Are You Tired Yet?

Frank, with his receding hairline and increasing wrinkles, had very little to show for his 45 years of life. He had several jobs, in several cities, but never a place to call home. Constantly moving, constantly searching. He spent his life convinced that happiness was right around the corner, in a different city, at a new job, in a new person. He searched. He moved. He ran. He searched again.

Never did he find the happiness he was looking for, because there was one place he never looked – within himself.

We can move as often as we want, to far distances or across the street. We can jump from relationship to relationship, or from job to job. But none of those changes are going to bring the peace and happiness that we long for. That is something that can only be found within us.

I spent over 30 years searching. I ran and ran in search of happiness, or even one ounce of peace for that matter. It was exhausting. So very exhausting. The more I searched, the more miserable I became.

It was only when I stopped running, that I was finally able to see. Instead of searching for the ‘perfect’ life, I took a step back and looked at the one I was living. What was wrong with it? What was I running from? What was I searching for?

I had no answers, because the problem wasn’t the life I was living. The problem was my perspective of the life I was living. Rather than seeing all the wonderful aspects of my life, I constantly focused on what I was missing….or what I thought I was missing. In reality, I wasn’t missing anything.

The happiness I had been searching for wasn’t in external things; it was within me the whole time. To gain the peace that I had longed for, I first had to make peace within myself. When my perspective changed, my world changed.

Instead of traveling the world over in search of happiness and peace, just stop where you’re at. Look around. Look within yourself. Ask yourself what you are really looking for.

You’ll likely find that you already have it, that it’s within you, or that it’s within your reach. Or like me, you may realize that what you really need is just a change of perspective.

Stop searching. What you’re looking for starts with you.