and that their current location can’t get any worse.
The problem with that thinking is that it’s not the location that is better; rather, it’s you who gets better. You become happier with a new environment. You start off your life anew. You find new people. It’s more exciting, more nerve-wracking, and more hectic at first, but it renews your sense of purpose.
So, it sounds wildly enticing to up and move for the hell of it. I can admit that. But I don’t need that fresh perspective that so many people do, because I try to have a fresh change in my thinking or living a few times each year so that I’m not growing complacent or even jaded with my current life. So long as I can hold myself to that, I know that I’ll be happy and successful with my life.
