Ask yourself: What is the one thing that you want to be, more than anything in the world? When asked this question, the answer is often simple. Some people want to be successful, wealthy, unrivaled. Often people want to be better than others; they have goals of worldly successes and those goals are what they think of first when asked this question. Recently, I asked a close friend this one question after a long conversation about life. It had been a while since we had spoken, but I’ve been going through some difficult times lately, so she made an effort to contact me. During our conversation, I found out for the first time that we had both been through a lot in our lives and she told me exactly what she wanted to be in one simple word: Happy. I had never felt closer to anybody than I did at that very moment. Her answer made complete sense to me. Happy. It made sense, because that was my answer exactly. It sounds so simple, but it’s the one thing that we both want to be and it means so much.
In truth, is that not what everybody wants? No matter what the answer is, everybody’s answer represents the thing that makes them happiest. The only difference between the answer that my friend and I gave to this question and the answer that everyone else gives is that she and I understand what it is that we’re searching for. I believe that life’s not about attaining worldly successes and accomplishing goals that only matter right now; it’s about finding something that truly makes you happy and never giving it up.
In our lives, my friend and I have survived challenges that others haven’t been through, but we still have that hope that we can be truly happy, and for us, that’s enough. She and I have experienced pains that some cannot even begin to understand, but it is enough for us to just be happy, and neither of us wants anything more than that, because we realize how important the simple things in life are and we know that it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re successful, wealthy, or even stronger than others as long as you are happy with who you are. The world cannot determine your happiness, only you can, and by realizing that happiness is the one thing that all people want, we accept that no matter how different our values may be, everyone has one thing in common: we all want to happy.
So, what is it that you want to be? Whatever it may be, never give up on that hope. Happiness is the one thing that all people want and it is a strong enough hope to get you through anything. No matter how you answer this question, the fact that you have an answer is proof enough that you are capable of being truly happy.